A Letter from Paris

A LETTER FROM PARIS THE LAST TWO SEASONSl brought important innovations in the theatrical life of Paris. Bold accomplishments attracted attention in the realm of staging as well as in that of dramatic literature,at the same time as the structure and activity of the national theatres were modified by the new political regime. The Opera, the ComMie Fran9aise and the Odeon have in fact seen the beginning of a new stage in their long history. The direction of the Opera was entrusted to A. M. Julien, who had succeeded brilliantly as organizer of the International Paris Festival, then of the Theatre des Nations, where he had given an important place to operatic performances. Carmen, which had only been performed at the Opera Comique, was staged with great plastic richness and precision by Raymond Rouleau. Hundreds of "supers," as well as live horses, mules and monkeys move about the immense stage of the Opera. The ComMie Fran9aise has undergone a crisis involving many vicissitudes which have roused a great deal of comment in the press. The Minister of Cultural Affairs, M. Andre Malraux, appointed as new Administrator a diplomat, ~L de Boisanger. He also decided to take from the Comedie Fran9aise its second house, the Salle Luxembourg, formerly the Odeon, in order to make of it a separate theatre, called the Theatre de France and entrusted to the direction of Jean-Louis Barrault. Last of all, he increased the authority of the Administrator named by the government, reducing the powers of the Committee representing the societaires (actor-shareholders); as a matter of fact, these latter have, since 1680, formed a society which by itself administers a theatrical enterprise which receives financial aid from the State. This new orientation naturally prov9ked discontent among the actors. The most regrettable consequence was the resignation of Jean Meyer, who, by his activity and his talent as director, had for many years dominated the productions of the Comedie Fran9aise. Finally, early in 1960, for reasons which are not clearly understood, M. Malraux revoked the powers of M. Boisanger, who had been the executant of his policy. The latter has appealed to the Council of State against a 1. This article attempts to present a panorama of the situation of the theatre in Paris since the picture given by Jean Duvignaud in the September. 1958. issue of Modern Drama. Needless to say, the choices and interpretations which I suggest, while attempting to stress essentials, cannot avoid a certain subjectivity, or claim to exhaust a vast and complex subject. On Arrabal, Plancbon and Ionesco I have borrowed several ideas from my articles in Lea Lettres Nouvelles of May 13, and July 1, 1959, and March 15, 1960. 4 1960 A LETrER FROM PARIS 5 decision which he deems unjust. He was replaced as Administrator by the Dean of thesocietaires, M. Escande. Despite the tension brought about by these events, the Comedie . Fran~aise has presented two important works. Giraudoux's Electre revealed its literary value to new audiences; the direction, technically correct, did not make us forget the production by Jouvet, who had created the play in a striking manner. Racine's Phedre, directed by Jean Meyer, on the other hand, offered a new style. In a set designed by Cassandre, using baroque elements of the seventeenth century to reduce the necessary tragic space to the minimum, Myer moves his characters with an economy of means and an intensity in the expression of stage conventions which, without losing· any of the emotion, brings into relief the articulation of this most effective of texts; beyond the Brechtian process of alienation, such staging reflects the lofty teachings of Copeau. Badly received by the critics, who were perhaps prejudiced, it should open the way to a presentation of tragedy adapted to our own . day. Jean-Louis Barrault inaugurated his The~tre de France with Tete d'Or (Golden Head). Andre Masson's discreet yet exciting settings did Claudel's play great service, as did the powerful, musical and broadly poetic interpl,"etation of Alain Cuny, who thus confirms his exceptional gifts as a tragedian. The repertory of the former Odeon was completed by La Petite Moliere (The Moliere Woman), a...