The Theatre > History

S.BERNHARDT : Sarah Bernhardt: "I left the Odéon with a great sense of disappointment; I loved and still do love the theatre. It is just like a small provincial town... There is a school-like atmosphere; youthful hopes are still contained in the walls. People do not always speak of the past as they do in other theatres; young actors who go there speak of the future."

Sarah Berhnardt had given her first performances at the Odéon, playing the role of Aricie in Racine's "Phèdre", presented to mark the feast of the Emperor on August 151866. And in 1869, she embarked on her magnificent career, with "Passant", a small work by François Coppée, dressed as a Florentine singer.

In 1870, during the siege of Paris, the Ministry for War granted her permission to set up a military ambulance post in the theatre foyer. Once the republic was officially proclaimed, the Odéon opened its doors yet again. In 1872, Sarah Bernhardt triumphed in "Ruy Blas" by Victor Hugo, then moved on to join the Comédie Française. The director of the theatre, de Chilly, died when celebrating the hundredth performance of the play.