Moliere – Notes

Reiterated from 17th C French theater notes shared Tuesday

Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, who took the stage name Moliere, was born in
1622 to a well-to-do family, His father was upholsterer to the king, &
Moliere trained as a lawyer. In 1643, Moliere veered off his
respectable path to form the Illustre Théâtre in Paris w Madeleine
Bejart & 8 others. The company failed though, & as a result, Moliere
was jailed for debt in 1645.

When he was released, the Illustre Théâtre regrouped and left Paris.
They toured every provincial town in France for the next thirteen
years. Moliere acted and, in time, began to write plays for the
company. In 1650, he took over leadership of the group.

In 1658, Moliere's – and the Illustre Théâtre’s - big break came when
the troupe had the chance to perform for Louis XIV. They presented a
serious play & a comic play. Moliere's farce Le Docteur Amoureux won the king's lifelong support, and
the company was soon focused on Moliere’s comedies only. The performance earned the patronage of
the king's brother, with the taking on the designation of "troupe de Monsieur" & the right to hold public
performances in the royal Petit Bourbon theater. When the Petit Bourbon was torn down in 1660,
Moliere was allowed to present performances at the Palais-Royal, where his company stayed until 1673,
establishing themselves as France's premiere comic company.

Neo-Classical

Moliere adhered to the neo-classical unities and wrote carefully

structured plays. He drew on many elements of commedia, but
folded into carefully scripted original plays. He wrote one acts and
full length works. At the king's request, he also wrote texts for
ballets (Louis XIV loved ballets, which were a court entertainment
with much in common with English masques, and he often
appeared in them).

Moliere wrote sometimes in prose and sometimes in Alexandrine

verse, a classic French meter, often compared to Shakespeare's
iambic pentameter, with six two-syllable pairs (that is to say: da
DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM). Moliere played
masterfully with the effects achieved by splitting the meter and
using that and rhyme in impactful ways. (For instance, in Tartuffe, look at scene 4, in which Mariane and
Valere both feign indifference to Mariane being pressed to marry Tartuffe. The way they speak in
fragments, dividing the meter between the two of them, and sometimes Dorine, contributes to the
comedy, dynamic, and tension of the scene. This splitting of lines in the meter – which we also saw in
classical Greek plays --is known as stichomythia.)

Moliere's plays were extraordinarily successful, both artistically and with the theater-going audience.
As with Corneille and Racine, however, success for Moliere did not spare him from controversy. In
France at this time, theater was important and closely observed, and Moliere's social satires hit some
raw nerves. Moliere's first significant controversy came in response to his 1662 comedy, The School for
Wives. It was hugely popular with audiences, but it was attacked as immoral. Moliere fought back
against the criticism, writing two plays as commentary on the charges, The Critique of the School for
Wives and Impromptu at Versailles (which we read for this week). These are entertaining dialogues,
which provide theater historians with a wonderful 'behind the scenes' perspective. As you read,
Impromptu at Versailles is a fun one act which is very informative about rehearsal practices of the time,
even as it fulfills Moliere's goal of arguing for the rightness of his plays.

A far more serious battle erupted over Moliere's play Tartuffe. Having read the play and Moliere's
preface and petitions to the king about the play, you should have a good sense of what Moliere faced in
his efforts to send Tartuffe out into the world. Celine's presentation also discusses the controversy
surrounding the play. Suffice it to say that, while the play reads to most of us today as a broad and
harmless comedy, it outraged many leaders of his time so much that not only was the play banned;
Moliere was excommunicated and threatened with arrest and possible execution for his wit. Even with
the support of the king, Moliere could not get the play produced until he had re-written it twice, in 1667
(as The Imposter) and 1669. Unfortunately, we don't have the earlier drafts, but most theater historians
assume that the deus ex machina ending, in which the king in his wisdom snatches a happy ending from
the jaws of despair is a note of gratitude and fawning to Louis XIV, who stood by and saved Moliere
through his ordeal.

Not surprisingly, when the revised Tartuffe was finally allowed to open in 1669, it was the hottest ticket
in town, breaking box office records and running for what was then a record 33 performances.

Moliere, the consummate man of the theater, always played the character type of the buffoonish older
man who thinks he knows everything but is really clueless - Orgon in Tartuffe. In 1673, he was playing
the lead in his play The Imaginary Invalid when he collapsed on stage. He made it through the end of the
play & died a few hours later. Two priests refused to give him last rites because of his profession. His
widow petitioned for special permission for him to be buried in a churchyard, which he was - but the
ceremony was held at night & his plot was in the area reserved for un-baptized babies. As a man of the
theater he was a revered national treasure. And, as a man of the theater, he was considered unholy.

Neoclassical Theater in 17th Century France: Selected Notes (drawn from Tuesday’s notes)

Background
The Renaissance hit its stride in France in the 1500's – a little later than Italy and a little earlier than
England. France forged a close relationship with Italy in the 1490's and quickly and eagerly absorbed
Italy's passion for re-discovered classics. The first French edition of Terence's plays was published in
1493, with an illustration of a Roman stage with a scenae at the back, with three doors. This became
known as the "Terence Stage," and it inspired productions for years to come.

In the first half of the sixteenth century, most French theater, other than the medieval religious variety,
which continued, took place in university settings. As in Italy and England, and as Hrostvitha did for her
nuns, some professors wrote plays in Latin for their students to perform. Around 1540, translations and
adaptations of classical plays began to be performed in French instead of in Latin. At around the same
time, Aristotle's Poetics was published in a French translation as well.
 In 1550, a group of seven French writers known as the Plèiade (after a constellation made up of seven
stars) set out to develop a French literature based on classical values. They established the core rules of
what would become known as French neo-classicism. They insisted that lead characters should be noble
men and women, and plays should follow the three unities that Aristotle called for (time, place and
action), and follow classical structures. In addition to setting down these rules, they aimed to create
works of literature that followed them. A century later, Racine and Moliere were seen to elevate these
rules into the makings of great art.

By the mid-1500's, scholarly theater and court spectacles were thriving across France, but there was
almost no active tradition of public theater other than traveling commedia dell'arte companies. By the
early 1600’s though, that changed as professional companies sprang up all over the nation. Moliere’s
Illustre Théâtre among them.

On Stage in 17th Century France

Companies: French theater in the seventeenth century was staged by companies of usually eight to
twelve actors, some of whom also produced, wrote and directed for the company. The actors signed
two- or three-year contracts, sometimes leaving one company for another that offered better roles or
pay. All company members received shares of the income, much as in Shakespeare's England or 17 th
Century Spain. When playwriting was first established in France, writers were paid per performance, but
eventually writers too received shares for their work. Moliere was a company member, first as an actor,
then as an actor and playwright, and finally as actor, playwright an manager – receiving more pay with
each new position.

A range of companies flourished, sometimes in residence in Paris, sometimes touring the provinces. In
Paris, companies' fortunes rose and fell with the popularity of their actors and playwrights, & they
depended on both royal and public favor.

Companies such as the Illustre toured throughout France, and when they could, they vied for a place in
the capital city of Paris.

Theaters:

As you know, there were few commercial theater buildings in Paris – The Hotel de Bourgogne having a
monopoly for many years. Temporary theaters in tennis courts were also popular, as were court
theaters – if you could get access to perform in them..

Because he had the favor of the King and the patronage of the King’s brother, Moliere’s company was
able to perform in theaters built in court palaces. Torelli – one of Italy’s most innovative and influential
scenic designers and technicians -- came to Paris and built a new theater in the Palais-Royal for Cardinal
Richelieu in1646, with an Italian style proscenium arch and advanced chariot-and-pole scene shifting
machinery. A few years later, Torelli built the Petit Bourbon theater, another court theater, in the Italian
style to support his design for the opera La Finta Pazza, which was a dazzling success with
audiences. Moliere’s company used both of these state-of-the-art theaters.
Acting:

Acting was a profession that could lead to fame and fortune, and it attracted people from all classes.
And all genders: by 1607, women appeared on stage as well. However, acting continued to be
stigmatized by the church and society as morally loose.

In 1641, King Louis XIII issued a proclamation that "the actors' profession…not be considered worthy of
blame nor prejudicial to their reputation in society." That was nice, but the fact that it was needed
shows how common the prejudices were. And in spite of this decree, actors continued to be denied
church sacraments. In a deeply religious country, that is a clear indicator of the continuing outsider
status given to actors. Rumors about Moliere, when he, at age 40, married 17-year old Armande Bejart
fed into the image of scandal that accompanied the profession. Scandal did not diminish the popularity
of thespians – in fact juicy gossip may have increased audiences – but it was a real social divide.

French actors adopted stage names, perhaps to protect their families’ reputations, usually a single
name. Moliere is one of the most well-known of these today, but others were Gros-Guillaume,
Bellerose, and the very popular commedia star Scaramouche.

Sets and Costumes

Stage scenery in seventeenth century France was very much inspired by Italian settings and technology.
Many of the leading Italian theater artists and designers came to France, bringing with them ideas about
trompe l'oeil painting, perspective scenery, proscenium arches and up-to-date set changing machinery.

Most straight plays of the time, following the neo-classical idea of the unities, used only one set. Using
Italian designs as a model, the sets were created with wings, drops and borders painted in perspective
so that if the actor stayed at the front of the stage, it would look as if space opened out behind. If the
actor mistakenly stepped back into the setting, the forced perspective would be revealed, and the
illusion ruined. A theater company would use a stock set for plays set in a drawing room, another for
those set in front of a city house, and another for pastoral plays in rural settings.

However, the fact that the plays often followed the unity of place did not mean that spectacular sets
and dramatic set changes were not in demand. Entr'acte ballets provided spectacle between the acts of
a play and between the different plays shown on the same days. And court entertainments, opera and
ballet all required elaborate sets and magical machinery. As in Renaissance Italy, clouds might carry one
hundred singers in an opera. Louis XIV loved to present festivals of extravagant performance at his
palace at Versailles. Moliere’s company often created work for Louis XIV’s events. One example was a
1664 three day extravaganza of opera, dance and theater called "The Delights of the Enchanted Island,"
which featured such scenic wonders as a temporary stage constructed in the middle of a lake with a
setting of a palace which was, as part of the show, destroyed by fire in front of the audience. It also
featured a ballet/opera which Moliere and the composer Lully created, and the premiere of Tartuffe on
May 12, 1664.

Costumes at this time were, as in other countries, opulent, and generally reflective of current fashion.
Exotic or historical clothing was created by adapting contemporary styles. Overall, it was most important
that costumes be stylish, impressive and attractive.
Lighting in the public theaters was generally daylight brought in through windows, enhanced by candles.
In court theaters, lighting was generally candlelight.

Government Support

French monarchs through this time period were resolute fans of the theater. And the forces behind the
throne, such as the powerful Cardinal Richelieu, were if anything, even more fond of the theater. Court
performances were common, and royal support saved many a theater worker’s career in the face of
hostile responses - including both Racine and Moliere. Admission prices and royal support combined to
keep theater companies afloat.