I INTRODUCTION
Comédie Française, officially Théâtre Français, also called La Maison de Molière, the state-subsidized national theater of France, one of France’s most influential and cherished cultural institutions. It is greatly respected for the high quality of its repertoire, productions, and dramatic training. Among the outstanding artists associated with the Comédie Française during its two centuries of existence have been Marie Champmeslé, Adrienne Lecouvreur, François Joseph Talma, Rachel, Sarah Bernhardt, and Jean-Louis Barrault.
II HISTORY
The Comédie Française was established by the union of three important Parisian acting companies. In 1673, after the death of the French playwright Molière, his company, the Illustre Théâtre, united with a rival company, the Théâtre du Marais, and began performing at the Théâtre du Guénégaud. In 1680, under a charter from King Louis XIV, the Guénégaud merged with the oldest Parisian company, the Comédiens du Roy from the Hôtel de Burgundy (the troupe that staged the tragedies of the French playwright Jean Baptiste Racine under his own direction). The united company was granted a monopoly on all new productions of French-language plays. It became known as the Comédie Française to distinguish it from the Comédie Italienne, the commedia dell’arte troupe that took over the vacated Hôtel de Burgundy. The Comédie Française began at the Guénégaud but subsequently occupied several well-known theaters. In 1689 it was displaced and moved to a theater on a street eventually known as the rue de l’Ancienne Comédie. In 1770 it moved to a location in the Tuileries, and in 1789 the Théâtre de l’Odéon was built for it on the left bank of the Seine River. During the French Revolution the company split into two factions; the politically liberal faction, under Talma, moved to the company’s present location in the rue de Richelieu. The Odéon burned down in 1799, and in 1803 the company was reunited in the rue de Richelieu under a charter from Napoleon. In 1816 a rival company was formed and occupied a rebuilt Théâtre de l’Odéon, becoming the second ranking theater in France. During various periods in the 19th century and for several years following World War II, the Odéon (now called the Théâtre du Luxembourg) and the Comédie Française were united under one management. The loss of its monopoly on new productions led the Comédie Française in the 19th century to develop its reputation for staging classical French plays by writers such as Racine, Molière, and Pierre Corneille; but it also staged important new works, such as plays by Alexandre Dumas (both father and son) in the 19th century and Eugène Ionesco in the 20th century. In the 20th century it also produced film and television works.
III ORGANIZATION
The Comédie Française has historically had a state-appointed administrator. Its internal organization, however, is essentially that of Molière’s company, which in turn was adopted from the organization of a 15th-century Parisian actors’ guild. Young probationers join the company first as pensionnaires, or salaried members. From their ranks are chosen sociétaires, or full members. The sociétaires are shareholders who make major artistic and budget decisions, divide the profits according to certain rules, and are entitled to retire with an annual pension after 20 years of service.
