Comédie Française

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Comédie-Française (sometimes Théâtre Français). In conformity with his policy of centralization and prestige, Louis XIV officially founded the Comédie-Française in 1680. It was constituted by the fusion of the Hôtel de Bourgogne and the Théâtre de Guénégaud [see Theatres And Audiences]. Under royal protection, the new company, of 27 members, received the exclusive rights to perform plays in French in and around Paris and, from 1682, an annual grant of 12, 000 livres. In reaction to long-standing ecclesiastical and social disapproval, the actors signed their first act of association (acte de société) in January 1681, thus forming a co-operative responsible for raising money, mainly for building work, and the payment of common debts. They lived on the profits from the sale of theatre places, according to an agreed division into shares (parts). Twice Louis XV agreed to defray their debts, in 1757 and 1766. Over time, the price of government aid has always been increased managerial intervention by the authorities.

The Revolution abolished the company's monopoly in 1791, and political dissension divided the members in 1793, with (most notably) Talma and Dugazon leaving to form the Théâtre de la République at the Palais-Royal, while the remainder stayed at Saint-Germain as the Théâtre de la Nation (closed the same year). In 1799 the company was reunited and moved into the Salle Richelieu. The Comédie still occupies this location, which has several times been extensively modified [for previous locations, see Theatres And Audiences]. Modern technology has enhanced the quality of the theatre; the number of places has, however, gradually been reduced from 1, 900 to 892.

Under Napoleon, the state grant, suppressed in 1790, was restored (1802), and a new acte de société signed in 1804. The company's monopoly was partially restored in 1806. Though the successive political systems of the 19th c. modified the precise terms of the relationship between the company and the state, their basis was laid in the décret de Moscou of 1812. The most significant subsequent ruling was made in 1850, when the provision was introduced for the overall administrator, a post dating from 1847, to be appointed by the appropriate Ministry (then the Ministry of the Interior, now that of Culture). The 19th-c. statutes essentially formed the basis of those introduced in 1946 and modified in 1975.

Today the administrator appoints pensionnaires on an annual contract renewable for up to 10 years. A pensionnaire can be proposed for election as a sociétaire by the general assembly of sociétaires, subject to ministerial ratification. Nearly all the present sociétaires have passed through the Conservatoire, the prestigious actors' training-school, though in practice the choice of actors, like that of plays, is in some measure in the hands of the producers.

Two-thirds of the Comédie's income derives from a state grant, but its artisitic independence is still preserved. It has been described as ‘une troupe au service d'un répertoire’. This formula emphasizes the unique function it has acquired from the mid-18th c. onwards of defining and preserving the nation's dramatic heritage, in terms first of the works performed, and secondly of the style of presentation. The history of the Comédie-Française has been closely identifiable with that of French dramatic literature. The Salle Richelieu hosts more than 400 performances a year. Of the 2, 500 plays performed in the first 300 years of its existence, some 2, 000 were créations (i.e. first performances in France, in French), representing the work of over 875 authors. The most frequently staged play was Tartuffe.

[John Dunkley]