Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique
The Théâtre de l' Ambigu -Comique was opened on July 9, 1769 Theater on the Boulevard du Temple in Paris, then in 1800 places. It was built by Nicolas Médard Audinot.
Foundation
Audinot, a former performer of the Opéra -Comique to Charles Simon Favart had established itself as a puppeteer independently at the fairs. At the fair of Saint- Germain he had achieved some success with these performances.
At its founding Audinots company Comédiens de bois was called ( "Wood comedians "). Because the repertoire, however, was extended by the puppets to mime, acrobatics, children's ballets, small plays, vaudeville and Opéras comiques, a permanent theater was built and the institution in Ambigu -Comique (roughly: " mixture of comedic theater genres " ) renamed. Especially the children's ballet was very successful.
Struggle with prohibitions
Since Audinot the privileged theaters rivaled, he had to contend with prohibitions. 1771 singing and dancing were him on stage and an orchestra with more than four musicians forbidden because the theater audience more attracted than the Paris Opera. Audinot agreed with the opera after several clashes in 1780 on a license payment so he could perform a limited range of music, theatrical productions. The Comédie- Française and the Théâtre-Italien other hand, insisted on their privilege to control the pieces with spoken dialogue.
Despite these difficulties, succeeded Audinot, the theater to enlarge 1786. Now the fashionable romantic - historical Feerien were listed, such as La Belle au bois dormant ( Sleeping Beauty ), Le Masque de fer, La Forêt- Noire, Le Capitaine Cook. They were preforming the melodrama as well as classical ballet. Through the Freedom Theater of 1791 many competitors appeared, so that the Ambigu -Comique fighting for its existence and had to close in 1799. 1801 the theater became the birthplace of the melodrama of Guilbert de Pixérécourt, Caigniez and Victor Ducange.
New building on the Boulevard Saint -Martin
The Ambigu -Comique burned from 1827 and has now been rebuilt on the Boulevard Saint- Martin, the western extension of the Boulevard du Temple, and it was now standing next to the Théâtre de la Porte Saint -Martin. There it flourished throughout the 19th century through with melodrama, vaudeville and other popular attractions. Here was Prince Florestan I of Monaco as an actor involved ( before he took his government and the public finances with a casino reconstructed ), and the composer Jacques Offenbach played in the orchestra.
At the site of the old theater, the Théâtre des Folies- Dramatiques was built in 1832. The location of the new Ambigu -Comique survived as one of the few large theater, the destruction of the Boulevard du Temple by the transformation of the boulevards of Paris under the direction of Georges -Eugène Haussmann.
The 20th century with its new entertainment media led to the decline. In the 1920s, the theater served temporarily as a cinema. 1954, was reopened shortly by actor Christian Casadesus. They played there contemporary playwrights such as Roger Vitrac. In 1966 it was closed and demolished despite numerous protests.