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Paris As It Was and As It Is

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These two rivals might live in peace; the parts which suit the one,
being absolutely unfit for the talents of the other. TALMA requires
only concentered rage, sentiments of hatred and vengeance, which
certainly belong to tragedy, but which ought not to be expressed as
if they came from the mouth of a low fellow, unworthy of figuring in
an action of this kind; and LAFOND is little qualified for any other
than graceful parts, bordering on knight-errantry or romance. His
best character is _Achille_. I have also seen him perform, if not in
a manner truly tragic, at least highly satisfactory, _Rodrigue_ in
_Le Cid_ of CORNEILLE, and the part of _Tancrède_ in VOLTAIRE'S
tragedy of that name. LAFOND obtains the preference over TALMA in the
character of _Orosmane_ in the tragedy of _Zaïre_; a character which
is the touchstone of an actor. Not that he excels in it. He has not a
marked countenance, the dignity, the tone of authority, the energy,
and the extreme sensibility which characterize this part. He is not
the Sultan who commands. He is, if you please, a young _commis_ very
amorous, a little jealous, who gets angry, and becomes good-humoured
again; but at least he is not a ferocious being, as TALMA represents
_Orosmane_, in moments of rage and passion, or an unfeeling one in
those which require sensibility.

LAFOND is reproached sometimes with a bombastic and inflated tone.
Feeling that he is deficient in the necessary powers, he swells his
voice, which is prejudicial to truth, and without truth, there is no
theatrical illusion. Nature had intended him for the parts of young
lovers, of which I shall presently speak. His features are too
delicate, his countenance not sufficiently flexible, and his person
bespeaks too little of the hero, for great characters. But when he
first appeared, there was a vacancy in this cast of parts, and none
in the other.


Jeunes Premiers, _or parts of young Lovers_.


ST. FAL, DAMAS, and DUPONT.

ST. FAL. This performer, who is upwards of forty-five, has never had
an exterior sufficiently striking to turn the brain of young
princesses. Every thing in his person is common, and his acting is
really grotesque. However, not long since he frequently obtained
applause by a great affectation of sensibility and a stage-trick,
which consists in uttering loud, harsh, and hoarse sounds after
others faint and scarcely articulated. He has, besides, but a trivial
or burlesque delivery, and no dignity, no grace in his deportment or
gestures.

DAMAS. He is much younger than ST. FAL, but his gait and carriage are
vulgar. He is not deficient in warmth; but all this is spoiled by a
manner the most common. He first played at the theatres on the
_Boulevard_, and will never be able to forget the lessons he imbibed
in that school. It is with him as with the rabbits of which BOILEAU
makes mention, in one of his Satires where he describes a bad dinner,

"-------- et qui, nés dans Paris,
Sentaient encore le chou dont ils furent nourris."

The _drame_ is the style in which DAMAS best succeeds. There is one
in particular, _Le Lovelace Français_, where he personates an
upholsterer of the _Rue St. Antoine_, who has just been cornuted by
the young Duke of Richelieu. This part he performs with much truth,
and _avec rondeur_, as the critics here express it, to signify
plain-dealing. But DAMAS is no less ignoble in comedy than in
tragedy.

DUPONT. This young actor, who is of a very delicate constitution, has
never had what we call great powers on the stage; and a complaint in
his tongue has occasioned a great difficulty in his articulation.
Without having a noble air, he has something distinguishing in his
manner. His delivery is correct; but the defect of which I have
spoken has rendered him disagreeable to the public, who manifest it
to him rather rudely, though he has sometimes snatched from them
great applause.

After all the actors I have mentioned, come the confidants, a dull
and stupid set, of whom one only deserves mention, not as an actor,
but as an author. This is DUVAL. He has written that pretty comic
opera, entitled _Le Prisonnier_, as well as _Maison à vendre_, and
several _drames_, among which we must not forget _Le Lovelace
Français, ou la Jeunesse du Duc de Richelieu_, the piece
before-mentioned.


_January 20, in continuation_.

Next follow the daughters of Melpomene, or those heroines who make
the most conspicuous figure in Tragedy.


_Characters of Queens_.


Mesdames RAUCOURT and VESTRIS.

Mademoiselle RAUCOURT. Never did _début_ make more noise than that of
this actress, who appeared for the first time on the French stage
about thirty years ago, and might then be sixteen or seventeen years
of age. She was a pupil of Mademoiselle CLAIRON, who had a numerous
party, composed of Encyclopædists, French academicians, and almost
all the literati of Paris. The zeal of her friends, the youth, tall
stature, and person of the _débutante_ supplied the place of talent;
and her instructress has recorded in her memoirs that all her labour
was lost. The success, however, of Mademoiselle RAUCOURT was such,
that there were, it is said, several persons squeezed to death at the
door of the playhouse. What increased enthusiasm in favour of the
young actress was, that a reputation for virtue was granted to her as
great and as justly merited as that for talent. Her father declared
in the public lobby that he would blow out her brains if he suspected
her of having the smallest intrigue. He kept not his word. Besides,
it is well known that his daughter always took care to conduct
herself in such a manner as to set the foresight even of jealousy at
defiance. Her _penchant_ not leaving her the resource to which women
of her profession generally recur, and her expenses being
considerable, her debts increased; and to avoid the pursuit of her
creditors she took refuge in Germany with her tender friend,
Mademoiselle SOUK, who has since been mistress to the late king of
Prussia. They both travelled over that country, and a thousand
reports are circulated to their shame; but the most disgraceful of
these are said to be unfounded. The protection of the queen of
France, who paid her debts repeatedly, at length restored her to the
_Comédie Française_. Such inconsiderate conduct did no small injury
to that unfortunate princess, whom I mention with concern on such an
occasion.

The stature of Mademoiselle RAUCOURT is colossal, and when she
presents herself, she has a very imposing look. Her face, however, is
not so noble; she has small eyes, and her features have not that
flexibility necessary for expressing the movements of the passions.
Her voice was formerly very full in the _medium_ of level-speaking;
but it seemed like that of a man. When you heard it for the first
time, you thought that, in impassioned sentences, she was going to
thunder; but, on the contrary, she assumed a very extensive
_falsetto_, which formed the most singular contrast with the dull
sounds that had preceded it. That defect, perhaps, is somewhat less
striking at the present day; but the voice of this actress is become
hoarse, like that of persons who make a frequent use of strong
liquors. The delivery of Mademoiselle RAUCOURT is, in general, just
and correct; for she is allowed to have understanding; yet, as she
neither has warmth nor sensibility, she produces scarcely any effect.
Plaudits most frequently burst forth when she appears; but, though
these are obtained, she never touches the feelings of the spectator,
she never reaches his heart, even in the parts, where she has had the
most vogue. That of _Médée_, in which she has begun to reestablish
her declining reputation, was neither better felt nor better
expressed. She was indebted for the success she obtained in it only
to the magician's robe, to the wand, and to a stage-trick which
consists in stooping and then raising herself to the utmost height at
the moment when she apostrophizes the sun. In the scene of Medea with
her children, a heart-rending and terrible scene, there was nothing
but dryness and a total absence of every maternal feeling.

The characters of queens, which Mademoiselle RAUCOURT performs, are
the first cast of parts at the theatre. It consists of those of
mothers and a few parts of enraged or impassioned lovers. In the
works of CORNEILLE, the principal ones are _Cléopatre_ in _Rodogune_,
and _Cornélie_ in the _Mort de Pompée_. In RACINE'S, the parts of
_Athalie_ and of _Phèdre_ in the tragedies of the same name, of
_Agrippine_ in _Britannicus_, of _Clitemnestre_ in _Iphigénie en
Aulide_, and of _Roxane_ in _Bajazet_. In VOLTAIRE'S, those of
_Mérope_ and _Sémiramis_; and, lastly, that of _Médée_ in the tragedy
by LONGEPIERRE.

Like all the performers belonging to the _Théâtre Français_,
Mademoiselle RAUCOURT was imprisoned during the reign of terror. The
patriots of that day bore her much ill-will, and it is asserted that
Robespierre had a strong desire to send her to the guillotine. When
she reappeared on the stage, the public compensated her sufferings,
and to this circumstance she owes the rather equivocal reputation she
has since enjoyed.

Madame VESTRIS. Although she has been a very long time on the
Parisian stage, this actress is celebrated only from the famous
quarrel she had twenty years ago with Mademoiselle SAINVAL the elder.
Through the powerful protection of the Marshal de DURAS,[8] her
lover, she prevailed over her formidable rival, who, however, had on
her side the public, and the sublimity of her talent. This quarrel
arose from Madame VESTRIS wishing to wrest from Mademoiselle SAINVAL
the parts for which she was engaged. A memoir, written by an
indiscreet friend, in favour of the latter, which she scorned to
disavow, and in which the court was not spared, caused her to be
banished from the capital by a _lettre de cachet_. The public,
informed of her exile, called loudly for Mademoiselle SAINVAL. No
attention was paid to this by the higher powers, and the guard at the
theatre was tripled, in order to insure to Madame VESTRIS the
possibility of performing her part. Nevertheless, whenever she made
her appearance, the public lavished on her hisses, groans, and
imprecations. All this she braved with an effrontery, which
occasioned them to be redoubled. But, as all commotions subside in
time, Madame VESTRIS remained mistress of the stage; while
Mademoiselle SAINVAL travelled over the provinces, where the
injustice of the court towards her caused no less regret than the
superiority of her talent excited admiration.

Madame VESTRIS was rather handsome, and this explains the whole
mystery. She had, above all, a most beautiful arm, and paid no small
attention to her toilet. She delivers her parts with tolerable
correctness, but her tone is heavy and common. The little warmth with
which she animates her characters, is the production of an effort;
for she neither possesses energy nor feeling. Her gestures correspond
with her acting, and she has no dignity in her deportment. She seldom
appears on the stage at present, which saves her from the
mortification of being hissed. She is now old, and the political
opinion of those who frequent most the theatres rouses them against
her.

Although the court had really committed itself to favour her, Madame
VESTRIS was the first to betray her noble patrons. At the period of
the revolution, she quitted the old _Comédie Française_, taking with
her DUGAZON, her father, and TALMA, and founded the present theatre,
styled _Théâtre de la République_. She was also followed by several
authors; for not being able to conceal from herself the mediocrity of
her talents, especially in such parts of the old plays as had been
performed by other actresses in a manner far superior, she
facilitated the representation of new pieces, in which she had not to
fear any humiliating comparison. The principal of these authors were
LA HARPE, DUCIS, and CHÉNIER. The last, who, besides, is famous as
member of the National Convention and other Legislative Assemblies,
composed the tragedy of _Charles Neuf_, in which Madame VESTRIS,
playing the part of _Catherine de Médicis_, affected, I am told, to
advance her under-lip, _à l'Autrichienne, in order to occasion
comparisons injurious to the ill-fated Marie-Antoinette.[9]


_Characters of Princesses._

Mesdames FLEURY, TALMA, BOURGOIN, and VOLNAIS.

Mademoiselle FLEURY. She has no longer youth nor beauty, and her
talents as an actress are much on a par with her personal
attractions. She recites with judgment, but almost always with
languor, and betrays a want of warmth. Besides, her powers have
declined. However, she sometimes displays energetic flashes of a real
tragic truth; but they are borrowed, and it is affirmed, not without
foundation, that Mademoiselle SAINVAL the elder (who is still living)
has been so obliging as to lend them to her.

Madame TALMA. For this name she is indebted to a divorce, having
snatched TALMA from his first wife, an elderly woman who had ruined
herself for him, or whom he had ruined. She quitted her first
husband, a dancing-master of the name of PETIT, to live under the
more than friendly protection of Mademoiselle RAUCOURT.----Madame
TALMA is not handsome, and is now on the wane. She plays tragedy,
comedy, and the _drame_; but has no real talent, except in the
last-mentioned line. In the first, she wants nobleness and energy.
Her delivery is monotonous. It is said in her praise, that she has
"_tears in her voice_." I believe that it seldom happens to her to
have any in her eyes, and that this sensibility, for which some would
give her credit, proceeds not from her heart. In comedy, she wishes
to assume a cavalier and bold manner, brought into vogue by
Mademoiselle CONTAT. This manner by no means suits Madame TALMA, who
neither has elegance in her shape, nor animation in her features. In
the _drame_, her defects disappear, and her good qualities remain.
She then is really interesting, and her efforts to please are
rewarded by the applause of the public.

Mademoiselle BOURGOIN. With respect to this young lady, a powerful
protection serves her in lieu of talent; for she is handsome. She
persists in playing tragedy, which is not her fort. In comedy, she
appears to advantage.

Mademoiselle VOLNAIS. This is a very young girl. All she says is in a
crying tone, and what is worse, she seems not to comprehend what she
says. In the characters which she first represented she was very
successful, but is no longer so at the present day.


_Characters of Confidantes._

Mesdames SUIN and THÉNARD.

There are two only who are deserving of notice. The one is Madame
SUIN, who certainly justifies the character she bears of a woman of
judgment; for she has the most just delivery of all the performers
belonging to the _Théâtre Français_; but she is advanced in years,
and the public often treat her with rudeness. The other confidante is
Mademoiselle THÉNARD, who has played the parts of princesses at this
theatre with a partial success.

There are also other confidantes, whom it is not worth while to
mention.

I shall conclude this account of the tragedians belonging to the
_Théâtre Français_, by observing that the revolution is said to have
given a new turn to the mind and character of the French women; and
the success which several actresses, at this day obtain in the
dramatic career, in the line of tragedy, is quoted in support of this
opinion. For a number of years past, as has been seen, Melpomene
seemed to have placed the diadem on the head of Mademoiselle
RAUCOURT, and this tragic queen would probably have grown gray under
the garments of royalty, had not the revolution imparted to her sex a
degree of energy sufficient for them to dispute her empire. Women
here have seen so many instances of cruelty, during the last ten or
twelve years, they have participated, in a manner more or less
direct, in an order of things so replete with tragical events, that
those among them who feel a _penchant_ for the stage, find
themselves, in consequence, disposed to figure in tragedy.[10]

[Footnote 1: _Fénélon_ is no longer performed. It is a very bad
tragedy by _Chénier_.]

[Footnote 2: There are players members of the National Institute.
MONVEL belongs to the Class of Literature and the Fine Arts.]

[Footnote 3: Notwithstanding the ill effects likely to result from
such doctrine, far more dangerous to society than the poniards of a
host of assassins, it appears that, when those actors called
terrorists, or partisans of terror, were hunted down, MONVEL was not
molested.]

[Footnote 4: There are a great many enthusiastic admirers of his
talent.]

[Footnote 5: It is really to TALMA that the French are indebted for
the exact truth of costume which is at this day to be admired on the
theatres of Paris, especially in new pieces. An inhabitant of a
country the most remote might believe himself in his native land; and
were an ancient Greek or Roman to come to life again, he might
imagine that the fashion of his day had experienced no alteration.]

[Footnote 6: The subject of it is the massacre of St. Bartholomew's
day.]

[Footnote 7: He wears his hair cut short, and without powder.]

[Footnote 8: One evening at the opera, M. DE DURAS authoritatively
took possession of a box hired for the night by another person. The
latter, dreading his power, but at the same time desirous to
stigmatize him, said: "'Tis not he who took Minorca, 'tis not he who
took this place nor that, the man of whom I complain, never took any
thing in his life but my box at the opera!"]

[Footnote 9: All the princes and princesses of the House of Austria
have the under-lip very prominent.]

[Footnote 10: The example of Mesdemoiselles BOURGOIN and VOLNAIS
having proved that first-rate talents were not necessary for being
received at the _Théâtre Français_, as a tragic queen or princess,
the number of candidates rapidly increased. For several months past,
the merit of these _débutantes_ has been the general concern of all
Paris. Each had her instructor, and, of course, was carefully tutored
for the occasion.

M. LEGOUVÉ, the tragic writer, first brought forward on this stage
Mademoiselle DUCHESNOIS, a girl about twenty, extremely ill-favoured
by nature. DUGAZON, the actor, next introduced Madame XAVIER, a very
handsome and elegant woman. Lastly, Mademoiselle RAUCOURT presented
her pupil, Mademoiselle GEORGES WEIMER, a young girl of perfect
beauty. Mademoiselle DUCHESNOIS played _Phèdre_, in RACINE'S tragedy
of that name, seven successive times. She certainly displayed a
semblance of sensibility, and, notwithstanding the disadvantages of
her person, produced such an effect on the senses of the debauched
Parisian youth by the libidinous manner she adopted in the scene
where _Phèdre_ declares her unconquerable passion for her son-in-law
_Hippolyte_, that her success was complete. What greater proof can be
adduced of the vitiated taste of the male part of the audience? She
also performed _Sémiramis_, _Didon_, and _Hermione_; but in the first
two characters she betrayed her deficiency. The next who entered the
lists was Madame XAVIER. On her _début_ in _Sémiramis_, she was
favourably received by the public; but, afterwards, choosing to act
_Hermione_, the partisans of Mademoiselle DUCHESNOIS assembled in
such numbers as to constitute a decided majority in the theatre. Not
content with interrupting Madame XAVIER, and hissing her off the
stage, they waited for her at the door of the play-house, and loaded
her with the grossest abuse and imprecations. Lastly appeared
Mademoiselle GEORGES WEIMER. Warned by the disgraceful conduct of the
_Duchesnistes_ (as they are called) towards Madame XAVIER, the
comedians, by issuing a great number of _orders_, contrived to
anticipate them, and obtain a majority, especially in the pit.
Mademoiselle GEORGES made her _début_ in the character of
_Clitemnestre_, and was well received. Her beauty excited enthusiasm,
and effected a wonderful change in public opinion. After playing
several parts in which Mademoiselle DUCHESNOIS had either failed, or
was afraid to appear, she at last ventured to rival her in that of
_Phèdre_. At the first representation of the piece, Mademoiselle
GEORGES obtained only a partial success; but, at the second, she was
more fortunate. The consequence, however, had well nigh proved truly
tragic. The _Duchesnistes_ and _Georgistes_ had each taken their
posts, the one on the right side of the pit; the other, on the left.
When Mademoiselle GEORGES was called for after the performance, and
came forward, in order to be applauded, the former party hissed her,
when the latter falling on them, a general battle ensued. The guard
was introduced to separate the combatants; but the _Duchesnistes_
were routed; and, being the aggressors, several of them were
conducted to prison. The First Consul assisted at this
representation; yet his presence had no effect whatever in
restraining the violence of these dramatic factions.

Since then, Mesdemoiselles DUCHESNOIS and GEORGES have both been
received into the company of the _Théâtre Français_. Madame XAVIER
has returned to the provinces.]



LETTER LV.

_Paris, January 22, 1802._

The observation with which I concluded my last letter, might explain
why the votaries of Thalia gain so little augmentation to their
number; while those of Melpomene are daily increasing. I shall now
proceed to investigate the merits of the former, at the _Théâtre
Français_.


COMEDY.


_Parts of noble Fathers._

VANHOVE and NAUDET.

VANHOVE. This actor is rather more sufferable in comedy than tragedy;
but in both he is very monotonous, and justifies the lines applied to
him by a modern satirist, M. DESPAZE:

"VANHOVE, _plus heureux, psalmodie à mon gré;
Quel succès l'attendait, s'il eût été Curé!_"

NAUDET. I have already said that the Reverend Father NAUDET, as he is
called, played the parts of tyrants in tragedy. Never did tyrant
appear so inoffensive. As well as VANHOVE, in comedy, he neither
meets with censure nor applause from the public.


_First parts, or principal lovers, in Comedy._

MOLÉ, FLEURY, and BAPTISTE the elder.

MOLÉ. At this name I breathe. Perhaps you have imagined that
ill-humour or caprice had till now guided my pen; but, could I praise
the talent of MOLÉ as he deserves, you would renounce that opinion.

MOLÉ made his _début_ at the _Comédie Française_ about forty-five
years ago. He had some success; but as the Parisian public did not
then become enthusiasts in favour of mere beginners, he was sent into
the provinces to acquire practice. At the expiration of two or three
years, he returned, and was received to play the parts of young
lovers in tragedy and comedy. He had not all the nobleness requisite
for the first-mentioned line of acting; but he had warmth and an
exquisite sensibility. In a word, he maintained his ground by the
side of Mademoiselle DUMESNIL and LEKAIN, two of the greatest
tragedians that ever adorned the French stage. For a long time he was
famous in the parts of _petits-maîtres_, in which he shone by his
vivacity, levity, and grace.

This actor was ambitious in his profession. Although applauded, and
perhaps more so than LEKAIN, he was perfectly sensible that he
produced not such great, such terrible effects; and he favoured the
introduction of the _drame_, which is a mixture of tragedy and
comedy. But those who most detest the whining style of this species
of composition are compelled to acknowledge that MOLÉ was fascinating
in the part of _St. Albin_, in DIDEROT'S _Père de Famille_.

BELLECOURT being dead, MOLÉ took the first parts in comedy, with the
exception of a few of those in which his predecessor excelled, whose
greatest merit, I understand, was an air noble and imposing in the
highest degree. As this was MOLÉ's greatest deficiency, he
endeavoured to make amends for it by some perfection. He had no
occasion to have recourse to art. It was sufficient for him to employ
well the gifts lavished on him by nature. Though now verging on
seventy, no one expresses love with more eloquence (for sounds too
have theirs), or with more charm and fire than MOLÉ. In the fourth
act of the _Misanthrope_, he ravishes and subdues the audience, when,
after having overwhelmed _Célimène_ with reproaches, he paints to her
the love with which he is inflamed. But this sentiment is not the
only one in the expression of which MOLÉ is pre-eminently successful.

In the _Philinte de Molière_, which also bears the title of _La Suite
du Misanthrope_, and in which FABRE D'EGLANTINE has presented the
contrast between an egotist and a man who sacrifices his interest to
that of his fellow-creatures, MOLÉ vents all the indignation of
virtue with a warmth, a truth, and even a nobleness which at this day
belong only to himself. In short, he performs this part, in which the
word _love_ is not once mentioned, with a perfection that he
maintains from the first line to the last.

In the fifth act of _Le Dissipateur_ (a comedy by DESTOUCHES), when
he sees himself forsaken by his companions of pleasure, and thinks he
is so by his mistress too, the expression of his grief is so natural,
that you imagine you see the tears trickling from his eyes. In
moments when he pictures love, his voice, which at times is somewhat
harsh, is softened, lowers its key, and (if I may so express myself)
goes in search of his heart, in order to draw from it greater
flexibility and feeling. The effect which he produces is irresistible
and universal. Throughout the house the most profound silence is
rigidly, but sympathetically enforced; so great is the apprehension
of losing a single monosyllable in these interesting moments, which
always appear too short. To this silence succeed shouts of
acclamation and bursts of applause. I never knew any performer
command the like but Mademoiselle SAINVAL the elder.

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