DORVAL (Marie). - Lot 95

DORVAL (Marie). Born in Lorient (1798–1849). A famous actress of the Romantic era, closely associated with the poet ALFRED DE VIGNY, and a friend of George Sand. Autograph letter signed “Marie Dorval” to a poet (?). No place, no date [circa 1841]. 1 page, in-8. Stamped seal: Papeterie Chavalier - Bath. BEAUTIFUL LETTER, HALF-WORN: …I have been very slow to give you news of what interests you, Sir, but it has been quite impossible for me to reach MR. ANTÉNOR JOLY. His theater is doing very poorly and leaves him very little time to attend to anything other than his personal troubles… She would be delighted to see him again to tell him in person how… touched and grateful she is that he has allowed a little of that poetry—of which I have been deprived for so long—to reach me!...In 1839, MARIE DORVAL made her debut at LA RENAISSANCE, at the Salle Ventadour, newly opened under the direction of ANTÉNOR JOLY, a former typesetter, journalist, and founder in 1835 of the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Antoine, who had obtained from the Orléanist government the privilege of opening a new theater. The actress triumphed in *Le Proscrit*, a five-act drama by Frédéric Soulié and Timothée Dehay.George Sand wrote to her on this occasion: “If I were the Grand Turk, I would send you an island in the archipelago covered in flowers to express my joy and happiness at the way you performed last night.” Thanks to this success, Marie Dorval premiered the role of Cosima at the Comédie-Française and reprised the role of Kitty Bell in Vigny’s *Chatterton*. The poet, who attended the premiere, remarked about Marie—from whom he had been separated since 1838—“Her beautiful and unique talent has grown even further, displaying greater composure and self-control in some scenes, and greater finesse and ingenuity in others.”