Until the 16th century, the
Hôtel de Bourgogne was the name of the
ParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
residence of the Dukes of Burgundy. Today, the last vestige is the Tour Jean sans Peur, 20 rue Étienne Marcel, in the 2nd arrondissement.
Theatre
In 1548, the society of the
Confrères de la Passion et de la Résurrection de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ built a theatre here, on rue Mauconseil (now rue Étienne Marcel) to put on their
mystery playMystery plays and miracle plays are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the representation of Bible stories in churches as tableaux with accompanying antiphonal song...
s. However, the hôtel de Bourgogne was banned from putting on religious pieces by a decree of the parliament of Paris and in exchange the
confrères de la passion won the monopoly on secular drama in Paris, and rented their theatre out to itinerant theatrical troupes.
In 1624,
Pierre Le MessierBellerose, may refer to:*Bellerose, New York, a village in Nassau County**Bellerose **Bellerose Village Municipal Complex*Bellerose, Queens, in New York City*Bellerose Composite High School, St. Albert, Canada...
installed his own troupe at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and in 1628 Valleran Le Conte established his
Troupe royale here thanks to the protection of
Louis XIIILouis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
. The Hôtel de Bourgogne then began to compete with other Parisian troupes little by little. Its
repertoireRepertoire may mean repertory, a system of theatrical production and performance scheduling, but may also refer to:* Musical repertoire* Repertoire Records, a German record label specialising in 1960s and 1970s pop and rock reissues...
was made up of
farceIn theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
s with Turlupin, Gros-Guillaume, Gautier-Garguille, as well as tragedies by
Alexandre HardyAlexandre Hardy was a French dramatist, one of the most prolific of all time. He claimed to have written some six hundred plays, but only thirty-four are extant....
or
Jean RotrouJean Rotrou was a French poet and tragedian.Rotrou was born at Dreux in Normandy. He studied at Dreux and at Paris, and, though three years younger than Pierre Corneille, began writing before him. In 1632 he became playwright to the actors of the Hôtel de Bourgogne...
, and above all those of
Pierre CorneillePierre Corneille was a French tragedian who was one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine...
, when Floridor left the
théâtre du MaraisThe Théâtre du Marais has been the name of several theatres and theatrical troupes in Paris, France. The original and most famous theatre of the name operated in the 17th century. The name was briefly revived for a revolutionary theatre in 1791, and revived again in 1976...
to take up leadership of the Hôtel de Bourgogne in 1647, then of
Jean RacineJean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...
, with major interpreters such as
MontfleuryAntoine Jacob de Montfleury , known as Montfleury, was a French actor and playwright who was a chief rival of Molière.He was the son of Zacharie Jacob, who was the first to adopt Montfleury as a stage name, and had achieved great fame as an actor and playwright himself...
and la Champmeslé.
In 1660, the Comédie-Italienne shared the Hôtel de Bourgogne with the royal troupe for a while. In 1680, the troupe merged with that at the
Hôtel Guénégaud-3rd arrondissement:At 60, rue des Archives, this Hôtel de Guénégaud was built between 1651 and 1655 for Jean-François de Guénégaud des Brosses, secrétaire du Roi, maître des Comptes and conseiller d'État, by François Mansart . It now houses the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature and the Club de la...
. That troupe was already the result of a merger between the actors of the
théâtre du MaraisThe Théâtre du Marais has been the name of several theatres and theatrical troupes in Paris, France. The original and most famous theatre of the name operated in the 17th century. The name was briefly revived for a revolutionary theatre in 1791, and revived again in 1976...
and of
MolièreJean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
's actors at the
Illustre ThéâtreThe Illustre Théâtre was a French theatre company set up by Molière on 30 June 1643, and shut down less than two years later on his imprisonment in August 1645. However, it is notable for its impact on the history of the French theatre...
, and also (by an edict of
Louis XIV of FranceLouis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
) a single permanent troupe was founded: the
Comédie-FrançaiseThe Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few state theaters in France. It is the only state theater to have its own troupe of actors. It is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris....
.
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