François-Pierre-Auguste Léger (

Bernay, Eure Bernay () is a commune in the west of the Eure department in Northern France. In 2012, Bernay was designated one of the French Towns and Lands of Art and History. Geography Bernay is in the valley of the Charentonne, a tributary of the Risle, ...

, 16 March 1766 – Paris, 28 March 1823) was an 18th–19th-century French playwright.

Short biography

The son of a surgeon, he became a tutor for sons of the bourgeoisie then left teaching to join a troupe of actors at the theaters du Vaudeville (1790–1797) and des Troubadours (1797–1800). He played the roles of lovers and fools and also started writing, playing in the first plays he wrote such as ''L'Auteur d'un moment'' that made him known to the public. After seven years at the Vaudeville, it passed to the Troubadours of which he became deputy director until bankruptcy forced the theatre to closed down on 1 March 1800. After he became a teacher of literature and morality in a ladies boarding school (1801), he obtained a position of clerk of court in Saint-Denis but continued to have his plays presented at the

Théâtre du Palais-Royal The Théâtre du Palais-Royal () is a 750-seat Parisian theatre at 38 rue de Montpensier, located at the northwest corner of the Palais-Royal in the Galerie de Montpensier at its intersection with the Galerie de Beaujolais. Brief history ...

, the

Théâtre des Variétés The Théâtre des Variétés is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7–8, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1974. History It owes its creation to the theatre director Mademoiselle ...

, the Théâtre-Français, the Théâtre de la Gaîté or the Théâtre de l'Odéon. The

First Restoration The First Restoration was a period in French history that saw the return of the Bourbon dynasty to the throne, between the abdication of Napoleon I in the spring of 1814 and the Hundred Days, in March 1815. The regime was born following the vict ...

had him lose his position of registrar but he managed to find a post in the administration of

revenue stamp A revenue stamp, tax stamp, duty stamp or fiscal stamp is a (usually) adhesive label used to designate collected taxes or fees on documents, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, drugs and medicines, playing cards, hunting licenses, firearm registration, ...

before becoming

theatre manager Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

of the Théâtre de Nantes (1816-1818). He died rue du Croissant in Paris aged 57 on 28 March 1823.

Works

*1790: ''Le Danger des conseils, ou la Folle inconstance'', comedy in 1 act and in verse *1790: ''L'Orphelin et le curé'', historical fact, in 1 act and in prose *1790: ''La Folle gageure'', comedy in 1 act and in prose *1792: ''Alain et Rosette'', one-act comédie en vaudevilles *1792: ''L'Apothéose du jeune Barra'', one-act tableau patriotique, mingled with ariettes, with

Louis Emmanuel Jadin Louis-Emmanuel Jadin (21 September 1768 – 11 April 1853) was a French composer, pianist and harpsichordist. Jadin was born in Versailles. He learned piano from his brother Hyacinthe Jadin and later worked at the Théâtre de Monsieur. His fi ...

*1792: ''L'Auteur d'un moment'', one-act comedy, in verse and in vaudevilles *1792: ''La Cinquantaine'', one-act comedy in prose and in vaudeville *1792: ''L'isle des femmes'', divertissement in 1 act and in vaudevilles *1792: ''Joconde'', comedy in 2 acts and in vaudevilles *1793: ''L'Heureuse décade'', divertissement patriotique, in i act and in vaudevilles, with

Pierre-Yves Barré Pierre-Yves Barré (17 April 1749 – 2 May 1832) was a French vaudevillist and songwriter. Life Barré was born in Paris. He began life as a lawyer to the French parliament, then court clerk in Pau, but as the nephew of the chans ...

and Jean-René Rosières *1793: ''Nicaise, peintre'',

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 ...

in one act and in prose *1793: ''Le Dédit mal gardé'', divertissement patriotique in 1 act, in prose and in vaudevilles, with

Louis Philipon de La Madelaine Louis Philipon de La Madelaine (October 1734 in Lyon – 19 April 1818 in Paris) was an 18th–19th-century French writer, chansonnier, philologist and goguettier. Intendant des finances of the comte d’Artois, Philipon de La Madelaine wrote ...

*1793: ''La Gageure inutile ou Plus de peur que de mal'', one-act comedy *1793: ''Georges et Gros-Jean, ou l'Enfant trouvé'', historical fact, in 1 act and in vaudevilles *1793: ''La Papesse Jeanne'', one-act comedy *1794: ''Christophe Dubois'', historical fact in 1 act and in prose, mingled with vaudevilles *1795: ''Le Sourd guéri, ou Les tu et les vous'', one-act comedy, mingled with vaudevilles, with Barré *1796: ''Angélique et Melcour, ou le Procès'', one-act comedy *1796: ''Ziste et zeste, ou les Importuns'', folie in 1 act and in vaudevilles, with

Jean-François Cailhava de L'Estandoux Jean-François is a French given name. Notable people bearing the given name include: * Jean-François Carenco (born 1952), French politician * Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832), French Egyptologist * Jean-François Clervoy (born 1958), Fre ...

*1797: ''Belle et bonne ou les Deux soeurs'', one-act comedy *1798: ''Le Déménagement du Salon ou le Portrait de Gilles'', comédie-parade in 1 act and in vaudevilles, with Noël Aubin,

René de Chazet René de Chazet, full name René André Polydore Balthazar Alissan de Chazet, (23 October 1774 – 23 August 1844) was a French playwright, poet and novelist. Short biography The son of an annuities controller, parent of Mackau, the ambassador ...

and

Emmanuel Dupaty Louis Emmanuel Dupaty (31 July 1775 – 30 July 1851) was a French playwright, naval officer, chansonnier, journalist and administrator of the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal. His brother was the sculptor Louis Dupaty. Works ;Theatre * ''Figaro, ...

*1798: ''L'Homme sans façon, ou le Vieux cousin'', comedy in 3 acts and in verse *1799: ''La Journée de Saint-Cloud, ou Le dix-neuf brumaire'', divertissement-vaudeville in 1 act and in prose, with de Chazet and

Armand Gouffé Armand Gouffé (22 March 1775 – 19 October 1845) was a 19th-century French poet, chansonnier, goguettier and vaudevillist. Career Hired as an employee in the Finance Ministry, he became chief deputy. Afflicted with a delicate health and in ...

*1799: ''Il faut un état, ou La revue de l'an six'', proverbe in 1 act, in prose and in vaudevilles, with Jean-Michel-Pascal Buhan and de Chazet *1800: ''La Clef forée, ou la 1re représentation'', one-act anecdote in vaudevilles, with

Auguste Creuzé de Lesser Baron Auguste Creuzé de Lesser (3 October 1771 – 14 August 1839) was a French poet, playwright, librettist and politician. Works *1790: ''Satires de Juvenal, traduction en prose'' *1796: ''Le Seau enlevé, poème héroï-comique, imitate ...

*1801: ''Le Vieux major'',

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 ...

in 1 act and in prose, with

René Charles Guilbert de Pixérécourt René ('' born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name ( Renée being the femin ...

*1802: ''Les Aveugles mendiants ou Partie et revanche'', one-act vaudeville anecdotique *1802: ''Un Tour de jeune homme'', anecdote in 1 act and in prose, with de Chazet *1803: ''Rhétorique épistolaire, ou Principaux élémens de l'art oratoire appliqués au genre épistolaire, suivis d'un traité succint sur la manière de lire et de réciter à haute voix'' *1804: ''Henri de Bavière'', opéra en 3 actes, with Antoine-Pierre Dutramblay *1804: ''Bombarde, ou les Marchands de chansons, parody of ''Ossian, ou les Bardes'' '', five-act lyrical

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

, with

Joseph Servières Joseph Servières (20 July 1781 – 3 February 1826online archive of the City of Paris, reconstructed civil status, fiche n° 6/5/ref>) was an early 19th-century French playwright. Biography Servieres made good studies in his hometown and came ...

*1804: ''Un Quart-d'heure d'un sage'', one-act comedy, mingled with vaudevilles, with Servières *1805: ''Le Billet de logement'', one-act comedy, mingled with vaudevilles *1806: ''La Belle hôtesse'', one-act comedy, mingled with vaudevilles, with de Chazet *1811: ''Le Billet de loterie'', one-act comedy, with de Chazet *1816: ''Henri IV à Billière'', two-act comedy in verse *1817: ''Maria, ou la Demoiselle de compagnie'', comedy in 1 act and in verse *1818: ''John Bull, ou Voyage à l'île des chimères'' *1819: ''Macédoine, ou Poésies et chansons érotiques, badines et grivoises'', Béchet aîné *1819: ''M. Partout, ou le Dîner manqué'', one-act tableau-vaudeville *1821: ''Un Dimanche à Passy, ou M. Partout'', one-act tableau-vaudeville, with de Chazet and

Marc-Antoine Désaugiers Marc-Antoine Désaugiers (1742 – 10 September 1793) was a French composer of numerous operas as well as a cantata on the storming of the Bastille and several pieces of sacred music. He was born in Fréjus. He studied music there but was largely ...

*1821: ''Le Fruit défendu'', comédie en vaudeville in 1 act, with Gabriel-Alexandre Belle

Bibliography

Charles Ménétrier Charles Ménétrier (born 1804 at Vimont (Calvados) - 19 May 1888) was a French theater critic as well as a playwright. A journalist working for ''La Tribune'', ''L'Entr'acte'', '' Le Magasin pittoresque'' and the ''Revue et Gazette des Théâtres ...

, ''Galerie historique des comédiens de la troupe de Nicolet'', 1869, (p. 212-217) *

Ludovic Lalanne Ludovic Lalanne (23 April 1815, Paris – 16 May 1898, Paris) was a French historian and librarian. The engineer and politician Léon Lalanne (1811–1892) was his brother. Biography Lalanne was a student at the lycée Louis-le-Grand and late ...

, ''Dictionnaire historique de la France'', 1877, (p. 1113) * Henry Lyonnet, ''Dictionnaire des comédiens français'', 1911

External links

François-Pierre-Auguste Léger
on data.bnf.fr {{DEFAULTSORT:Leger, Francois 18th-century French dramatists and playwrights 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights French theatre managers and producers Writers from Normandy 1766 births 1823 deaths