Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin



Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin



The yearbook Mémorial Drâmatique ou Almanach Théatral pour l'an 1808 has an entry for the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin.

Ce Théâtre, supprimé par le décret impérial du 8 Août 1807, avait fait son ouverture le 27 Septembre 1802. On y jouait le Mélodrame, la Comédie et la Pantomime mêlée de danse.

The building from this period was destroyed in the flames of the Paris Commune but in 1871 the theatre was rebuilt and over the years has seen many premieres that we regard as synonymous with the French theatre (Cyrano de Bergerac etc).

Napoleon's decree of 1807 had reduced the number of theatres in Paris to seven and ended a period of expansion. I'm uncertain what impact this had on the employment opportunities for dancers but 1808 is unlikely to have been a boom year.

So in 1808 a M. and Mme. Degville were fortunate not to be resting and they are listed among the principal dancers. But this spartan entry raises many questions.

The spelling is that adopted by Jame's Harvey d'Egville's generation but obviously lacks the apostrophe. The absence of forenames makes it almost impossible to identify precisely whom these dancers are.

The name d'Egville and the family's contribution to the theatre was well known on the French side of the Channel. The press published dispatches of English productions and the usual gossip that dominates the news of today so it is not impossible that these names were adopted as a homage. Though it is unlikely because the ballet master was Eugène Hus.

Eugène Hus was the psuedonym of Pierre-Louis Stapleton (1758-1823) who was the stepson of Jean-Baptiste Hus. In 1762 Jean-Baptiste became ballet master in Brussels where Pierre d'Aigueville's Ballet Turc would be performed in 1767.

James and George Harvey d'Egville are unlikely candidates for M. Degville as they appear to have been employed in England at this time. Louis Harvey d'Egville was settled in Worcester with a growing family.

These Degvilles may have been living in Paris for some time by 1808. Théâtre choisi de G. De Pixerécourt 1841 gives us some detailed descriptions and notices for a production of Robinson Crusoé [in London, Robinson Crusoe seems to have been part of the standard repertoire by 1805]:

Journal de Paris. 3 Octobre 1805

Parmi les danses qui couronnent le dénoftmeot, on voudra revoir souvent celle du Chiea, danse voluptueuse , s'il en fût, et que Robillon et Mlle Degville exécutent avec une grande énergie d'expression.

Courrier des Spectacles 4 Octobre 1805

On a remarqué les beaux développements de Itérante, la légèreté de Morand et la danse grotesque de Robillon et de madame Degville dans un pas de nègres.

If these were Degvilles who had settled in the United Kingdom then through what circumstances did they find themselves in Paris just weeks before the Battle of Trafalgar? And is Mlle Degville a misprint or is there a small family living there? We know that a Jean-Pierre Degville died in Paris in the first quarter of the nineteenth century.

In the Annuaire Dramatique for the year 1813 under the entry of the Théâtre de la Gaîté, Boulevard du Temple  the name Sophie Degville appears and her address is given as the 'rue des Martyrs'. If she were Pierre d'Aigueville's wife she would be almost eighty years old and one wonders what sort of roles would have been open to her. I doubt whether she would have been capable of a voluptuous dance of great energy of expression less than a decade earlier but if she had I would like to have seen it.