The _Theatre-des-Arts_ at the corner of the rues _Grand-Pont_ and des
_Charrettes_, was erected by Francis Gueroult, an architect of Rouen.
The first stone was laid on the 18th june 1774, and the opening took
place the 29th june 1776, on Saint-Peter's day and the fete of
Corneille. This theatre was altered and lighted with gas, in 1835, and
will contain about seventeen or eighteen hundred persons. The ceiling
was painted by Lemoine, a native of this city, and represents the
_apotheosis of Corneille_.
The peristyle fronting the rue des Charrettes is in the form of a
quarter of a circle and is composed of columns of the ionic order. The
medallion of Pierre Corneille is sculptured on the entablature which is
supported by these columns, and on each side of the medallion, we
perceive Melpomene with a dagger, and Thalia with a mask.
The performers for operas and comedies are generally good.
The second theatre is situated on the old market place and is called the
_Theatre-Francais_; this building formerly used as a tennis court, was
opened for theatrical purposes on the 2nd of february 1793. This
theatre will contain about twelve hundred persons. Besides these two
theatres, there is a third at the entrance of Saint-Sever, which is the
circus or _Ambigu-Dramatique_.