Marivaux had the good judgment to abandon a style of composition for which he was in no way fitted, and, on May 3, 1722, returned to the Theatre-Italien with la Surprise de l’Amour, a comedy in three acts, and a decided success.  His predilection for the Theatre-Italien was such that he gave to it twenty of his plays, while only ten were brought out at the Theatre-Francais.  “Of the six plays of our author which were to remain in the repertory, only one, le Legs, was first played at the Comedie-Francaise; the five others, la Surprise de l’Amour, le Jeu de l’Amour et du Hasard, l’Ecole des Meres, les Fausses Confidences, l’Epreuve, appeared for the first time at the Theatre-Italien."[66]

L’abbe de La Porte declares, moreover, that, had it not been for his support, through lack of spectators the actors would have been obliged to give up their theatre.[67]

Why was this preference of Marivaux for the Theatre-Italien?  In the first place, because he found the Italian actors better fitted to interpret him with that “brillante et abondante volubilite” of the Italian nature, which his plays seem to require, masterpieces, as they are, of dialogue and conversational style.  Moreover, the Italians were performing in a foreign language and in a country in which they had a reputation yet to gain, and, consequently, were willing to accept suggestions from the author.  At the Theatre-Francais, on the contrary, both actors and audience were under the ban of certain traditions, which hindered the one from performing with the requisite natural grace and the other from accepting without criticism that which at the Theatre-Italien they might have received with enthusiasm.[68]

The prestige enjoyed by the members of the Comedie-Francaise was not calculated to make them readily accept advice, and Marivaux was often heard lamenting over their intractability.  The beauty of his plays depends upon the artless grace with which they are rendered.  “Il faut ... que les acteurs ne paraissent jamais sentir la valeur de ce qu’ils disent, et qu’en meme temps les spectateurs la sentent et la demelent a travers l’espece de nuage dont l’auteur a du envelopper leurs discours."[69] Such were the recommendations of Marivaux, but all to no purpose.  “J’ai eu beau le repeter aux comediens, la fureur de montrer de l’esprit a ete plus forte que mes tres humbles remontrances; et iis ont mieux aime commettre dans leur jeu un contre-sens perpetuel, qui flattait leur amour-propre, que de ne pas paraitre entendre finesse a leur role."[70]

Mlle. Lecouvreur, of the Comedie-Francaise, who played the roles of the jeunes amoureuses, was the source of considerable annoyance to Marivaux.  She would often catch the spirit of these subtle and metaphysical roles in the first performances, but, encouraged by applause, and to improve, if possible, upon her manner, would so force the action as to become affected in the later representations.[71] At the Theatre-Italien, however, Marivaux found an actress just suited to these roles, Giovanna-Rosa Benozzi, the famous Silvia.