Alfred-Jules Jolly (20 April 1839 – 8 May 1891) was a French singer and actor. In the first part of his career he featured in operettas in Brussels and later in Paris, creating roles in works by Lecocq,

Hervé Hervé is a French language, French masculine given name of Breton language, Breton origin, from the name of the 6th-century Breton Saint Hervé. The common latinization of the name is Herveus (also ''Haerveus''), an early (8th-century) latinizati ...

and Offenbach, among others. From 1884 he switched to the non-musical theatre, based at the

Théâtre du Vaudeville The Théâtre du Vaudeville was a theatre company in Paris. It opened on 12 January 1792 on rue de Chartres. Its directors, Piis and Barré, mainly put on "petites pièces mêlées de couplets sur des airs connus", including vaudevilles. Af ...

, starring in comedies and

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

Life and career

Jolly was born in Paris on 20 April 1839. He dabbled in several professions before entering the theatre."Courrier des Théatres"
''Le Figaro'', 9 May 1891, p. 4 He made his debut in Belgium and then moved to Paris in 1866, returning to Brussels during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. In Brussels he was in three world premieres of operettas by

Charles Lecocq Alexandre Charles Lecocq (3 June 183224 October 1918) was a French composer, known for his opérettes and opéra comique, opéras comiques. He became the most prominent successor to Jacques Offenbach in this sphere, and enjoyed considerable succ ...

: as Sir Jonathan Plupersonn in ''

Les cent vierges ''Les cent vierges'' (The Hundred Maidens) is an opérette in three acts, with music by Charles Lecocq and a libretto by Clairville (Louis-François Nicolaïe), Clairville, Henri Chivot and Alfred Duru. It was first produced at the Théâtre des ...

'' (1872), Pomponnet in ''

La fille de Madame Angot ''La fille de Madame Angot'' (''Madame Angot's Daughter'') is an opéra comique in three acts by Charles Lecocq with words by Clairville, Paul Siraudin and Victor Koning. It was premiered in Brussels in December 1872 and soon became a success in ...

'' (1872) and Boléro d'Akarazar in ''

Giroflé-Girofla ''Giroflé-Girofla'' is an opéra bouffe in three acts with music by Charles Lecocq. The French libretto was by Albert Vanloo and Eugène Leterrier. The story, set in 13th century Spain, concerns twin brides, one of whom is abducted by pirates. ...

'' (1874). He moved permanently to Paris in 1876,"The Drama in Paris", ''The Era'', 16 May 1891, p. 11 and established himself at the Bouffes-Parisiens, and then at the

Théâtre de la Renaissance The name Théâtre de la Renaissance has been used successively for three distinct Parisian theatre companies. The first two companies, which were short-lived enterprises in the 19th century, used the Salle Ventadour, now an office building on th ...

. In those two theatres he created roles in many comic operas including Hérisson de Porc Epic in Chabrier's '' L'étoile'' (1877), the Governor in

Charles Grisart Charles Jean Baptiste Grisart (29 September 1837, in Paris – 11 March 1904, in Compiègne) was a French opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" ...

's ''Le Pont d'Avignon'' (1878),, the Marquis de rues in Hervé's ''La marquise des rues'' (1879), Grippeminaud in Hervé's ''Panurge'' (1879), Malicorne in Offenbach's ''

Belle Lurette ''Belle Lurette'' is a three-act opéra comique with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Ernest Blum, Edouard Blau and Raoul Toché. It was first performed at the Théâtre de la Renaissance, Paris, on 30 October 1880. The composer died before ...

'' (1880), Chateauminet in Lecocq's ''Janot'' (1881), and Prince Cornikoff in Hervé's ''Le vertigo'' (1883). In 1884 Jolly abandoned the musical stage and moved to the

. He was seen there as Duplantin opposite Réjane in

Edmond Gondinet Edmond Gondinet (7 March 1828 – 19 November 1888) was a French playwright and librettist. This author, nearly forgotten today, produced forty plays of which several were successful. He collaborated with Alphonse Daudet and Eugène Labiche, amo ...

's ''Clara Soleil'', and in the leading comic roles in ''La veuve de Damoclès'' (1886), ''Le conseil judiciaire'' (1886), ''Les surprises du divorce'' (1888), ''La sécurité des familles'' (1888) and ''Feu Toupinel'' (1890). His last role was Montgodin in the

''Madame Montgodin'' by

Ernest Blum Ernest Blum (15 August 1836 – 18 September 1907) was a French playwright. Biography He made his debut as a writer at the age of sixteen with ''Une femme qui mord''. As a journalist, he was associated with ''Le Charivari'', '' Le Rappel'', ''Le ...

and

Raoul Toché François-Frédéric-Raoul Toché (7 October 1850 – 18 January 1895 was a French playwright and journalist. Life and career Toché was born on 7 October 1850 in Rueil, now known as Rueil-Malmaison, near Paris. As a playwright he is known for his ...

. ''

Les Annales du théâtre et de la musique ''Les Annales du Théâtre et de la Musique'' ("The Annals of Theatre and Music") was an annual French periodical which covered French dramatic and lyric theatre for 42 years, from 1875 to 1916. The volumes also covered concert series and ne ...

'' said of his performance, "You had to see Jolly – Jolly was the whole play … Jolly, bewildered. Jolly absolutely priceless."Noël and Stoullig (1891), pp. 212 and 214 Jolly's career was cut short by illness, and he died in Paris on 8 May 1891, aged 52. The Paris correspondent of '' The Era'' wrote of him: ''Le Figaro'' said:

References

Sources

* * :* :* :* :* :* :*{{cite book , last =Noël , first =Édouard , author2=Edmond Stoullig, author-mask=1, author2-mask=1 , title =Les Annales du théâtre et de la musique, 1890 , location =Paris , publisher = Charpentier , url= https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb32694497t/date.r=., lang=FR, date =1891 , oclc = 1178149116 1839 births 1891 deaths 19th-century French actors 19th-century French male opera singers