The Théâtre Historique (), a former Parisian theatre located on the

boulevard du Temple The Boulevard du Temple (), formerly nicknamed the "Boulevard du Crime", is a thoroughfare in Paris that separates the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, 3rd arrondissement from the 11th arrondissement of Paris, 11th. It runs from the Place de la Répu ...

, was built in 1846 for the French novelist and dramatist

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

. Plays adapted by Dumas from his historical novels were mostly performed, and, although the theatre survived the

1848 Revolution The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

, it suffered increasing financial difficulty and closed at the end of 1850. In September 1851 the building was taken over by the Opéra National and renamed again in 1852 to

Théâtre Lyrique The Théâtre Lyrique () was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century (the other three being the Paris Opera, Opéra, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre-Italien (1801–1878), Théâtre-Italien). ...

. In 1863, during

Haussmann's renovation of Paris Haussmann's renovation of Paris was a vast public works programme commissioned by French Emperor Napoleon III and directed by his prefect of the Seine, Georges-Eugène Haussmann, between 1853 and 1870. It included the demolition of medieval ...

, it was demolished to make way for the

Place de la République The Place de la République (; English: Republic Square; known until 1879 as the Place du Château d'Eau, ) is a square in Paris, located on the border between the 3rd, 10th and 11th arrondissements. The square has an area of .Warner, p. 250 ...

. The name Théâtre Historique was revived by some other companies in the late 1870s and early 1890s.

Founding

Dumas tells the story behind the founding of the Théâtre Historique in his 1867 memoir ''Histoire de mes bêtes''.Dumas 1867
pp. 226–227
His drama adapted from his novel ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

'' had premiered on 27 October 1845 on the boulevard du Temple at the

Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique The (, literally, Theatre of the Comic-Ambiguity), a former Parisian theatre, was founded in 1769 on the boulevard du Temple immediately adjacent to the Théâtre de Nicolet. It was rebuilt in 1770 and 1786, but in 1827 was destroyed by fire. A ...

. On that occasion Dumas met the 21-year-old Duke of Montpensier, youngest son of the French king,

Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

. The Duke invited Dumas to his box at the end of the performance, and during their conversation, he offered to use his influence to help Dumas obtain a license to open a theatre. The Duke first approached the Minister of the Interior, Tanneguy Duchâtel, who declined saying that Paris already had enough theatres. The Duke then went directly to his father.Walsh 1981, p. 5.Chauveau 1999, pp. 371–376. By 14 March 1846 the ''privilège'' was assigned to Hippolyte Hostein (former stage manager of the Ambigu-Comique), who had been designated by Dumas as the director of the new theatre. The license granted the right to present prose dramas and comedies, as well as lyric choral works for two months of each year. A company was formed on 24 March composed of Dumas, M. Védel (pseudonym of Alexandre Poulet, former director of the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

), the banker Auguste-Armand Bourgoin (son of a celebrated actress), M. Ardoin (principal proprietor of the Passage Jouffroy), and Hostein. Within a month the company purchased two sites on the boulevard du Temple, near its intersection with the rue du Faubourg du Temple: the former Hôtel Foulon and a small café-bar, the Epi-Scié, next to the Cirque Olympique. Together, the two sites cost about 600,000 francs. Work began almost immediately under the direction of the architect Pierre-Anne Dedreux and the architectural (and stage set) decorator-painter

Charles Séchan Charles Polycarpe Séchan (29 June 1803 – 14 September 1874) was a French painter and theatre designer. Life Born in Paris, son of the tailor merchant Jean-Fris Séchan, he lost his parents, who had no fortune, very early on. He learned the ...

Building design

The awkward site, wedged between two buildings at the front, and wide at the back on the rue des Fossés du Temple, "required great skill in adapting it to its new purpose."Godwin 1850
pp. 33–34
The facade on the boulevard du Temple was unusually tall and narrow, not more than in width. The entrance was flanked by two pairs of engaged fluted Ionic columns on a high base with two broad sculptured bands on the lower portion of each column. Two facing caryatides, presenting in profile to the boulevard and representing the muses of

Tragedy A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...

and

Comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

, supported the flat

architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; , also called an epistyle; ) is the lintel or beam, typically made of wood or stone, that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can also apply to all sides, including the vertical members, ...

at the front of a semicircular entryway with four equally spaced Ionic columns delimiting the curvature of the inside doorway.Galignani 1848
pp. 462–463
Godwin 1850, pp. 33–34; Galignani 1859
pp. 476–477
Gautier 1859
pp.42–43
Chauveau 1999, pp. 371–376. Above the

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

of the entrance was an unusual semicircular Corinthian balcony enclosed at the front by a thin

balustrade A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

surmounted with four lampposts. At the top of the two double-width flat

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s bracketing the balcony were masks of Tragedy and Comedy, below which were engraved the names of six

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

s: on the left, Corneille, Racine, and

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

; and on the right,

Shakspere The spelling of William Shakespeare's name has varied over time. It was not consistently spelled any single way during his lifetime (1564–1616), including by Shakespeare himself, in manuscript or in printed form; historians note that this was ...

(in 19th-century spelling),

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

, and

Lope de Vega Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio (; 25 November 156227 August 1635) was a Spanish playwright, poet, and novelist who was a key figure in the Spanish Golden Age (1492–1659) of Spanish Baroque literature, Baroque literature. In the literature of ...

. The balcony was covered with a semidome above a semicircular

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

. Both the cupola and the frieze were painted in

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

by Joseph Guichard. The central group of figures in the cupola represented Poetry, leading Comedy by the hand, and Tragedy, each carrying their respective attributes, the comic mask and the poniard. Below these to the right were

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; ; /524 – /455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is large ...

Sophocles Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

, Seneca, Shakespeare, Corneille, Racine,

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

, Schiller, Talma, Nourrit,

Gluck Christoph Willibald ( Ritter von) Gluck (; ; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire at ...

, and Méhul, and to the left,

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...

Menander Menander (; ; c. 342/341 – c. 290 BC) was a Greek scriptwriter and the best-known representative of Athenian Ancient Greek comedy, New Comedy. He wrote 108 comedies and took the prize at the Lenaia festival eight times. His record at the Cit ...

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus ( ; 254 – 184 BC) was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by Livius Andro ...

Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a playwright during the Roman Republic. He was the author of six Roman comedy, comedies based on Greek comedy, Greek originals by Menander or Apollodorus of Carystus. A ...

, Molière,

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

, Lope de Vega,

Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best known for his no ...

, Regnard, Marivaux, Mlle Mars, Mozart, and Grétry. The panels in the frieze portrayed the Temple of Bacchus and scenes from ''

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; ; ) is the daughter of Aeëtes, King Aeëtes of Colchis. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress, an accomplished "wiktionary:φαρμακεία, pharmakeía" (medicinal magic), and is often depicted as a high- ...

'', '' Phèdre '', ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'', '' Cinna'', ''

Le Misanthrope ''The Misanthrope, or the Cantankerous Lover'' (; ) is a 17th-century comedy of manners in verse written by Molière. It was first performed on 4 June 1666 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal, Paris by the King's Players. The play satirizes the ...

'', '' Le Bourgeois gentilhomme'', ''

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

'', '' Mahomet'', ''

William Tell William Tell (, ; ; ; ) is a legendary folk hero of Switzerland. He is known for shooting an apple off his son's head. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albrecht Gessler, ...

'', and '' L'Avare''. Flanking the semidome on the front were pairs of figures representing on the left, Corneille's Cid and Chimène, and on the right, Shakespeare's

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

and

Ophelia Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet. Due to Hamlet's actions, Ophelia ultima ...

. The central figure in the break in the circular

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

represented the "Genius of Modern Art". All of the sculpture was the work of , also known for his sculpture work at the Fontaine Louvois. The entrance vestibule (marked A in the plan) was as narrow as the facade, only long and high. A foyer, located on the floor above the vestibule, provided access to the exterior balcony and was "surprisingly warm" with tones of white-gold enhanced with the dark red of the velvet coverings of the divans and chairs, and light from elaborate chandeliers of a "fantastic and capricious design." The shape of the auditorium was quite different from most Parisian theatres of the time, being an ellipse the long axis of which was aligned parallel to the stage rather than perpendicular to it. This arrangement was reminiscent of Pallidio's 16th-century theatre, the

Teatro Olimpico The ("Olympic Theatre") is a theatre in Vicenza, northern Italy, constructed in 1580–1585. It was the final design by the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio and was not completed until after his death. The ''trompe-l'œil'' onstag ...

, in Vicenza. The long axis, from the back of the boxes on one side to the other, was in length, while the short axis was . The exceptional width of the opening to the stage, at , was considered advantageous to the presentation of spectacle, while the shape of the house favored excellent sight lines and good acoustics, since it brought most of the spectators closer to the stage. The striking oval ceiling was designed and painted by Charles Séchan,

Jules Diéterle Jules Diéterle (8 February 1811 – 22 April 1889) was a 19th-century French architect, also a draftsman, painter, China painting, painter on porcelain, sculptor and theatre decorator. Biography Born in Paris, Diéterle, son of Jean Georg ...

and

Édouard Desplechin Édouard Desplechin His name is often spelt "Despléchin" » with an acute accent. (12 April 1802 – 10 December 1871), was a 19th-century French scenic designer, one of the most famous of his time. Biography He created numerous settings for ...

. The scene in the center depicted

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

on his chariot pulled by four horses, followed by

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

, the Hours, the

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

s, and Arts and Sciences, among others. Two chandeliers were suspended at opposite ends of this central oval, which was unlike most other Parisian theatres, where typically a single chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling and sometimes obstructed views of the stage from the galleries. Surrounding the scene with Apollo were painted in perspective a balustrade topped by a colonnade of double Corinthian columns. The colonnade was interrupted at the midpoints between the vertices by four thrones occupied by the muses of Painting, Comedy, Music, and Tragedy. The theatre was designed to accommodate two divergent types of audience, that of the working class common to the boulevard du Temple and that of the most brilliant society of Paris, on whom the directors of the theatre depended as their patrons. "What was desired, therefore, was a building so arranged that the ''élite'' of Parisian society might find every provision for their comfort without in any way trenching upon that of the ordinary public of the theatres of the Boulevard." Three large balconies were flanked either side by Corinthian pavilions with two levels of stage boxes crowned with highly ornamented circular pediments. The lower box on the left (C in the plan) was especially luxurious and was originally intended for the use of the Duke of Montpensier. It was connected by a short passageway to an adjoining circular salon (also C). The first tier was fronted with a balustrade and included dress-circle seating (B) in front of rows of boxes, each with its own small private sitting room behind it. Two large amphitheatres (one of which is marked D) extended back from the second and third tier balconies, providing a large number of less expensive seats. Finally, above the third tier, were two small lateral balconies, sometimes referred to as the ''gods''. The capacity of the house was said to be about 2,000.

Name

Originally the theatre was supposed to be named after its primary patron, the Duke of Montpensier, but his father Louis-Philippe did not think it proper that a theatre should be named after his son. Dumas proposed Théâtre Européen as an alternative, but this triggered dissension among the other parties involved, and it was eventually decided that the name would be disrespectful of the Théâtre Français. Védel finally proposed Théâtre Historique, which was considered particularly appropriate as the repertory was to consist mainly of dramatizations of Dumas's historical romances. This name was ratified by the government minister on 23 December 1846.Lecomte 1906
p. 7
By this time Dumas had already departed on a trip to Spain, to attend the wedding of the Duke of Montpensier to the Queen of Spain's fourteen-year-old sister, Luisa Fernanda, on 10 October, and then to North Africa, to gather material for writing a travel book intended to advertise the newly acquired

French colonies From the 16th to the 17th centuries, the First French colonial empire existed mainly in the Americas and Asia. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the second French colonial empire existed mainly in Africa and Asia. France had about 80 colonie ...

in that region (a project that had been initiated by the Minister of Education, Narcisse Achille de Salvandy).Hemmings 1979, p. 141. This left Hostein to assemble a company and begin preparations for the first productions, and when Dumas returned in January, these were already well underway.

Opening

The opening, on 20 February 1847 with Dumas's play adapted from his novel '' La Reine Margot'', was an eagerly awaited event, and the duke and his new bride were also expected to attend. The audience for the galleries began forming queues 24 hours ahead, even though it was the middle of winter. It helped, however, there were soup-sellers and bakers with bread hot from the ovens, and bundles of straw which could be purchased by those who wished to lie down.

List of premieres

Notes

Bibliography

* Chauveau, Philippe (1999). ''Les théâtres parisiens disparus, 1402–1986''. Paris: Amandier. . * Dickinson, Linzy Erika (2000). ''Theatre in Balzac's 'La Comédie humaine. Amsterdam: Rodopi. . * Dumas, Alexandre (1867). ''Histoire de mes bêtes''. Paris: Michel Lévy frères
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Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...

. * ''Galignani's New Paris Guide'' (1848). Paris: A. and W. Galignani
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. * ''Galignani's New Paris Guide for 1859''. Paris: A. and W. Galignani
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. * Garreau, Joseph E. (1984). "Dumas, Alexandre, ''père''" in Hochman 1984, vol. 2, pp. 51–55. * Gautier, Théophile (1859). ''Histoire de l'art dramatique en France depuis vingt-cinq ans (5^e série)''. Paris: Hetzel
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. * Godwin, George (1850). ''Buildings & Monuments, Modern and Medieval''. London: The Builder
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. * Hastings, Walter Scott (1917). ''The Drama of Honoré de Balzac'' (dissertation). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
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. * Hemmings, F. W. J. (1979). ''Alexandre Dumas: The King of Romance''. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. . * Hochman, Stanley, editor (1984). ''McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama''. New York: McGraw-Hill. . * Hostein, Hippolyte (1878). ''Historiettes et souvenirs d'un homme de théâtre''. Paris: Dentu
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. * Lecomte, Louis-Henry (1906). ''Histoire des théâtres de Paris: Le Théâtre historique, 1847–1851 — 1862 — 1879–1879 — 1890–1891''. Paris: H. Daragon
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. * McCormick, John (1993). ''Popular Theatres of Nineteenth Century France''. New York: Routledge. . * Pougin, Arthur (1889). "Le Théâtre Historique d'Alexandre Dumas" in ''La revue d'art dramatique'' , vol. 13, no. 77 (1 March 1889), pp. 257–274
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. * Schopp, Claude (1988). ''Alexandre Dumas: Genius of Life'', translated by A.J. Koch. New York: Franklin Watts. . * Walsh, T. J. (1981). ''Second Empire Opera: The Théâtre Lyrique Paris 1851–1870''. New York: Riverrun Press. . * Wild, Nicole (

989 Year 989 ( CMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Emperor Basil II uses his contingent of 6,000 Varangians to help him defeat Bardas Phokas (the Younger), who suffe ...

. ''Dictionnaire des théâtres parisiens au XIXe siècle: les théâtres et la musique''. Paris: Aux Amateurs de livres. . (paperback)
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WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Theatre Historique Historique 9th arrondissement of Paris Event venues established in 1847 Alexandre Dumas