The second Renaissance opened in 1873 on part of the site cleared by the burning of the Theatre de la Porte-Saint-Martin in 1871. A small theatre, it unwisely endeavoured to put on strong drama. This soon gave way to light operas, the most successful being those by Lecocq. Between 1884 and 1892 the theatre was in a bad way, passing through many hands, and finally it closed. Sarah Bernhardt, returning from a long tour abroad, took it over and made it successful, appearing there with Lucien Guitry and Coquelin aine. Among her successful productions were Rostand's La Princesse lointaine, Sudermann's Magda (both 1895), Mussel's Lorenzaccio (1896), and revivals of Racine's Phedre and the younger Dumas's La Dame aux camelias. In 1899 Bernhardt opened her own theatre and the Renaisance became the Theatre Lyrique, housing musical shows only.

In: Hartnoll, Phyllis, ed. The concise Oxford companion to the theatre. 1st ed. London: Oxford University Press, 1972.   ISBN 0-19-281102-9. p. 450

Author: Hartnoll Phyllis