Charles Simon Favart (13 November 1710 – 12 May 1792) was a French playwright and theatre director. The
Salle Favart
The Salle Favart, officially the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique, is a Paris opera house and theatre, the current home of the Opéra-Comique. It was built from 1893 to 1898 in a neo-Baroque style to the designs of the French architect Louis Bernie ...
in Paris is named after him.
Biography
Born in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, the son of a pastry-cook, he was educated at the
Lycée Louis-le-Grand
The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on rue Saint-Jacques in central Paris. It was founded in the ...
, and after his father's death he carried on the business for a time. His first success in literature was ''La France delivrée par la Pucelle d'Orléans'', a poem about
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...
which obtained a prize of the
Académie des Jeux Floraux. After the production of his first ''
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
'', ''Les Deux Jumelles'' (1734), circumstances enabled him to relinquish business and devote himself entirely to the drama. He provided many pieces anonymously for the lesser theatres, and first put his name to ''La Chercheuse d'esprit'', which was produced in 1741.
Among his most successful works were ''Annette et Lubin; Le Coq du milage'' (1743); ''Les Vendanges de Tempé'' (1745), later reworked as ''La Vallée de Montmorency'' (1752); ''Ninette à la cour'' (1753); ''Les Trois Sultanes'' (1761) and ''L'Anglais de Bordeaux'' (1763). Favart became director of the
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...
, and in 1745 married
Marie Justine Benoîte Duronceray, a beautiful young dancer, singer and actress, who as "Mlle Chantilly" had made a successful début the year before. By their united talents and labours, the Opéra-Comique rose to such a height of success that it aroused the jealousy of the rival
Comédie-Française
The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...
and was suppressed.
Favart, left thus without resources, accepted the proposal of comte
Maurice de Saxe
Maurice, Count of Saxony (german: Hermann Moritz von Sachsen, french: Maurice de Saxe; 28 October 1696 – 20 November 1750) was a notable soldier, officer and a famed military commander of the 18th century. The illegitimate son of Augustus I ...
, and became director of a troupe of comedians which was to accompany Maurice's army into
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
. It was part of his duty to compose from time to time impromptu verses on the events of the campaign, amusing and stimulating the spirits of the men. So popular were Favart and his troupe that the enemy became desirous of hearing his company and sharing his services, and permission was given to gratify them, battles and comedies thus curiously alternating with each other.
The marshal, an admirer of Mme Favart, began to pay her unwanted attentions. To escape him she went to Paris, and the wrath of Saxe fell upon the husband. A ''
lettre de cachet
''Lettres de cachet'' (; ) were letters signed by the king of France, countersigned by one of his ministers, and closed with the royal seal. They contained orders directly from the king, often to enforce arbitrary actions and judgments that co ...
'' was issued against him, but he fled to
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
and found concealment in a cellar.
Favart survived his wife by twenty years. After the marshal's death in 1750 he returned to Paris and resumed his pursuits as a dramatist. It was at this time that he became friendly with the
abbé de Voisenon, who helped him with his work, to what extent is uncertain. He had grown nearly blind in his last days, and died in Paris. The Favart's second son,
Charles Nicolas Favart was also an actor and dramatist.
His plays have been republished in various editions and selections (1763-1772, 12 vols.; 1810, 3 vols.; 1813; 1853). His correspondence (1759-1763) with
Count Durazzo, director of theatres at Vienna, was published in 1808 as '. It furnishes valuable information on the state of the literary and theatrical worlds in the 18th century.
Favart's plays are also known to have inspired his close friend, the artist François Boucher, to create numerous paintings featuring Favart's characters of "the little Shepherd" and the shepherdess "Lisette." These include Boucher's ''The Agreeable Lesson'' (also known as ''The Flute Players'') of 1748 and ''An Autumn Pastoral'' (also known as ''The Grape Eaters'') of 1749. In turn, these paintings inspired artists of the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory to create a pair of figurines showing the two characters in poses imitating the characters of the play.
Works
Some 60 of the c. 150 plays that he composed (essentially comedies and
opéras-comiques) were published in his lifetime, in 10 volumes, under the title ''Théâtre de M. Favart'', Paris, Duchesne (later Veuve Duchesne), 1763–1772. Reprint in fac-simile, Geneva, Slatkine, 1971, 10 t. Availabable on
Gallica.
*1732: ''Polichinelle comte de Paonfier''
*1734: ''Les Deux Jumelles''
*1735: ''La Foire de Bezons''
*1738: ''Le Bal bourgeois''
*1739: ''Moulinet premier'', parody
*1740: ''La Servante justifiée''
*1741: ''
La Chercheuse d'esprit'', opéra-comique
*1741: ''La Fête de Saint-Cloud''
*1742: ''Le Prix de Cyhtère'', opéra comique
*1742: ''Hippolyte et Aricie'', parody
*1743: ''Le Coq de village'', opéra comique
*1744: ''Acajou'', opéra comique
*1744: ''Le Bal de Strasbourg'', ballet
*1745: ''Les Vendanges de Tempé''
*1747: ''
Les Nymphes de Diane''
*1747: ''Les Amours grivois''
*1748: ''
Cythère assiégée''
*1750: ''Zéphire et Fleurette''
*1751: ''Les Indes dansantes'', parody of ''
Indes galantes''
*1753: ''Raton et Rosette''
*1753: ''Les Amours de Bastien et Bastienne'', parody of ''
Devin du village''
*1755: ''La Servante maîtresse'', parody of ''
La serva padrona
''La serva padrona'', or ''The Maid Turned Mistress'', is a 1733 intermezzo by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710–1736) to a libretto by Gennaro Federico, after the play by Jacopo Angello Nelli. It is some 40 minutes long, in two parts without o ...
'' by
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Giovanni Battista Draghi (; 4 January 1710 – 16 or 17 March 1736), often referred to as Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (), was an Italian Baroque composer, violinist, and organist. His best-known works include his Stabat Mater and the opera ''L ...
.
*1755: ''
Ninette à la cour'', opéra comique
*1761: ''Les Trois Sultanes ou Soliman Second''
*1762: ''
Annette et Lubin'', opéra comique
*1763: ''
L'Anglais à Bordeaux''
*1765: ''
La Fée Urgèle ou Ce qui plaît aux dames'', opéra-comique
*1769: ''
La Rosière de Salency'', opéra comique
*1773: ''
La Belle Arsène'', opéra comique
Favart also left ''Mémoires'', published in 1808 by his grandson.
Trivia
* Favart and his wife appeared in fictionalised form in
Offenbach's 1878
opéra comique
''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular '' opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...
, ''
Madame Favart
''Madame Favart'' is an opéra comique, or operetta, in three acts by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Alfred Duru and Henri Chivot.
Performance history
After defeat in the Franco-Prussian War (1870) ended Napoleon III' ...
''
* Favart reworked
Rinaldo di Capua's ''La Zingara'' as ''La Bohemienne''.
* Favart's ''Hippolyte et Aricie'' (1742) is a parody of the
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
by
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theory, music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of Fr ...
bearing
the same name.
References
External links
*
Charles-Simon Favarton
Data.bnf.fr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Favart, Charles Simon
18th-century French dramatists and playwrights
18th-century French writers
18th-century French male writers
18th-century French male actors
French male stage actors
French opera librettists
Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni
Directors of La Monnaie
Writers from Paris
1710 births
1792 deaths