Mlle Marthe

Last updated

Mlle Marthe (d. after 1783), was a French stage actress and theatre director, active in Saint-Domingue.

Marthe was originally engaged as an actress and singer at the Comédie du Cap in Cap-Francais, which was founded in 1764. The name of Mlle Marthe is associated with the foundation of theatre in Saint-Marc. That city was at the time the second largest city of Saint-Domingue, which was known for its great theatrical interest. In 1767, the first theatre play was staged in a temporary barracks hall at Saint-Marc by the actors Charron and Goulart from Comédie du Cap, and a permanent playhouse with 400 seats was built. A Monsieur Duval was originally named director for the Comédie de Saint-Marc, but Marthe bought the concession and took the position of director of the theatre herself. She managed the theatre in association with a female assistant and co-director, the actress Mlle Francheville. This business arrangement between two women in the theatre world was unique, [1] but several women were to become known for their influence within the theatre world in Saint-Domingue, such as Madame Acquaire, director of the theatre of Petit-Gouave (1770s), and Madame Case, co-director with her spouse of the theatre in Les Cayes (1785).

The 1770 Port-au-Prince earthquake razed the theatre to the ground during a performance of Rousseau's le Devin du Village. Marthe's sponsors immediately financed the building of a new playhouse, and in the meantime the directors continued to schedule the comedies and light operas in a large tent. The new Comédie de Saint-Marc was inaugurated in 1773, with 500 seats ninety feet in length, fifty feet in width, with two ranks of loges (it was burned by order of Jean-Jacques Dessalines in 1802).

She performed in the operas L'Ami de la maison by Gretry (1778), La Fee Urgele by Duni (1781), Les trois Fermiers by Monvel-Dezede, and a concert at the Comédie de Port-au-Prince in 1783.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comédie-Française</span> State theatre in Paris, France

The Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state theatre in France to have its own permanent troupe of actors. The company's primary venue is the Salle Richelieu, which is a part of the Palais-Royal complex and located at 2, Rue de Richelieu on Place André-Malraux in the 1st arrondissement of Paris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Françoise Elisabeth Lange</span> French actress

Anne Françoise Elisabeth Lange was a French actress of the Comédie-Française and a "Merveilleuse" of the French Directory. Her stage name was Mademoiselle Lange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaston Baty</span> French playwright and theater director (1885–1952)

Gaston Baty, whose full name was Jean-Baptiste-Marie-Gaston Baty, was a French playwright and theatre director. He was born in Pélussin, Loire, France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">François-Thomas-Marie de Baculard d'Arnaud</span> French writer, playwright, poet and novelist

François-Thomas-Marie de Baculard d'Arnaud was a French writer, playwright, poet and novelist. His series of novellas Les Épreuves du sentiment inspired Bellini's opera Adelson e Salvini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles de Wailly</span> French architect (1730–1798)

Charles de Wailly was a French architect and urbanist, and furniture designer, one of the principals in the Neoclassical revival of the Antique. His major work was the Théâtre de l'Odéon for the Comédie-Française (1779–82). In his designs, de Wailly showed a predilection for the perfect figure, the circle.

Minette et Lise was a sister couple of two stage artists, active in Saint Domingue in Pre-revolutionary Haiti. They consisted of Elisabeth Alexandrine Louise Ferrand, stage name "Minette" and Lise. They have become known as Minette et Lise.

Jeanne-Marie Marsan, born Chapiseau, was a French dramatic actress and an opera singer, active in France and Germany in Europe, in the French West Indies and Louisiana. She was the leading actress and opera singer in Saint-Domingue, and later in the first theatre in New Orleans in Louisiana.

Theatre de la Rue Saint Pierre or Le Spectacle de la Rue Saint Pierre, was the first (French-speaking) theatre in New Orleans in Louisiana, active in 1792-1810. It opened in 1792 and was known to the Spanish-speaking citizens as El Coliseo and to the French-speaking citizens, La Salle Comedie. It was described as a small building of native lumber near the center of the city. It was located on the uptown side of St. Peter Street between Royal and Bourbon Streets, in what is now called the French Quarter.

Jean Baptiste Fontaine, né Le Sueur, was a French actor and theatre director. He was director of the theatre Comédie du Cap in Cap-Francais and an actor and newspaper editor in New Orleans. He was known under his stage name Fontaine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hôtel de Bourgogne (theatre)</span>

Hôtel de Bourgogne was a theatre, built in 1548 for the first authorized theatre troupe in Paris, the Confrérie de la Passion. It was located on the rue Mauconseil, on a site that had been part of the residence of the Dukes of Burgundy. The most important French theatre until the 1630s, it continued to be used until 1783, after which it was converted to a leather market and eventually totally demolished.

The Quinault family were French actors, active in the first half of the 18th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeanne Quinault</span> French actress, playwright and salon hostess (1699–1783)

Jeanne Quinault was a French actress, playwright and salon hostess.

Berthe Jalabert was a French stage and film actress. She was the daughter of the actor, theatre director, and playwright Louis Péricaud (1835-1909).

Comédie du Cap was a theater in Cap-Français in Saint-Domingue, active from 1740 to 1793; from 1764 as a public theater. It is regarded as a prototype for the theaters in Saint-Domingue, were theater were immensely popular.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Marquet</span> French actress

Mary Marquet was a French stage and film actress.

Claude Winter was a French stage and film actress.

The Comédie de Port-au-Prince, also called Salle Mesplés, was a theater in Port-au-Prince in Saint-Domingue, active from 1778 to 1791.

Madame Acquaire also known as Mlle Babet, was a French stage actress and theatre director, active in Saint-Domingue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madame Gonthier</span> French actress and lyrical artist

Rose Françoise Carpentier called Madame Gonthier 7 December 1829, was a French actress and lyrical artist.

References

  1. John G. Cale, French Secular Music in Saint-Domingue (1750-1795) Viewed as a Factor in America's Musical Growth , Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College, 1971