Théâtre Feydeau
Encyclopedia
The Théâtre Feydeau, teɑtʁ fɛdo, a former Parisian theatre company, was founded in 1789 with the patronage of Monsieur, Comte de Provence (later to become Louis XVIII), and was therefore initially named the Théâtre de Monsieur. It began performing in the Salle des Tuilleries, located in the north wing of the Tuileries Palace
, then moved to the Salle des Variétés at the Foire Saint-Germain, and finally, beginning in 1791, settled into its own custom-built theatre, the Salle Feydeau located on the Rue Feydeau. The company was renamed Feydeau after the royal family was arrested during the French Revolution
. It first presented Italian opera
by composers such as Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
, Giuseppe Sarti
, and Giovanni Paisiello
and later French plays, vaudevilles
, and opéras comiques
, as well as symphonic
concerts, and was especially famous for the quality of its orchestra and realistic stagings. The Italian Luigi Cherubini
was the house composer, but the French composers Jean-François Le Sueur
, François Devienne
, and Pierre Gaveaux
were also closely associated with the company. In 1801 it merged with, and took the name of its chief rival, the Opéra-Comique
. Except for a brief period from July 1804 to July 1805 when the merged company performed at the Salle Favart, it continued to perform at the Salle Feydeau until 1829, when it moved to a new theatre, the Salle Ventadour
. The Salle Feydeau was demolished shortly thereafter.
and at first used the Salle des Tuileries, which had previously been the Salle des Machines, but had been greatly modified and reduced in size by the architects Jacques-Germain Soufflot
and Ange-Jacques Gabriel
for the Paris Opera
in 1763.
On 6 October 1789 Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette moved to the Tuileries Palace
after being forced to leave Versailles for Paris by rioters. The presence of the royal family at the palace meant that the Théâtre de Monsieur would have to move elsewhere. It was decided that a new theatre would be built on the Rue Feydeau, not far from the Opéra-Comique
's Salle Favart, but in the interim, the company would perform in the Salle des Variétés at the Saint-Germain Fair. The company's last performance at the Tuileries was on 23 December, and it opened at the Salle des Variétés on 10 January 1790 and performed there until 31 December 1790. The new theatre on the Rue Feydeau was in a neoclassical style designed by the architects Jacques Legrand and Jacques Molinos and had a capacity of 1700–1900. The opening there took place on 6 January 1791, when Giuseppe Sarti
's 3-act comic opera Le nozze di Dorina
was presented.
Upon the Royal Family's return to Paris on 24 June 1791, after its unsuccessful flight
and arrest in Varennes, the Théâtre de Monsieur was officially renamed Théâtre français et italien de la rue Feydeau, then Théâtre français et Opéra-buffa and finally, on 27 January 1795, Théâtre français de la rue Feydeau.
Up to 1791 the repertory had consisted primarily of Italian opera, with additional music added by Cherubini, but now the company turned increasingly to French opéras comiques, competing more directly with the nearby Opéra-Comique company at the Salle Favart. The first important French work was Cherubini
's Lodoïska
, which was premiered on 18 July 1791. This was followed by more French operas by Cherubini, as well as operas by French composers, including Devienne's
Les visitandines (7 July 1792); Le Sueur's
La caverne
(16 February 1793), Paul et Virginie (13 January 1794), and Télémaque (10 May 1796); and Gaveaux's
Léonore, ou L'amour conjugal (19 February 1798). The last was the model for Beethoven's Fidelio
. In general, opera alternated evenings with spoken drama, presented by a separate company of actors.
The theatre became one of the meeting-places for counter-revolutionaries
. Like many theatres of the Revolutionary period, it was frequently banned. However, it re-opened for good on 2 April 1796, becoming one of the most appreciated theatres in Paris. Talma
produced there from 1798.
Sagaret directed the company from 1795 to 1799, but he also took on the management of two other theatres, the Théâtre de la République and the Théâtre de l'Odéon, and becoming overextended closed the Théâtre Feydeau on 12 April 1801. However, the Opéra-Comique, the Feydeau's chief rival, was also forced to close on 20 July 1801, and it was soon decided to merge the two companies under the name Opéra-Comique, which occurred on 16 September 1801. Since the previous Opéra-Comique's Salle Favart needed repairs, the merged company performed at the Salle Feydeau. Except for a short period from 23 July 1804 to 4 July 1805, when it performed at the Salle Favart and the Salle Olympique, it continued using the Salle Feydeau until 12 April 1829, after which the Salle Feydeau was demolished, and the new Opéra-Comique moved to a newly built theatre, the Salle Ventadour
, opening there on 20 April 1829.
In La fille de Madame Angot
, an opéra-comique
by Charles Lecocq put on on 4 December 1872, the heroine Clairette Angot sings "Didn't you know Mademoiselle Lange, the great actress of the Feydeau?", thus mentioning the Théâtre Feydeau more than forty years after its demolition.
Tuileries Palace
The Tuileries Palace was a royal palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine until 1871, when it was destroyed in the upheaval during the suppression of the Paris Commune...
, then moved to the Salle des Variétés at the Foire Saint-Germain, and finally, beginning in 1791, settled into its own custom-built theatre, the Salle Feydeau located on the Rue Feydeau. The company was renamed Feydeau after the royal family was arrested during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. It first presented Italian opera
Italian opera
Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was born in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. Many famous operas in Italian were written by foreign composers,...
by composers such as Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi was an Italian composer, violinist and organist.-Biography:Born at Iesi, Pergolesi studied music there under a local musician, Francesco Santini, before going to Naples in 1725, where he studied under Gaetano Greco and Francesco Feo among others...
, Giuseppe Sarti
Giuseppe Sarti
Giuseppe Sarti was an Italian opera composer.-Biography:He was born at Faenza. His date of birth is not known, but he was baptised on 1 December 1729. Some earlier sources say he was born on 28 December, but his baptism certificate proves the later date impossible...
, and Giovanni Paisiello
Giovanni Paisiello
Giovanni Paisiello was an Italian composer of the Classical era.-Life:Paisiello was born at Taranto and educated by the Jesuits there. He became known for his beautiful singing voice and in 1754 was sent to the Conservatorio di S. Onofrio at Naples, where he studied under Francesco Durante, and...
and later French plays, vaudevilles
Comédie en vaudeville
The Comédie en vaudeville was a theatrical entertainment which began in Paris towards the end of the 17th century, in which comedy was enlivened though lyrics using the melody of popular vaudeville songs.-Evolution:...
, and opéras comiques
Opéra comique
Opéra comique is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged out of the popular opéra comiques en vaudevilles of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent , which combined existing popular tunes with spoken sections...
, as well as symphonic
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
concerts, and was especially famous for the quality of its orchestra and realistic stagings. The Italian Luigi Cherubini
Luigi Cherubini
Luigi Cherubini was an Italian composer who spent most of his working life in France. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethoven regarded Cherubini as the greatest of his contemporaries....
was the house composer, but the French composers Jean-François Le Sueur
Jean-François Le Sueur
Jean-François Le Sueur was a French composer, best known for his oratorios and operas.-Life:...
, François Devienne
François Devienne
François Devienne was a French composer and professor for flute at the Paris Conservatory.François Devienne was born in Joinville , as the youngest of fourteen children of a saddlemaker...
, and Pierre Gaveaux
Pierre Gaveaux
Pierre Gaveaux was a French operatic tenor and composer, notable for creating the role of Jason in Cherubini's Médée and for composing the first operatic version of the story that later found fame as Fidelio....
were also closely associated with the company. In 1801 it merged with, and took the name of its chief rival, the Opéra-Comique
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian opera company, which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with, and for a time took the name of its chief rival the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...
. Except for a brief period from July 1804 to July 1805 when the merged company performed at the Salle Favart, it continued to perform at the Salle Feydeau until 1829, when it moved to a new theatre, the Salle Ventadour
Salle Ventadour
The Salle Ventadour, a former Parisian theatre in the rue Neuve-Ventadour, now the rue Méhul , was built between 1826 and 1829 for the Opéra-Comique, to designs by Jacques-Marie Huvé, a prominent architect...
. The Salle Feydeau was demolished shortly thereafter.
History
The company was founded on 26 January 1789 by Léonard-Alexis Autier and the violinist and composer Giovanni Battista ViottiGiovanni Battista Viotti
Giovanni Battista Viotti was an Italian violinist whose virtuosity was famed and whose work as a composer featured a prominent violin and an appealing lyrical tunefulness...
and at first used the Salle des Tuileries, which had previously been the Salle des Machines, but had been greatly modified and reduced in size by the architects Jacques-Germain Soufflot
Jacques-Germain Soufflot
Jacques Germain Soufflot was a French architect in the international circle that introduced Neoclassicism. His most famous work is the Panthéon, Paris, built from 1755 onwards, originally as a church dedicated to Sainte Genevieve.- Biography :Soufflot was born in Irancy, near Auxerre.In the 1730s...
and Ange-Jacques Gabriel
Ange-Jacques Gabriel
Ange-Jacques Gabriel was the most prominent French architect of his generation.Born to a Parisian family of architects and initially trained by the royal architect Robert de Cotte and his father , whom he assisted in the creation of the Place Royale at Bordeaux , the younger Gabriel...
for the Paris Opera
Paris Opera
The Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...
in 1763.
On 6 October 1789 Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette moved to the Tuileries Palace
Tuileries Palace
The Tuileries Palace was a royal palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine until 1871, when it was destroyed in the upheaval during the suppression of the Paris Commune...
after being forced to leave Versailles for Paris by rioters. The presence of the royal family at the palace meant that the Théâtre de Monsieur would have to move elsewhere. It was decided that a new theatre would be built on the Rue Feydeau, not far from the Opéra-Comique
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian opera company, which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with, and for a time took the name of its chief rival the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...
's Salle Favart, but in the interim, the company would perform in the Salle des Variétés at the Saint-Germain Fair. The company's last performance at the Tuileries was on 23 December, and it opened at the Salle des Variétés on 10 January 1790 and performed there until 31 December 1790. The new theatre on the Rue Feydeau was in a neoclassical style designed by the architects Jacques Legrand and Jacques Molinos and had a capacity of 1700–1900. The opening there took place on 6 January 1791, when Giuseppe Sarti
Giuseppe Sarti
Giuseppe Sarti was an Italian opera composer.-Biography:He was born at Faenza. His date of birth is not known, but he was baptised on 1 December 1729. Some earlier sources say he was born on 28 December, but his baptism certificate proves the later date impossible...
's 3-act comic opera Le nozze di Dorina
Fra i due litiganti il terzo gode
Fra i due litiganti il terzo gode is a dramma giocoso in two acts by Giuseppe Sarti. The libretto was after Carlo Goldoni's Le nozze ....
was presented.
Upon the Royal Family's return to Paris on 24 June 1791, after its unsuccessful flight
Flight to Varennes
The Flight to Varennes was a significant episode in the French Revolution during which King Louis XVI of France, his wife Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family attempted unsuccessfully to escape from Paris in order to initiate a counter-revolution...
and arrest in Varennes, the Théâtre de Monsieur was officially renamed Théâtre français et italien de la rue Feydeau, then Théâtre français et Opéra-buffa and finally, on 27 January 1795, Théâtre français de la rue Feydeau.
Up to 1791 the repertory had consisted primarily of Italian opera, with additional music added by Cherubini, but now the company turned increasingly to French opéras comiques, competing more directly with the nearby Opéra-Comique company at the Salle Favart. The first important French work was Cherubini
Luigi Cherubini
Luigi Cherubini was an Italian composer who spent most of his working life in France. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethoven regarded Cherubini as the greatest of his contemporaries....
's Lodoïska
Lodoïska
Lodoïska is an opera by Luigi Cherubini to a French libretto by Claude-François Fillette-Loraux after an episode from Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvrai’s novel, Les amours du chevalier de Faublas. It takes the form of a comédie héroïque in three acts, and was a founding work of rescue opera...
, which was premiered on 18 July 1791. This was followed by more French operas by Cherubini, as well as operas by French composers, including Devienne's
François Devienne
François Devienne was a French composer and professor for flute at the Paris Conservatory.François Devienne was born in Joinville , as the youngest of fourteen children of a saddlemaker...
Les visitandines (7 July 1792); Le Sueur's
Jean-François Le Sueur
Jean-François Le Sueur was a French composer, best known for his oratorios and operas.-Life:...
La caverne
La caverne
La caverne, ou Le repentir is an opera in three acts by the French composer Jean-François Le Sueur. It was first performed at the Théâtre Feydeau, Paris on 16 February 1793. The libretto, by Alphonse François "Paul" Palat-Dercy, is based on an episode from Lesage's novel Gil Blas...
(16 February 1793), Paul et Virginie (13 January 1794), and Télémaque (10 May 1796); and Gaveaux's
Pierre Gaveaux
Pierre Gaveaux was a French operatic tenor and composer, notable for creating the role of Jason in Cherubini's Médée and for composing the first operatic version of the story that later found fame as Fidelio....
Léonore, ou L'amour conjugal (19 February 1798). The last was the model for Beethoven's Fidelio
Fidelio
Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
. In general, opera alternated evenings with spoken drama, presented by a separate company of actors.
The theatre became one of the meeting-places for counter-revolutionaries
French Counter-Revolution
The French Counter-Revolution was a period in the history of France where certain individuals, groups and nations openly opposed the French Revolution.- Causes :During the early stages of the French Revolution many were not content with the status of France...
. Like many theatres of the Revolutionary period, it was frequently banned. However, it re-opened for good on 2 April 1796, becoming one of the most appreciated theatres in Paris. Talma
François-Joseph Talma
François Joseph Talma was a French actor.He was born in Paris. His father, a dentist, moved to London, gave him a good English education. He returned to Paris, where for a year and a half he practised dentistry...
produced there from 1798.
Sagaret directed the company from 1795 to 1799, but he also took on the management of two other theatres, the Théâtre de la République and the Théâtre de l'Odéon, and becoming overextended closed the Théâtre Feydeau on 12 April 1801. However, the Opéra-Comique, the Feydeau's chief rival, was also forced to close on 20 July 1801, and it was soon decided to merge the two companies under the name Opéra-Comique, which occurred on 16 September 1801. Since the previous Opéra-Comique's Salle Favart needed repairs, the merged company performed at the Salle Feydeau. Except for a short period from 23 July 1804 to 4 July 1805, when it performed at the Salle Favart and the Salle Olympique, it continued using the Salle Feydeau until 12 April 1829, after which the Salle Feydeau was demolished, and the new Opéra-Comique moved to a newly built theatre, the Salle Ventadour
Salle Ventadour
The Salle Ventadour, a former Parisian theatre in the rue Neuve-Ventadour, now the rue Méhul , was built between 1826 and 1829 for the Opéra-Comique, to designs by Jacques-Marie Huvé, a prominent architect...
, opening there on 20 April 1829.
In La fille de Madame Angot
La fille de Madame Angot
La fille de Madame Angot is an opéra comique in three acts by Charles Lecocq. The French text was by Clairville, Paul Siraudin and Victor Koning.-Performance history:...
, an opéra-comique
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian opera company, which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with, and for a time took the name of its chief rival the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...
by Charles Lecocq put on on 4 December 1872, the heroine Clairette Angot sings "Didn't you know Mademoiselle Lange, the great actress of the Feydeau?", thus mentioning the Théâtre Feydeau more than forty years after its demolition.
Productions
- A revival of The Barber of Seville by Beaumarchais (March 1791).
Premieres
- 1791: LodoïskaLodoïskaLodoïska is an opera by Luigi Cherubini to a French libretto by Claude-François Fillette-Loraux after an episode from Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvrai’s novel, Les amours du chevalier de Faublas. It takes the form of a comédie héroïque in three acts, and was a founding work of rescue opera...
by CherubiniLuigi CherubiniLuigi Cherubini was an Italian composer who spent most of his working life in France. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethoven regarded Cherubini as the greatest of his contemporaries....
(18 July 1791) - 1793: La caverneLa caverneLa caverne, ou Le repentir is an opera in three acts by the French composer Jean-François Le Sueur. It was first performed at the Théâtre Feydeau, Paris on 16 February 1793. The libretto, by Alphonse François "Paul" Palat-Dercy, is based on an episode from Lesage's novel Gil Blas...
by Jean-François Le SueurJean-François Le SueurJean-François Le Sueur was a French composer, best known for his oratorios and operas.-Life:...
(16 February 1793) - 1794: Eliza ou Le voyage aux glaciers du Mont Saint-BernardEliza (Cherubini)Eliza, ou Le voyage aux glaciers du Mont St Bernard is an opéra-comique in two acts by Luigi Cherubini with a French libretto by Jacques-Antoine de Reveroni de Saint-Cyr. It was first performed at the Théâtre Feydeau, Paris on 13 December 1794.Cherubini made great use of local colour in his music...
by Cherubini (13 December 1794) - 1797: MédéeMédée (Cherubini)Médée is a French language opéra-comique by Luigi Cherubini.The libretto by François-Benoît Hoffmann was based on Euripides' tragedy of Medea and Pierre Corneille's play Médée....
by Cherubini (13 March 1797) - 1798: L'hôtellerie portugaiseL'Hôtellerie portugaiseL'Hôtellerie portugaise is an opéra comique in 1 act by composer Luigi Cherubini. The opera uses a French language libretto by Étienne Aignan. The work premiered on 25 July 1798 in Paris at the Théâtre Feydeau.-Roles:...
by Cherubini (25 July 1798) - 1799: La punition by Cherubini (23 February 1799)
- 1800: Les deux journées, ou Le porteur d'eauLes deux journéesLes deux journées, ou Le porteur d'eau is an opera in three acts by Luigi Cherubini with a libretto by Jean-Nicolas Bouilly. It takes the form of an opéra comique, meaning not that the subject matter is humorous, but that the piece is a mixture of spoken dialogue and musical numbers...
by Cherubini (16 January 1800)