French theater in Portugal in the 19th century, a certain relational

asymmetry

Graa Dos Santos

Key-words: theater, circulation, influences and exchanges, France/Portugal

1 A natural supremacy

In fact, loving Portugal means loving an emanation from the genius of old France, it means
loving something about our fatherland, always triumphant thanks to its science, literature and
art1. This complex-free uttered statement was made during a conference entitled o Portugal
heroico (Heroic Portugal), presented at Sorbonne University in Paris, in 1912. These words,
coming from a certain Madame Jane Dieulafoy may sound strange today, considering that the
linguistic and cultural influence in Portugal is completely Anglo-Saxon. This current
Portuguese penchant for the Anglophone world, to which France itself has succumbed, is very
common in the 21st century. This swing almost makes one think of a boomerang effect. For
all practical purposes, the evident naturality of the conference speaker at the beginning of the
last century calls to mind the time when Gallic power, armed with proud confidence in the
political, economic and cultural mission of a France that was sure of itself and its values, 2
appeared to be recurrent. And this supremacy used to appear perfectly natural in Lisbon,
where the most marked influences originated from France. Newspapers, conservative and
republican alike, published columns on Parisian life. In that way, the fashionable vocabulary
adopted the French version and words like tailleur, capeline, toilette, toque, and aigrette,
among many other examples, flourished in the national press, while the importation of hats
from Paris, and their arrival in Lisbon, were advertised with strong advertising appeal.3 The
titles of several articles in Illustrao Portuguesa (Portuguese Illustration) speak for

1
Daniel-Henri Pageaux, 1984, Imagens de Portugal na cultura Francesa, Lisbon, Instituto de Cultura e Lngua
Portuguesa, Biblioteca breve, p. 49.
2
Claude Hagge, 2012, Contre la pense unique, Paris, Odile Jacob, p. 9. Although this citation refers to a
reflection by the author from the 2nd decade of the 21st century, we consider it very pertinent in the context of the
beginning of the 20th.
3
Franois Castex, 1999, Mrio de S-Carneiro Lisboa 1890-Paris 1916, Lisbon, Centro Cultural Calouste
Gulbenkian Portugal, Prsences portugaises en France [O procedimento correto, que evita confuses, de
deixar ttulos no idioma original sempre, quando no existem tradues publicadas], p. 24. This work, dedicated
to the life of poet Mrio de S-Carneiro (companion of Fernando Pessoa) who committed suicide in Paris, in
1916, is contained in na interesting collection dedicated to the deep ties established by Portuguese artists with
France and, particularly, with Paris. Each volume, through the life of a single artist is similarly a synthesis about
an era, with gazes being exchanged by both countries.

1
themselves and compete with Estrelas de Paris" (Paris Stars), "Silhuetas parisienses"
(Parisian silhouettes), Uma manh no Bois de Boulogne" (A morning in Bois de Boulogne
Park), "Corridas de cavalos em Paris" (Horse races in Paris), and even "As revistas dos
teatros de Paris" (Paris theater magazines), "As actrizes de Paris, modelos de elegncia
(Parisian actresses, models of elegance), "A moda do teatro (Theater fashion). For the
theater world in the French capital was a favorite subject and numerous articles were
dedicated to it, like the one in 1912 (always in Illustrao Portuguesa) about French
actresses, along with their respective portraits of: Yvonne de Bray, Arlette Dorgre, Marie
Leconte, Monna Delza, Lucienne Guet, Jeanne Provost, Brigitte Rgent, Gaby Boissy,
Mistinguet and Julie Bartet.4 And even in the Parisian Comdia, this striking trait is identified
that unfolds in the very reproduction in Lisbon of Parisian salon schedules, information
obtained by Luiz Braga in the Paris autumn: This is approximately the schedule of Teatro D.
Amlia in Lisbon, with a profile that might be one of the best boulevard theaters. M. Braga
continues to be a dedicated promoter of French art."5

2 The circulation of bodies and ideas

However, in order to better understand the origin and effects of this veritable admiration, it is
first necessary to go back nearly a century, to the period of the Liberal Revolution begun in
Porto, in 1820. This provoked episodes of internal fighting, perhaps civil war, along with
arrest and exile for those whose plume or voice, once again, were not in harmony with the
resulting powers. The oppositions between absolutism and liberalism led to a massive
emigration of intellectuals, especially to France and England. Joo Baptista da Silva Leito de
Almeida Garrett (poet, novelist, playwright and political figure, commonly known as Almeida
Garrett, 1799-1854) was part of the first wave of emigration, in 1823, after the Vilafrancada, a
coup d'tat that put an end to the Constitution of 1822, and was also part of the second, more
significant movement in 1828, after the proclamation of D. Miguel as absolute king.

While in Europe, in general, romanticism was born under a counter-revolutionary reaction, in

Portugal it was connected to the Liberal Revolution; its great romantic writers, Alexandre

4
Ibidem, p. 27.
5
Cited by Franois Castex, Op cit, p. 23.

2
Herculano and Almeida Garrett in particular, were emigrants who became interpreters of the
revolutionary ideals, and considered the literary revolution to be an integral part of the social
revolution. The themes, literary genres, and ideas were imported from abroad and imposed
top-down, and outside-in. But on the other hand we should note the predominance of the
French influence on Portuguese romanticism, with French revolutionary ideology having been
incorporated by the protagonists of romanticism during their emigration6. Therefore, the
century was inscribed under the sign of a circulation of bodies and ideas, to the movements of
the latter, evoked by A.J. Saraiva, the coming and going of the exiles was added. To these
physical movements, we should associate, in the realm of theater, which is what interests
here, the extremely important one of the foreign theater companies that made regular visits to
Portugal. These troupes, for the most part coming from France, Italy and on a smaller scale,
Spain, performed in Lisbon and Porto7. More than just interpreters," these companies actors
were "veritable cultural liaisons, thanks to whom new trends in European theater, new names,
as well as new techniques made their way into Portugal8.

Upon arriving in Lisbon with M. and Mme. Rolland, with M. Charlet and M. Paul, actor with
the Thtre du Gymnase, at the end of December, 1834, mile Doux certainly did not enjoy
the notoriety of a Sarah Bernhardt or a Coquelin to cite just two of the outstanding figures
from the Parisian scene that visited Lisbon, and much later than him at that. Even still, we will
see that his appearance will exert a much greater influence on the Portuguese scene than those
of his two renowned colleagues. Announced in the press as being accompanied by
approximately thirty actors of different genders," and armed with "several utensils necessary
for lighting9," mile Doux directed a company that, similar to dozens of others in France,
survived on tours in the provinces, and sometimes abroad, alone. But this artist, without
appearing to be exceptional, happened to be in the right place at the right time. Indeed, the
civil war between liberals and absolutists had recently come to an end, succeeded by the
restoration of the constitutional monarchy and the rise to the throne of D. Maria II. In 1835, a

6
Antnio Jos Saraiva, 1979, Origens do romantismo em Portugal, in Histria da literatura portuguesa,
Livraria Bertrand, Lisbon, p. 128.
7
Luiz Francisco Rebello, 2008, lempreinte du thtre franais au Portugal au cours du XIX sicle, in YON
Jean-Claude (under the direction of), Le thtre franais ltranger au XIXe sicle. Histoire culturelle dune
suprmatie, Paris, Nouveau Monde Editions. p 342-349.
8
Bernard Martocq, 1983, Du Thtre libre au Teatro livre: lexprience de Manuel Laranjeira, in Actes du
colloque Les rapports culturels et littraires entre le Portugal et la France, Fundao Calouste Gulbenkian
Centre Cultural Portugus, Paris, p. 503. B. Martocq emphasizes the foreign influence exercised on staging, the
stage techniques, but raises questions regarding the real influence these tours of such a short time span could
have on Portuguese dramaturgs, whose most notorious trait, at the turn of the century, was esthetic confusion,
our translation] p. 505.
9
O National, December 30, 1834.

3
Lisbon liberated by D. Pedro's emigrated soldiers was beginning to manifest other preferences
and demonstrate curiosity about cosmopolitan ways of life10. The September 1836 revolution,
with even greater emphasis, made it the order of the day the need to reform and make
appropriate a global, coherent reflection on the cultural sphere11.

3 Theaters role in developing mentalities

Minister Manuel da Silva Passos signed a decree making writer Almeida Garrett responsible
for "drawing up a plan to found and organize a national theater [], which, as a school of
good taste, may contribute towards the civilization and moral improvement of the Portuguese
nation12. The edification of Teatro Nacional D. Maria II (D. Maria II National Theater) in
1846 was accompanied by the creation of the Conservatrio (Conservatory), a dual movement
complimented by the desire to launch a true national theater13. In Portugal, there has never
been theater; not what you could call national theater. [] Theater is a great medium of
civilization; however, it cannot prosper where the latter does not exist. Its products cannot be
sought while tastes do not generate habits and with them, needs14, he said in the introduction
to his own Um auto de Gil Vicente (An Act on Gil Vicente), the inaugural work of romantic
drama in Portugal. These words reveal a way of conceiving theater in its capacity as an art in
which three fundamental elements cannot be disassociated: a space that is appropriate for
hosting properly trained actors; a renewed national repertoire; an audience whose taste must
be improved. It was true political lan that granted theater this role in developing mentalities,
affirming it as a tool for educating the people without neglecting to evoke the ideas of the
enlightenment and of 1789, which would only arrive in Portugal later.

That was exactly what Almeida Garrett reaffirmed in 1842, in the preface to another of the
keystones in the edification of a new repertoire for Portuguese theater, Frei Lus de Sousa
(Friar Lus de Sousa): Todays readers and spectators want stronger pasture, fewer
10
Jos-Augusto Frana, 1999, O romantismo em Portugal, Livros horizonte, 3rd edition, 178.
11
Luiz Francisco Rebello, 1988, Garrett e a reforma do teatro, in Conservatrio nacional 150 anos de ensino
do teatro, Centro de documentao e investigao teatral, ESTC, p. 38.
12
Decree, September 28, 1836, Dirio do Governo, September 29, 1836.
13
After having launched a competition for plays with the goal of renovating the national repertoire Almeida
Garret decided to provide na example, offering to the national theater company (Teatro Normal) a text written
for the occasion: Um auto de Gil Vicente, considered the keystone of Portuguese romantic theater.
J. B. de Almeida Garrett, 1991, Introduo, in Um auto de Gil Vicente, Lisbon, edies Europa Amrica (1st
14

edition, 1841).

4
condiments and heartier; the people want truth. Give them the truth about the past in novels
and historic drama, and in today's novellas, offer them a mirror in which they may see
themselves and their own time, the society which is upon them, below them, at their level -
and the people will in all certainty applaud, because they understand: you need to understand
to appreciate and like something. I have always believed in that; my faith hasnt always been
as clear and explicit as it is today, but it has always been implicit. I wanted to put my theory
to practice and offered The Act of Gil Vicente. As I have written before, I repeat: I have
never appropriated applause from the audience; it was not my drama the audience
applauded, it was the idea, the essence of national drama. 15

It was after having watched one of the shows in the prestigious salons of the European
capitals that Garrett discovered, upon his return to Portugal, the sorry state of theater there.
Some years later, the press drew the picture of the sad reality of Lisbons stages at the time:
[] national theater was isolated in the hangars of Bairro Alto and Beco da Comdia
neighborhoods, [], in those miserable constructions on Salitre and Condes streets; the actors
were drunks without a conscience reciting in a sing-song fashion, without understanding what
a character is; the repertoire was, at best, full of laughable translations of French dramas of
mediocre quality, spiced up with obscenities16. Remember that until the beginning of the
18th century, the stage was forbidden to women and female roles were played by men; on the
other hand, the actors came from the lower classes and had sparse educations, the latter
having gotten their start in theater at parties and during pilgrimages, and having been well
received by those audiences, judged themselves ready to dedicate themselves to the art
without any specific training17." Habituated to reciting in verse, when the text was in prose
their delivery would be unbearable. Adding further to this sad picture, to them the prompter
under the stage was nothing less than a lifesaver, almost a play-back, being their only
resource, since they almost never memorized the script except on rare occasions. Given the
state of things, the rhythm of the performances dragged. There were long, silent interruptions
corresponding to the memory lapses of the protagonists, who would then compensate for the
absence of text by incoherent gesticulation. To this lack of respect for the stage, a mirror
reflection was seen in the audience, which behaved quite poorly.

15
Almeida Garrett, Preface to Frei Lus de Sousa, Vol. VI., Lisbon 1904, (1st edition, 1842).
16
Revista theatral n 44, October 15, 1896.
17
Ana Isabel P. Teixeira de Vasconcelos, 2003, O teatro em Lisboa no tempo de Almeida Garrett, IPM, MNT,
Lisbon, p. 121.

5
To this picture there was the corresponding, equally mediocre state of the theater facilities
themselves, in this aspect the previously mentioned description of the Theater on Condes
Street: the Condes [theater] was built over old wells from which water gushed in the winter.
The walls sweated moisture. It was nothing more than a long, sad corridor, with no traces of
elegance and which would be shortened only much later. The venues only advantage were its
convenient exits. On the outside, the appearance was one of a miserable construction18. It
was in this theater that mile Doux presented the French romantic repertoire to Lisbon
audiences, from January 4, 1835 to the month of April 1837. He replaced candle lighting with
oil19; to a repertoire consisting of poorly translated French, second-rate plays or academic
tragedies, hollow and emphatic, which Lisbon's audiences had had to content themselves
with, the French actor offered in exchange authors like Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas or
Scribe, presented for the first time in Portugal, as well as several classics, including Molire's
Tartuffe. All of these plays were staged in their original version and the audience watched
them in the original French.

4. mile Doux, the French school of 1830

Garrett met mile Doux's company and appreciated the acting by the French actors, less
classical and showing their effort to get closer to everyday life, in the same way as he admired
their immediate influence on the work of Portuguese actors who, following the example of the
Parisian troupe, had put on a presentation of La duchesse de la Vaubalire, at the Condes
Theater, and Incendiaires, at the Salitre. He then decided to assign to actors Paul and Manuel
Baptista Lisboa the declamation classes at the Conservatrio, which he had just created20; this
Franco-Portuguese collaboration towards the development of the dramatic arts is a good
expression of the communication that took place at the time between the two cultures, or more
precisely, the influence France exercised on Portugal. It was at this time that they learned the
first rudimentary notions of makeup and with rules for regular rehearsals being established for
the first time, as well as others about the property of costumes and sets," described Gustavo de

18
Gustavo de Matos Sequeira, Histria do Teatro Nacional D. Maria II, Lisbon, 1955, vol. 1, p. 15.
19
Jos-Augusto Frana, Op. cit., p. 178.
20
The conservatory consisted of a music school, created in 1835 and directed by Portuguese musician
Domingos Bontempo, by a school of dance and special gymnastics, as well as by a dramatic arts, or declamation
school.

6
Matos Sequeira21, providing a glimpse into the state of Portuguese theater of the time! M.
Paul, in his official exposition on December 27, 1836, proposed a change to the situation and
stated his desire to improve the dramatic arts in Portugal and endow the Nation with theater
of which it can be proud22."

The French troupe finally returned to France. Installed in Lisbon, mile Doux launched a
course on declamation at the Condes Theater that was a great success with Portuguese
actors.23Almeida Garrett then decided to give Doux the job of founding the first company of
the National Theater, at that time the Teatro Normal (Normal Theater), and installed on
Condes Street.24 In that way, the French artist would become the teacher of a new generation
of actors in Portugal, who would become the stars of romantic theater. He took up once again
a large part of the repertoire staged in French by M. Paul's company, this time translated and
played by Portuguese actors. They followed their style, adopted their twitches, and repeated
their methods, adding enormous pronunciation mistakes, accentuated by their sparse literary
background. This was the French school of 1830, translated into Portuguese and active for 20
years25. He would take part in the creation of one of the stars of the era, Emlia das Neves
(1820-1883), who he recruited in 1838. A group of notable actors can be added to this
vedette: Epifnio (1813-1857), who would later become a theater director, Teodirico (1818-
1882), Tasso (1820-1870), Joo Anastcio Rosa (1812-1884), Sargedas (1813-1866) and
Carlota Talassi (1811-1891), among others

However, Emlia das Neves would be the star of Douxs theater firmament. It was with her
that he created Um auto de Gil Vicente ou a corte de El-Rei D. Manual I (An Act of Gil
Vicente or the court of El-Rei D. Manuel I), considered to be the keystone of Portuguese
romantic theater. Playing the role of Beatriz, according to the casting by mile Doux, the
actress then took her first steps on the stage (Carlota Talassi representing Paula), on August
15, 1838, at the Condes Theater. As we have already mentioned citing Garrett himself, the

21
Gustavo de Matos Sequeira, Op. cit., p. 33.
22
Idem., p. 32.
23
Jlio Csar Machado, 1875, Os teatros de Lisboa, Livraria editora de Mattos Moreira e Ca, Lisbon, p. 143.
24
This was the first Portuguese natioanal company, whcih debuted on January 7, 1837 at the Condes Theater,
with a melodrama by Victor Ducange, titled in Portuguese: H 16 anos ou os incendirios. Consult Luiz
Francisco Rebello, 1980, O teatro romntico (1838-1869), Biblioteca breve, ICLP, Lisbon, p. 41.
25
Jos-Augusto Frana, Op. cit., p. 179.

7
text was received enthusiastically by the audience. The Doux/Neves partnership would once
again be marked by the debut, on the occasion of the inauguration of Teatro Dom Fernando
(Dom Fernando Theater), in 1949, with Adrienne Lecouvreur by Scribe, in which Emlia,
playing the main character, would be greatly appreciated and compared to Rachel, a French
actress26. In the interim, since 1840 and after having left the Condes, mile Doux would
direct Teatro do Salitre (1843-1847) and Teatro do Ginsio (1848).

4. The excesses of the French model

Almeida Garrett had founded his project to reform Portuguese theater on three fundamental
points: actor development, author development and the construction of a theater. The
Portuguese romantic author had given special care to the implantation of the Conservatrio's
school of declamation, for which he specified that it would be divided into "special, tragic and
comic declamation, declamation applied to the lyrical setting, oratorical declamation, and that
it would consist of three disciplines: just pronunciation, basic history, chronology, and
world and national history27. The one that would be nicknamed just pronunciation (proper
pronunciation), since it was precisely in that manner that he hoped to correct the taste and
behavior of the audience, so they would not be solely attracted by successive declamatory
recitations with unending conspiracies and unpolished sets, all of this frequently extracted
from low quality French dramas in questionable translations.

The Frenchman mile Doux was not recommended for his just pronunciation in Portuguese
and reproached his most famous disciples due to their articulatory confusions, as was the case
with Emlia das Neves, who had a tendency to confuse i with e (common in Portugal in
the case of unrefined language), and Epifnio, for whom volcanoes had larva instead of
lava 28. But these critiques, of which the Lisbon press took due note, did not ease the task
being carried out by Doux. He, who was said to have been a mediocre comedian and small
role actor, was recognized for his skill as a trainer and director of actors, and was even
granted the title of master in the subject29. Approximately a century later, he would still be

26
Ana Isabel P. Teixeira de Vasconcelos, 2003, Op. Cit., p. 128, a letter from admirers of Emlia das Neves
mentioning articles that present the Portuguese comedian as a rival to Rachel.
27
Gustavo de Matos Sequeira, Op. cit., p. 41.
28
Ibidem., p. 44.
29
Jlio Csar Machado, Op. cit., p. 147.

8
presented as one of the artisans of the 19th century theater reform in Portugal30. Overall, after
his classes, Portuguese performing arts did become less artificial, more careful and more just;
on more sober and credible sets, the actors came to know their role and followed a general
direction that until that time had been improbable.

However, the school of mile Doux (rather, that of the French Comedy of 1830) also had its
own excesses; and what had been new between 1836 and 1841 would wear out, at times
leaning towards exaggeration, such as the repertoire consisting essentially of teary eyed
French melodramas meant to bring widows and orphans alike to tears, with translations left
much to be desired. That was how Emlia das Neves was described, with her cries, poorly
timed reactions, sobbing, delirium, with her tears that burned and traced wrinkles on her
face to the point of cutting her stamina and stanching the blood of her wounds31. The flights
of fancy of that eras melodramas, in which the actor was to employ all means necessary to go
from atrocity to ferocity, almost exhausted Joo Anastcio Rosas abilities, to whom Doux
had the habit of giving roles of tyrants. Rosa, dedicated to painting and sculpture, was
particularly sensitive to the progress brought by the Frenchman in terms of the theater makeup
that, thanks to him, had become more precise and natural. Much influenced by Doux, he put
his all into the characters, both in terms of physical posture and vocal intonations. My father
was so often forced to yell in the melodramas, in such a fashion that he ended up acquiring a
disease in his larynx, which he treated in the French city of Cauterets," said one of his sons,
both of whom were actors as well32. This stay was beneficial to the comedian, who soon
reduced his on-stage fervor and ended up obtaining the privilege of doing an internship at the
Comdie Franaise, legendary in Lisbon. Rosa actually ended up playing a role at the
Comdie, in front of the members, an excerpt translated into French of An act of Gil Vicente,
for which the actor Samson played opposite him33.

5 From rehearsers to mise-en-scene

30
Antnio Pinheiro, Esttica e Plstica teatral, 1925, Vol. I, Galhardo e Costa Lda., Lisbon, p. 315 : Na
reforma do teatro portugus, o nome de mile Doux jamais ser apagado.
31
Ibidem., p. 122.
32
Augusto Rosa, 1915, Recordaes da scena e fora da scena, Livraria Ferreira, Lisbon, p. 62. These are the
memoirs of one of Joo Anastcio Rosas children, which evoke broadly his father's career.
33
Ibidem., p. 64.Il there followed na exchange of correspondence between the two men, and Augusto Rosa
published several of them.

9
The actor Epifnio, following Doux, made the proposal to substitute the old theater
declamation with the French school of 1830; the same one described as an emphatic, teary
declamation, including sobbing, shouts and tears34. The harmony and naturality of his
spectacles should be noted and it is said that he was the first Portuguese rehearser of true
value. 35 It was with Epifnio that the notion of mise-en-scene appeared for the first time on a
Portuguese language poster. The term was not translated, which is a perfect indication of the
importance of the French model and points towards the evolution that had occurred: from
rehearser (repeater: emphasizing the rehearsal stage without naming the final result, the
representation to be watched by spectators), they arrived at mise-en-scene, with a new
conception of the spectacle for which was employed, equally and from then on, the notion of
the ensemble, the French term always being used in Portuguese, aiming to improve the show
being presented to the audience and thus emphasizing the search for end harmony and
coherence.36

It was the first time in Lisbon that, on posters, the expression "mise-en-scene this French
innovation was being read. [...] The advertisements would always specify that the play had
direction and mise-en-scene by Epifnio. [] it was a new thing for our country, since the
most experienced rehearsers had never dedicated themselves to the layout of the figures, to
the positioning of the groups or the actors' gestures. It isnt easy to suppose, currently seeing
the Portuguese theaters in their now achieved consistency, the state in which our performing
arts had been in before! [...] The sets were of such a ridiculous, stingy improvisation that in a
play where the background was to be a mill, the actor, much taller than the door, would bring
in the mill on his own shoulders as he came on stage!37. Jlio Csar Machado made this
comment in 1874, referring to the development of theater performances, to which Epifnio
would contribute, unfortunately and fatally struck down by the yellow fever epidemic that
ravaged Lisbon in 1857.

But it was in 1893 that the company Rosas e Brazo (Roses and Crest) would begin offering a
new concept of theater performance to Portuguese audiences: with prestigious casting,
producing careful and homogeneous performances. The romantic conception of theater was
abandoned, in which a great role played service to a star who would eclipse the actors playing
opposite them. To that were added sets renewed with each new creation, unlike other theaters
that untiringly dragged out the same backgrounds time after time, accompanied with several

34
Jlio Csar Machado, Op. cit., p.91. p. 62
35
Sousa Bastos, Dicionrio, p. 167, notcia Epifnio
36
Consult the news in Sousa Bastos, pp. 36 and 37
37
Machado, Op. Cit.,p. 63.

10
set elements and the same costumes. It was the beginning of a modern theater, conceived in
teams and that prefigured the birth of mise-en-scene the idea of a troupe. This new style of
theater continued to be inspired by the French model, from which it even bought versions of
performances from the Comdie Franaise, such as Ltrangre, by Alexandre Dumas, fils,
who took part in the very beginning of that company.38

6 A controversial influence

The social and civilizing role conferred to theater by romanticism had transformed the art into
a true political challenge. Theater life acquired an important place in the concerns of Lisbons
population and approximately thirty newspapers were dedicated to the subject beginning at
the end of the 1830s. If we consider theater as being parallel to eloquence, it will not be
surprising to see it compared, from 1836 on, to the press itself39. This press would not spare
mile Doux; in the place of his French style at the Condes Theater, there was an intention to
propose a national style at the Salitre. However, the audiences preferred the Condes and the
capital citys high society liked to see and be seen there. The theater would be packed; the
spectators would be laughing or crying. In their boxes, the ladies soaked their handkerchiefs
with tears, but they would all go home satisfied and return the following day40.

In this way, two clans were created, each with their own newspapers, O Desenjoativo theatral
(Theatrical Aperitif) persecuted the French artist with special dedication, reproaching him for
his disrespect of just pronunciation and questioning his competence in the education of
Portuguese actors41. By way of the press, what was actually being shown was a nationalist,
even chauvinist campaign that intended to purge Portuguese stages from foreign influences,
especially French ones. Titles like O Pirata (The Pirate), O Raio theatral (Theatrical
Lightning Bolt), O Espelho do palco (Stage Mirror), A Revista theatral (Theatrical Magazine)
or O Ramalhete (The Bouquet) had all declared war, and took advantage of every rumor using
their sharp tongues. mile Doux, after having directed several theaters in Lisbon, undoubtedly
tired by such acidity, ended up finally leaving the Portuguese capital for Brazil, where he
would die in 1876.

38
Vtor Pavo dos Santos, A companhia Rosas e Brazo 1880-1898, 1979
39
Jos-Augusto Frana, Op. cit., p. 179.
40
Revista Theatral, n 28, 15-02-1896, p. 64.
41
Revista Theatral, n 29, 1o-03-1896, p. 87.

11
Nevertheless, his influence lived on, as proved by the vocabulary of the Portuguese dramatic
arts during the first decades of the 20th century, which continued to be full of French words,
such as: Causerie [N.T.: chat], claque, clou [N.T.: star attraction], compre [N.T.: stooge],
fauteuil [N.T.: armchair], foyer, lever du rideau [N.T.: opening of the curtain], matine, mise-
em-scene, reprise, tourne [N.T.: tour], troupe, vaudeville, and this is far from being an
exhaustive list42. This reality is corroborated by the tours of French comedians that were
greatly applauded in Lisbon: Le Bargy, the Coquelin Brothers, Mounet Sully, Rjane and
even Antoine. A movement that was complimented by Portuguese actors stays in Paris. I
have always loved Paris, it being the place where I learned the most in favor of my profession,
having seen with my own eyes such a parade of celebrated artists, confirmed Eduardo
Brazo, citing a long list of examples of previously mentioned companies. The highest
spheres of power themselves spontaneously cultivated this taste for Parisian theater: on April
7, 1912, A Capital (The Capital) newspaper announced that The actor Le Bargy and
Visconde S. Luiz de Braga met last night at the presidential palace on invitation from the
Chief of State. Sr. Manuel de Arriaga spoke at length with the illustrious actor about French
theater and art43.

7 Separation from relational asymmetry, while preserving aspects of the model

Because despite the controversy, despite the criticism, at times justified, of a submission to
French fashions and bearing on ridiculousness or pedantry, the influence equally
corresponded to the determined intention to perpetuate a noble idea of theater, according to
which it would be the bearer of a project, in the form of an educational and regenerative
mission. These ideals, which in France would lead to the emergence of movements connected
to popular theater and education, would not come to flourish in Portuguese and would end up
being no more as a flash in the pan, eliminated in their base by political contingencies. It is
important to emphasize this determination launched by Almeida Garrett which gave new airs
to Portuguese theater. When he founded the Teatro Livre (Free Theater) in 1902, Arajo
Pereira (1871-1945), took up the torch again, driven by republican ideals, and intending to
open up new horizons for a national scenario that was still focused on romanticism. He was

42
Castex, Op. Cit.,p. 23
43
Ibidem.

12
 44
considered the first encenador (theater director) , which was what would also lead
Portugal to move from mise-en-scene to staging, being greatly inspired by the Thtre Libre
(another Free Theater) of Andr Antoine (1858-1943), the latter himself now considered to
be the inventor of modern mise-en-scene.

Since 1885, critic and novelist Jlio Loureno Pinto, author of Esttica naturalista (Naturalist
Esthetic), had defended Zolas theories and attempted to make up for the lateness in its
application, both in dramaturgy and on Portuguese stages. Despite the tours of foreign
actors45, some of their footsteps having been followed by the more courageous of Portuguese
actors, interpreting plays by Zola (Thrse Raquin, 1880; lAssomoir, 1882), Brieux (La robe
rouge, 1898), Ibsen (Une maison de poupe, 1899; Un ennemi du peuple and Le canard
sauvage, 1890), the codes of romanticism remained permeable. The stopover of Antoine and
his troupe in Lisbon, in 1903, right when he was about to depart for South America for a three
week tour, made it possible for a hand-picked audience (the King and Queen watched the
performances) to see the most renowned plays of the Parisian Thtre-Libre46.

Lisbons Teatro Livre, established as a cooperative, began its stage activity on March 8, 1904,
at the Prncipe Real Theater, habitually focused on a repertoire consisting of melodramas,
vaudeville, operetas and revues. The repertoire took its inspiration from Antoines troupe,
although it did reveal national authors. The ephemeral existence of the Teatro Moderno (July
1905) did not weaken the strength of purpose of the artists that kept it going: For a long time
in Lisbon, there was a lack of a dramatic company dedicated to producing educational plays,
from the moral and social point of view, written by new, Portuguese authors [...], who, as they
were not renowned or well known in other public performance venues, had not seen their
work appreciated []. The need has long been recognized to transform a theater full of thinly
veiled artifices, absurd biases and old prejudices into true art, that is, a modern theater in the
capacity of a moral and social educational element, increasingly necessary47.

44
Rebello, 2008, Op. Cit., p. 189.
45
Actors like Novelli, Eleonora Duse, Rjane, Zacconi
46
Lenqute by Georges Henriot, La fille Elisa by Jean Ajalbert, based on the novel by Edmond de Goncourt,
Boubouroche by Courteline, Au tlphone by Andr de Lorde and Charles Fole, La nouvelle idole by Curel,
Blanchette by Brieux and Poil de carotte by Jules Renard.
47
Luiz Francisco Rebello, 2007, Le Thtre Libre du Portugal, Baron Philippe, (under the direction of), Le
Thtre Libre dAntoine et les thtres de recherche trangers, LHarmattan, Paris, p.190.

13
As in the times of Garrett, decades before, what they intended to preserve from the French
model was the idea of a theater that would have the mission to educate, equally associated
with the intention to create a Portuguese repertoire. According to Luiz Francisco Rebello, the
Teatro Livro revealed an actor, Luciano de Castro, and an author, Manuel Laranjeira, the
Teatro Moderno brought to light director Arajo Pereira who would affirm his position later
with the Teatro Juvnia, beginning in 1926. Practically everyone who took part in these two
theaters were connected to the movement that deposed the Monarchy in 1910, or who
professed republican ideas. We separated ourselves from this relational asymmetry regarding
France, through the affirmation of the identity of a national dramaturgy, while still preserving
several aspects of the model. The political lan was truly concomitant with that of the theater
and it was still the ideals of the Enlightenment that were remembered: Modern dramaturges
face the task of inciting reflection, provoking the discussion from which the light that will
illuminate the path to be followed by humanity must be born.48 After the First Republic
(1910-1926), 48 years of dictatorship were still on the way to thwart this path, the search for
which would invariably be the object of many obstinate artists and intellectuals.

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