Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-11-20
THEATRE FRANCAIS.
CELEBRATING THE TWO HUNDREDTH
ANNIVERSARY OF A THEATER.
The Opening Day Of the Moliere-
The Bonapartist Party and
Its Troubles-Etc.
PARIS, October a. 1880.

PARIS, October "a, 1880.
The Theatre Francois has been en- .tete /;
it has been celebrating since last Thurs
day night the two hundredth anniversary
of its existence, for it was then just two
hundred years the 2lst of October, 1850,
that Louis XIV. signeo and Colbert
contre signed an ordinance for the union
of the two troupes of comediens established
at the Hotel de Bourgogne and in the Rue
de Guenegaud at Paris. 1t was from the
moment of the coalition of the two troupes
that they played every day, for until then
| they had played but three times week
Tuesday. Friday and Sunday. That
which may astonish those superstitious in
regard to Friday is that Friday was the
day of porte-bonhem, and the one which
was chosen for the first representation of
the pieces.
THE THEATRE FRANCAIS
Seems the embodiment of Meliere, since it
was he who was actor and director of his
theater and it was his pieces which were
played. In more than one respect do we
find great analogy between the lives and
talents of Moliere and Shakespeare. AL
though at the present time Corneille and
Racine find each their place, yet is it the
house of Moliere, and the entire talented
troupe have done their utmost that the
spirit of the great comedian may feel at
home. Times have indeed changed dur
ing his lifetime Moliere did not even have
foretaste of the honor and glory which
awaited him in the future, for he was
nothing more to his king, the roi soleit,
than sort of fool or buffoon created to
amuse him and make him laugh. Aside
from the "Fourberies de Scapin and the
"Medecin Malgre Cui," all his pieces
of buffoonery were written for the
court, whereas all his serious COM
edies were first offered to the
public. Moliere, through his just and witty
criticisms of the customs of his time, Gre
ated many enemies, who attacked him on
all sides, not only as writer and come
dian, but outraged him as husband. At
last he begged from the King the permits
sion to defend himself, which the King
deigned to accord. The defense of Mo-
liere was the Impromptu." When
Louis XIV. deigned to permit Moliere to
defend himself the royalists were in &C.
stacy and exclaimed, "What a grand
King Oh, monarchy, the protector of
letters y But one rather becomes indig-
nant at the idea that Moliere, outraged
and illuminated, should have needed that
permission should be accorded to MIN to
defend himself. Such was the protector OF
| 4 10 IL Car,a,1la 20
remain poor and neglected. As to Mo-
| liere, so long as he lived and could amuse
him, Louis XIV. took his part just as you
would become angry at kick given to
your dog, but Moliere had no sooner died
and was incapable of producing another
ballet than Louis XIV. allowed the priests
| to throw him on the roadside like a carrion,
and it was only by force of prayers that
| they could extract from him little earth.
Marauises were extended in front of the
entrance of the Theatre Francois, COM
posed of
OLD TAPESTRY AND FLOWERS,
And decorations extended far into the
vestibule. The public seemed to compre-
bend the solemnity of this elevated liter
ary manifestation and presented them
selves in the grande tenue which such an
occasion required, and it was almost re-
ligiously the chet.d'9uUre OF Moliere was
listened to. The "Misanthrope was the
first piece on the programme, when Mr..
Delaunay took possession, as valnquer, OF
the almost inapproachable role of the misan-
thropic Alceste. Mr.. Delaunay, they say,
is long past So yet he continues to play
the role of young man at the Theatre
| Francois, since no actor has yet come to
light in France capable of appearing SO
young and of throwing into his actions the
same ardor and charm of youth. On see-
ing him play it is impossible to realize that
he is not young man, just as it was
almost impossible to realize years ago that
Edwin Booth was not an old man when he
PLAYED Richelieu. Mile. Croizette took
possession of her accustomed role of Cell
meme, more elegantly dressed than ordinary,
when the footlights paled before the brill
| fancy of the diamonds she wore. She
really appeared the adorable and perfidious
Celimene, who, with a glance of her eye or
stroke of her fan, overthrow the misan-
! thropic views of the gloomy Alceste.
THE "IMPRoMPTU DE VERSAILLES
Was played, as the title indicates, first at
Versailles, but the exact date is not known.
Thursday, the 18th of October, 1868,
Moliere's troupe, which still belonged to
Monsieur lit did not belong to the King
until after August, 1869, was called to Ver-
sailles. They played from the 18th to the
23d, and the pieces represented were,
"L,e Prince Jaloux," "Sertorius, "" fEcole
des Maris," Les Facheux,'' "rIm-
promptu, z" LIE Dept Amoureux, and once
more "Le Prince Jaloux." For all that
the King had his first valet de chambre,
Bontemps, give the troupe $500 livres.
"L' Impromptu was played at Paris for
the first time on Sunday, the 4th of No
vember, and the curiosity was so great to
see it that it was played nineteen times in
succession. There were, besides, two other
representations, one at the house OF the
Marechal de Grammont, who gave $50
livres, another at the Hotel Condo, where
the troupe were hidden on the occasion of
the marriage of the Duke, and where they
played "FImpromptu, and the . Crltlque
de l'Ecole des Femmes, for which they re-
ceived 400 livres. On Thursday,
THE OPENING NIGHT,
The audience was composed of all that
Paris contains of illustrious in literature
and art, all political and scientific celebri-
ties, and the ladies present had come as to
grand fete or ball, and had adorned
themselves for the occasion in diamonds
and flowers. The President of the Re-
public and all his Ministers were present
and in baignoire could be discerned Gam
BETA. In the back part of one
of the front boxes Victor Hugo
could be seen; he had received a
special invitation from Mr.. Perrin, the
director of the Theater Francois, to be
present on that evening, and the author of
"Hernani departed from his usual habit
of retiring early to attend this grand occa-
sion. The letter he wrote in answer to
Mr.. PERKINS, invitation is SO characteristic
of the great poet that it may be pardon