https://tweedlandthegentlemansclub.blogspot.com/2011/08/marie-antoinette-and-her-many-faces.html
https://tweedlandthegentlemansclub.blogspot.com/2014/09/les-petits-appartements-versailles-by.html
https://tweedlandthegentlemansclub.blogspot.com/2011/08/rose-bertin-marie-antoinettes-fashion.html
http://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/estate-trianon/queen-theatre
A great
lover of the dramatic arts, Marie-Antoinette eventually grew tired of the
temporary stages knocked together for performances in the gallery of the Grand
Trianon and the orangery of the Petit Trianon. Once she had decided to
commission her personal architect Richard Mique to build her a real theatre,
work was completed in spring 1780, and the official inauguration was on 1 June.
Cleverly
tucked away amidst the foliage of the gardens, the entrance to the theatre is a
discreet portico in the classical style. The theatre itself was large enough to
seat two hundred and fifty spectators, in a décor dominated by blue, white and
gold. The sculpted decorations were created using the quick (and cheap)
technique of papier mâché, in which the craftsmen of the Menus Plaisirs were
acknowledged experts. The various shades of gold blend harmoniously with the
false marble panelling dominated by violet tones. The ceiling, painted by
Lagrenée, was completed just a few days before the inauguration of the theatre
and depicted Apollo surrounded by the Graces and Muses. The original was
replaced by a copy in the 19th century. The vast stage (eight layers, two
floors below stage level and two in the rafters), was expertly fitted out by
mechanical specialist Pierre Boullet, successor to Blaise-Henri Arnoult, who
designed the machinery of the Royal Opera House. The orchestra pit has room for
around twenty musicians.
The queen
intended the Trianon theatre to play a double role: it needed to provide a
stage for the works commissioned from the artist of the Royal Academy of Music,
and thus offer satisfactory technical facilities, but it also needed to allow the
queen to indulge her passion for amateur dramatics and to put on comedies with
her friends whenever she fancied. Between 1780 and 1785 Marie-Antoinette used
her theatre for both purposes. She commissioned new works which reflected her
interest in the music of the day. Featured artists included Gluck, Grétry,
Sacchini and Paisiello, whose Barber of Seville, first performed in Saint
Petersburg for Catherine II, had its French premiere at the Trianon theatre in
1784. Falling out of favour with the queen after 1785, the theatre survived the
revolutionary period relatively unscathed. It was used occasionally in the
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and underwent restoration between 1925
and 1936 and again in 2001.
The
original machinery has been restored to working order, making the Trianon
theatre the only eighteenth-century theatre in France which is still intact and
fully-functioning. Along with an exceptional set dating from 1754 and showing
the temple of Minerva from the first act of Quinault and Lully’s Thésée -
designed by the Slodtz brothers for the theatre at Fontainebleau - the Queen’s
Theatre still has various items of scenery (including two full sets) produced
in the nineteenth century by Pierre-Luc-Charles Cicéri and his workshop: a ‘rustic
interior’, a forest, and fragments of a public square and ‘rich salon’.
On account of its small size and distance from the palace, the auditorium is no longer used for performances. This has helped to preserve the theatre in its original condition, without the need to install modern safety features which would inevitably compromise its period authenticity. The theatre is still open to the public as part of the guided tour ‘Special effects at the Queen’s Theatre’, which includes a live demonstration of how the sets were changed.
Marie-Antoinette's personal theatre gets a
lockdown makeover
Issued on:
22/02/2021 - 13:28
Modified:
22/02/2021 - 13:26
Pandemic or
not, it's a theatre space that very rarely sees an audience: Marie-Antoinette's
personal playhouse in the grounds of Versailles is a fragile historical gem in
need of delicate care.
The late
18th century was a time of "theatre-mania" in which many wealthy
princes and financiers built their own stages on their estates, said Raphael
Masson, lead conservator at Versailles.
The last
queen of France before the revolution was a passionate fan of music and
theatre, and had hers built deep in the grounds of the chateau where she could
escape with her retinue.
It was
here, in 1785, that she gave her own last performance on stage, as Rosine in
"The Barber of Seville" in front of its author, Beaumarchais.
Today, it
is the only 18th century theatre in France to still have its original working
machinery -- "a miracle of conservation", said Masson.
It has
three sets -- a rustic interior, a forest and a temple of Minerva -- the latter
being the oldest intact decor in the world, dating to 1754: "Our own Mona
Lisa," said Masson.
The sets
were highly innovative at the time, riding on rails from both sides of the
stage to create moving backdrops -- the "special effects of the 18th
century," said Masson. "A testimony to the virtuosity of the 18th
century decorators."
The theatre
was deemed worthless at the time of the revolution, and so never sold off. Yet
restoring its former glory has been a job of painstaking conservation.
With
visitors kept away by the pandemic, the team has been working on a new curtain,
stitching the dazzling cobalt-blue linen together by hand using the original
techniques.
They are
also using the chateau's original inventory to rebuild other parts that have
been lost over the years, including machinery that allows a tree to rise from a
trapdoor.
But even
when visitors are able to return, the 250-seat theatre will not be giving
regular performances.
Despite
being brought back to functioning life with a major restoration in 2001, its
fragility has meant it only gives concerts once every two years.
That makes those moments particularly special, said Masson: "We are always very moved to hear the notes rise from the pit."
© 2021 AFP
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