Hôtel de Bourgogne (theatre)
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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 Hôtel de Bourgogne in the 18th century
An example of décor simultané, the setting for Pierre du Ryer's tragicomedy Lisandre et Caliste, first performed c. 1630 at the Hôtel de Bourgogne
Stage set at the theatre of the Hôtel de Bourgogne. The chair indicates an interior. The characters portrayed show that a comedy is in progress. They are from left to right: "the watching Frenchman"; the celebrated comic actors: "wild-faced" Turlupin, "true" Gaulthier, Gros-Guillaume; a lady (possibly the actress Mlle Valliot); and a Spaniard (identified by his ruff). Turlupin is stealing Gaultier-Garguille's purse. The Frenchman and lady are dressed in fashionable contemporary costume. Engraving by
Setting for Act 5 of Le Martyre de Sainte Catherine by Jean Puget de la Serre, first produced in 1643 at the Hôtel de Bourgogne and a possible example of the use of the théâtre supérieur
Andromaque
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Andromaque is a tragedy in five acts by the French playwright Jean Racine written in alexandrine verse. It was first performed on 17 November 1667 before the court of Louis XIV in the Louvre in the private chambers of the Queen, Marie Thérèse, by the royal company of actors, called "les Grands Comédiens", with Thérèse Du Parc in the title role. The company gave the first public performance two days later in the Hôtel de Bourgogne in Paris. Andromaque, the third of Racine's plays, written at the age of 27, established its author's reputation as one of the great playwrights in France.
Frontispiece depicting Act III, scene 6, published in Paris in 1676
Captive Andromache by Frederic Lord Leighton