Odéon, Théâtre National de l'

Odéon, Théâtre National de l', Paris, second theatre of France, ranking next to the Comédie-Française, which in 1781 occupied the first building to be erected on the present site of the Odéon. Following the vicissitudes of the early Revolutionary period, the theatre acquired its present name in 1795. Rebuilt in 1816, and again after its destruction by fire two years later, it was managed by Picard from 1816 to 1821; but it was only in 1829 that light comedies and operettas gave way to a classical and contemporary repertoire. André Antoine was its Director, 1906–16, Gémier 1921–8. During the reorganization of the Parisian theatres under André Malraux in 1959 the Odéon was removed from the control of the Comédie-Française and renamed the Théâtre de France, under the direction of Jean-Louis Barrault. He presented there a number of important plays, including Genet's Les Paravents (1966), which led to rioting in the theatre. Barrault also created a small studio for experimental work, and provided a home for the Théâtre des Nations. After the demonstrations of May 1968, for which the Odéon provided a focal point, Barrault was dismissed, and the theatre reverted to the control of the Comédie-Française, and its old name, in 1971. Within this new association, the Petit Odéon was created to promote the work of new playwrights. In 1983 the Odéon was again separated from the Comédie-Française, housing the Théâtre de l'Europe which staged foreign-language productions, the Odéon also continuing to stage its own productions. After a further period of control by the Comédie-Française, 1986–9, the Odéon regained its independence. Giorgio Strehler was Artistic Director of the Théâtre de l'Europe from 1983 to 1990, in which year it became a full-time occupant of the Odéon. His most notable productions there include The Tempest, Strindberg's The Storm, and Corneille's L'Illusion.