Petit-Bourbon, Salle du

Petit-Bourbon, Salle du, Paris, the first Court Theatre of France, in the gallery of the palace of the dukes of Bourbon. A long, finely proportioned room, with a stage at one end, it had formerly been used for balls and ballets, and the first recorded professional company to play in it was the commedia dell'arte troupe the Gelosi in 1577. In 1604 the famous Isabella Andreini made her last appearance there. In 1645 the great Italian scene-painter and machinist Torelli was invited to supervise the production of opera in the theatre, and in 1658, when it was again in the possession of a commedia dell'arte troupe under Fiorillo, Molière's company, fresh from the provinces, was allowed to share it with them. For this privilege Molière paid a heavy rent and was allotted the less profitable days—Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays—the Italians keeping the more lucrative Tuesdays and Sundays for themselves. He opened in 1658 with five plays by Corneille in quick succession, and not until the end of the month did he put on one of his own farces, L'Étourdi, followed by Le Dépit amoureux. The Petit-Bourbon also saw the first nights of Les Précieuses ridicules (1659) and Sganarelle (1660), before it was suddenly scheduled for demolition, and the company, in the full tide of their success—the Italians having already left—found itself homeless. Louis XIV gave them Richelieu's disused theatre in the Palais-Royal and the Petit-Bourbon disappeared, Molière taking the boxes and fittings with him and Torelli's scenery and machinery being given to Vigarani.