Inauguration1782

Former names: Théâtre-Français (1782-1789)

National Theater (1789-1793)

Equality Theater (1794-1796)

Odeon Theater (1796-1799)

Theater of the Empress and Queen (1808-1818)

Odéon - Second Theater-French (1819-1853)

Imperial Odeon Theater (1853-1870)

National Odeon Theater (1871-)

The National Theater of the Odeon, called since Mars 1990 Odeon-Théâtre de l'Europe, 

is a Parisian public theater located place de l'Odéon (6th arrondissement), inaugurated in 1782

 to welcome the troupe of the Théâtre-Français.

Since September 1971, the Odéon has been one of the five national theatres.

Architecturally, it is an Italian-style theater (cubic-shaped stage and semi-circular hall) and the exterior is neoclassical in style. It has been classified as a historical monument since October 7, 1947.

Its history has been punctuated by a few events: two fires (1799 and 1818), but also the creation of the Marriage of Figaro in 1784, and, more recently, the direction of Jean-Louis Barrault as well as the occupation of the premises during events. of May 1968.

The first room (1782-1799)

On March 26 Mars 1770, a decree of the King's Council ordered the execution of the site on the grounds of the garden of the Prince of Condé's hotel, which the latter wished to get rid of in order to settle in the Bourbon Palace.

Two other projects were then developed: that of the architects of the Menus-Plaisirs du Roi, Denis-Claude Liégeon and Jean Damun, supported by the troupe of the Comédiens-Français, and that of the architect of the city of Paris, Pierre-Louis Moreau -Desproux. But Peyre and de Wailly won definitively in the autumn of 1778, thanks to the protection of Monsieur, the king's brother, and the Comte d'Angiviller, director general of the King's Buildings.

The location of the theater is very slightly modified compared to the initial project, so as to bring it closer to the Luxembourg Palace, residence of Monsieur, brother of the King, so that it is "a new pleasure for their home". Faced with the opposition of the Comédiens-Français, the Parliament of Paris told them 

"that we would take away their privileges and pensions and form another troop, 

if they persisted in their opposition.

Architecture and urbanism

Work began in May 1779. Peyre is mainly responsible for the exteriors and Wailly for the interiors. The exterior is of a sobriety that borders on austerity. Inspired by Palladio, the original façade is flanked by pavilions linked by an arch, as at the Villa Pisani. With a semi-circular plan, the theater hall was the first "Italian style" hall with an orchestra (then called the parterre) with benches, whereas until then the public had attended the performance standing up. This innovation, which responds to new theories concerning the architecture of theatres, is strongly criticized.

The building is also designed as the focal point of a new district, also laid out according to the plans of Peyre and Wailly: a cluster of five streets (rue Racine, rue Casimir-Delavigne, rue de la Comédie - today l'Odéon -, Crébillon and Regnard) converge on the stage of the theater and end in a vast semi-circular square, which serves and enhances the building. This district offers remarkable traffic and parking facilities for the time.

The theater until 1789

The troupe of the Comédie-Française moved into its new walls on February 16, 1782 and the hall was inaugurated by Queen Marie-Antoinette on April 9.

On April 27, 1784, Le Mariage de Figaro de Beaumarchais was premiered by Dazincourt,

 always in front of Queen Marie Antoinette and the court.

The comedian Talma made his debut there on November 21, 1787.

The period of the Revolution

In 1791, the ban by Louis XVI of the play by Marie-Joseph Chénier Charles IX, provoked a conflict between the actors loyal to the king and those favorable to the Republic, which led to the departure of the latter in April 1791, led by François-Joseph Talma, for the new auditorium of the Théâtre de la République (the current Comédie-Française) at the Palais-Royal. Georges Danton is said to have said: “If Figaro killed the nobility, Charles IX will kill royalty. »

Most of them arrested during the Terror, the actors who remained at the Théâtre de la Nation were finally freed with the fall of Maximilien de Robespierre, and returned to their theater in August 1794, which had since become the "Théâtre de l'Égalité", for performances given "by and for the people" (decree of March 10 Mars 1794), in a room transformed by the destruction of the boxes into an egalitarian amphitheater hung with blue-white-red draperies. But the dissensions in the troupe lead to the closing of the theater at the end of December 1794. The royalists in rebellion against the National Convention held their meetings there. It reopened on July 13, 1796, under the direction of the entertainment company Dorfeuille & Cie, renamed "Odéon", in reference to the odeons of ancient Greece, and with the idea of ​​creating "a dramatic school regeneration of art”. In October 1797 it is the bankruptcy. Dorfeuille will have left only one name, however inappropriate. Charles-Barnabé Sageret bought out the lease on June 1, 1798. He already runs two theaters, the Théâtre Feydeau and the Théâtre de la République, and plans to reconstitute the troupe of the Comédiens-Français by bringing together the three theaters, the actors playing there alternately. Faced with the rhythm of the performances, the actors revolted against their director in mid-January 1799. Following the fire that occurred on March 18 Mars 1799, all the actors gathered in the only room of the Comédie-Française, rue de Richelieu.

The second room (1808-1818)

The third room (since 1819)

The year 1827, under the direction of Thomas Sauvage, will see the triumph of a troupe of English actors who will make Berlioz say “Shakespeare, falling on me unexpectedly, struck me down. I recognized the true greatness, the true beauty, the true dramatic truth... I live... I understood... I felt... 

that I was alive and that I had to get up and walk”.

During the days of the "Trois Glorieuses", in July 1830, the theater is at the center

 of the revolutionary youth uprising. 

In 1832, the connecting arches on the side streets were demolished. The two side buildings are sold and no longer belong to the theatre.

In 1848, Victor Hugo wrote: “The Odéon is still deserted. According to him, “putting a theater in a 

deserted neighborhood that we want to enliven and imagine that we will bring the public there, it is as if we imagined that by placing a fish on the ground somewhere, we will bring water there . Especially, he adds, as the Faubourg Saint-Germain no longer attracts the Parisian population, which prefers the Tuileries, the Palais-Royal, the “Boulevard de Gand” [today Boulevard des Italiens].

Sarah Bernhardt had made her debut at the Odéon in the role of Aricie in Racine's Phèdre given for the Emperor's Day on August 15, 1866. But it was in 1869, in a short act by François Coppée, Le Passant, 

that she enters, under the costume of the "Florentine singer", into her glorious career. In 1870, during the siege of Paris, it obtained authorization from the Ministry of War to install a military ambulance in the foyer of the theatre. The Republic proclaimed, the Odéon reopens its doors. In 1872, Sarah Bernhardt triumphed in Ruy Blas by Victor Hugo, before joining the Comédie-Française. Charles de Chilly, director of the theatre, dies while celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the play. Félix Duquesnel succeeds him.

Concerns for comfort and safety occupied the last quarter of the 19th century: the stage and the auditorium were heated by two huge heaters, the foyers were adorned with portraits of actors, busts and medallions; an evacuation terrace is being built for the public. Duquesnel distinguished himself by the creation of new plays and the support for young authors, thus justifying the validity of the state subsidy, “the only guarantee against the temptations of easily lucrative businesses”; it also inaugurates the classic Sunday afternoon matinees.

The triumph of the reign of Paul Porel (appointed in 1884), a complete and charismatic man of the theatre, was the creation in 1885 of L'Arlésienne by Alphonse Daudet to music by Georges Bizet with the orchestra Édouard Colonne, a show which will bail out the theater's coffers for fifty years, in each difficult period.

Direction :

1892-1896: Emile Marck and Emile Desbeaux

1896: Paul Ginisty and André Antoine who resigns

1896-1906: Paul Ginisty

1906-1914: André Antoine

In 1907, under the direction of André Antoine, the theater had 1400 seats. “The second French Theater must be an instrument of teaching and literary education. I want to make it one of those scenes with a vast repertoire populated by the greatest works. Finally I will find there a field of experiments for the direction, the interpretation, the lightings, the figuration... Antoine creates a reading committee to build a modern repertoire. During the 7 years of his management, the founder of the Théâtre Libre 

will impose himself as the great figure of the official theatre.

Paul Gavault succeeds Antoine until 1921, throughout the duration of the war he will endeavor to preserve the activity of the theater and the salaries of the artists.

Appointed in 1921, Firmin Gémier endeavored to modernize the building in accordance with his artistic concerns: new electric organ play and removal of the banister.

 He does not give up his activities as an actor, however, his interpretation of Shylock in The Merchant of Venice will remain legendary. Instigator of the Théâtre National Populaire since 1920 and founder of the Société Universelle du Théâtre, his concern will always be to accompany developments in the theater in France, to open up the repertoire to new plays by living authors, as well as to foreign classics. Finally on the public side, Gémier widens the series of subscriptions and seeks to maintain the cheapest prices in Paris.

Paul Abram will assist Gémier in the direction of the theater from 1925 and will succeed him in February 1930

 until 1940. He leads the Odéon troupe on tours in the suburbs, in the provinces and abroad, as far as Eastern Europe. During the Second World War, Paul Abram was ousted from the management because of his Jewish origins. The Odéon experienced a succession of temporary directors: Jacques Copeau, Pierre Aldebert, René Rocher and very temporarily Armand Salacrou with Jean-Louis Barrault.

The direction of Jean-Louis Barrault, from 1959 to 1968, left a memorable mark. José Berghmans, in charge of the musical direction, composed several incidental music, notably for Numance by Miguel de Cervantes, adapted by Jean Cau and directed by Barrault, and presented at the Avignon festival then at the Odéon in 1965. In addition to Claudel, Barrault displayed the works of Ionesco (Rhinocéros in 1960), Beckett (Oh les beaux jours in 1963), Billetdoux (It is necessary to pass through the clouds in 1964) or Duras (Whole days in the trees in 1965) edited by himself, Jean-Marie Serreau or Roger Blin. The troupe goes on tour all over the world and the Odéon hosts the creations of the Théâtre des Nations. In 1965, Malraux inaugurated André Masson's ceiling, a flamboyant evocation of mythical figures borrowed from Aeschylus, Kleist, Shakespeare and Claudel.

In May 1968, the Odéon was opened to students during the protest (Jean-Louis Barrault welcoming the protesting students by declaring: "Barrault is no longer the director of this theater, but an actor like the others, Barrault is dead »9) and the theater saw a month of turbulent occupation which ended up costing Jean-Louis Barrault his place, abandoned by André Malraux. These events left a damaged theater that remained closed for several months for repairs.

The Odéon became the “Théâtre National” in September 1971. In addition to the performances of a truly audacious contemporary repertoire by the troupe of the Comédie-Française, an important place is given to the troupes of decentralization, to the major foreign companies and to the JEUNE Théâtre National. The end of the season is devoted to recordings of Comédie-Française performances for television. Pierre Dux and Jean-Pierre Miquel, then Jacques Toja took over as director. A 1978 decree officially places the Odéon under the administration of a Director who is none other than the General Administrator of the Comédie-Française.

It was not until June 1, 1990 that the Odéon truly regained its independence from the Comédie-Française, by decree. It then took the name of "Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe", in homage to the project of the Théâtre de l'Europe developed at the Odéon by Giorgio Strehler from June 1983.