COMÉDIE FRANÇAISE,édieFranç kō'mā-dē'
frän'sāz' the official name of the national theatre
of France which is supported by public funds
for the purpose of advancing dramatic art. It
was long known popularly as “La Maison de
Molière,” or Molière's Theatre, even after it
had become, by royal decree in 1680, a national
institution; and the two great bodies of actors
then in Paris, those acting at the Hotel de
Bourgogne Theatre and those at the Génégaud
Theatre, had been united and fused into
one body. The former, which was Molière's
dramatic institution, had originally been an old
theatre where miracle plays had been presented
as early as 1543. Thus the Comédie Française
may be said to have an unbroken tradition
reaching back to the days of Molière, and to
have had theatre connections for more than a
century previous to the death of the great
dramatist in 1673. Two years after the
amalgamation of the dramatic companies they
received a royal grant of 12,000 livres ($2,400) per year; and seven years later they took, for the first, their present designation of players of the “Comédie Française.” From 1770 to 1782 the “Comédie” had quarters in the royal palace of the Tuileries. But the Revolution of 1789 divided the players of the “Comédie Française” into two strongly antagonistic political parties and disrupted the organization to such an extent that all public performances were suspended. Each party reorganized, some months later, as an independent theatrical organization, the Royalists taking the name “Théâtre de la Nation” and the Republicans that of “Théâtre de la République.” In 1793 the former theatre closed its doors and the players were arrested by the Committee of Public Safety; but they were subsequently released and allowed to again open their theatre. Napoleon, in 1812, issued regulations for the government
of the national theatre, which are still, with
some subsequent modifications, in force. The
government appoints a general manager of
the theatre, the members of the stock company
of which divide the profits according to laws
and regulations prescribed by the articles of
incorporation of the organization. The
“Comédie Française” receives from the French
government an annual pension of 240,000 francs. Its membership is divided into “sociétaires” and “pensionnaires.” The former are regular members of the organization and as such receive a pension of 4,000 francs a year after 20 years of service, while the latter are paid actors who may, after a certain length of service, become “sociétaires.”
The building of the “Comédie Française” was so badly damaged by fire in 1900 that it had to be practically rebuilt. This resulted in making the edifice much more modern in every way. The names of nearly all the great actors and dramatists of France have, at some time in their career, been associated with that of the “Comédie.”
Bibliography. — Bonnassies, J., ‘La Comedie
Française, histoire administrative’ (Paris
1874); Cochrane, ‘The Théâtre Français in
the Reign of Louis XV’ (London 1879); Etienne and Martainville, ‘Histoire du Théatre Français’ (Paris 1802); Hawkins, F. W., ‘The French Stage in the Eighteenth Century’ (London 1888); Joannides, ‘La Comédie Française 1680 à 1900’ (Paris 1901); Lucas, ‘Histoire philosophique et littéraire du Théâtre Français’ (Paris 1862); Pougin, A., ‘Dictionnaire historique et pittoresque du théâtre’ (Paris 1888); Rigal, Eugène, ‘Les Théâtres de Paris 1548 à 1635’ (Paris 1887); Soubies, A., ‘Almanach des Spectacles’ (1890); Weiss, ‘Autour de la Comédie Française’ (Paris 1892).