Comédie-Italienne
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Comédie-Italienne or Théâtre-Italien are French names which have been used to refer to Italian-language theatre and opera when performed in France.
The earliest recorded visits by Italian players were commedia dell'arte companies employed by the French court under the Italian-born queens Catherine de Medici and Marie de Medici. These troupes also gave public performances in Paris at the theatre of the Hôtel de Bourgogne, probably the earliest public theatre to be built in France.
The first official use of the name Comédie-Italienne was in 1680, when it was given to the commedia dell'arte troupe at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, to distinguish it from the French troupe, the Comédie-Française, which was founded that year, and just as the name Théâtre-Français was commonly applied to the latter, Théâtre-Italien was used for the Italians. Over time French phrases, songs, whole scenes, and eventually entire plays were incorporated into the Comédie-Italienne's performances. By 1762 the company was merged with the Opéra-Comique, but the names Comédie-Italienne and Théâtre-Italien continued to be used, even though the repertory soon became almost exclusively French opéra-comique. The names were dropped completely in 1801, when the company was merged with the Théâtre Feydeau.
From 1801 to 1878, Théâtre-Italien was used for a succession of Parisian opera companies performing Italian opera in Italian. In 1980 the name La Comédie-Italienne was used for a theatre in the Montparnasse district of Paris, which presents Italian commedia dell'arte plays in French translation.
Venues of the 19th-century Théâtre-Italien
| Theatre<ref>The information in the table is from Wild 1989, pp. 194–209; Charlton, 1992, pp. 867, 870–871.</ref> | Dates used | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Salle Olympique | 31 May 1801 – 13 January 1802 | Located on the rue de la Victoire.<ref>Barbier (1995), pp. 174–175.</ref> |
| Salle Favart (1st) | 17 January 1802 – 19 May 1804 | |
| Salle Louvois | 9 July 1804 – 12 June 1808<ref>Charlton, 1992, p. 867, gives the date 4 August 1808.</ref> | |
| Template:Nowrap beginSalle de l'Odéon (2nd)Template:Nowrap end | 16 June 1808 – 30 September 1815 | |
| Salle Favart (1st) | 2 October 1815 – 20 April 1818 | |
| Salle Louvois | 20 March 1819 – 8 November 1825 | |
| Salle Favart (1st) | 12 November 1825 – 14 January 1838 | Destroyed by fire 14 January 1838. |
| Salle Ventadour | 30 January 1838 – 31 March 1838 | |
| Template:Nowrap beginSalle de l'Odéon (3rd)Template:Nowrap end | October 1838 – 31 March 1841 | |
| Salle Ventadour | 2 October 1841 – 28 June 1878 | Final performance 28 June 1878. |
The modern Comédie-Italienne
The present-day theatre is La Comédie Italienne, situated on the Template:Interlanguage link multi, where it was established in 1980 by the director Attilio Maggiulli.
