Henri Franconi, full name Jean Gérard Henri Franconi, (4 November 1779 – 22 July 1849) was a French

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and circus performer of the early 19th century. A son of

Antonio Franconi Antonio Franconi (1737 in Venice, Italy - 1836 in Paris, France) was an Italian equestrian. He started as a juggler and wandering physician, then arranged bullfights in Lyon and Bordeaux. In 1783, he associated with the English horse rider Philip ...

, in 1807 he became with his brother Laurent director of the Cirque-Olympique (1807-1837). An actor, a mime, an esquire, nicknamed ''Minette'', he authored

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

s and

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 ...

Works

*1808: ''Les Quatre fils Aymons'', equestrian scenes in 2 parts *1808: ''Cavalo-Dios, ou le Cheval génie bienfaisant'', equestrian scenes, mingled with

féerie ''Féerie'', sometimes translated as "fairy play", was a French theatrical genre known for fantasy plots and spectacular visuals, including lavish scenery and mechanically worked stage effects. ''Féeries'' blended music, dancing, pantomime, and ...

s, in 2 parts, with Cuvelier *1808: ''Barberousse le Balafré, ou les Valaques'',equestrian and chivalrous scenes, in 2 parts,

extravaganza An extravaganza is a literary or musical work (often musical theatre) usually containing elements of burlesque, pantomime, music hall and parody in a spectacular production and characterized by freedom of style and structure. It sometimes also ha ...

, with

Jean-Guillaume-Antoine Cuvelier Jean-Guillaume-Antoine Cuvelier (15 January 1766 – 25 May 1824) was a French playwright, nicknamed the Crébillon of melodrama. He first entered the military career then turned to theatre and was a rival of René Charles Guilbert de Pixéré ...

*1808: ''Fra Diavolo, ou le Frère diable, chef de bandits dans les Alpes'', equestrian scenes in 2 parts, with Cuvelier *1808: ''La Prise de la Corogne, ou les Anglais en Espagne'', equestrian scenes *1810: ''Les chevaux vengés, ou Parodie de la parodie de Fernand Cortez'' *1810: ''Gérard de Nevers et la Belle Euriant'', chivalrous and equestrians pantomime scens, with Cuvelier *1810: ''Le Passage du pont de Lodi'', memorable action in 1 part *1811: ''Don Quichotte et Sancho Pança'', folie in two

tableaux The International Conference on Automated Reasoning with Analytic Tableaux and Related Methods (TABLEAUX) is an annual international academic conference that deals with all aspects of automated reasoning with analytic tableaux. Periodically, it joi ...

, extravaganza, with Cuvelier *1811: ''Les Ermites blancs, ou l'Ile de Caprée'', tableaux pantomimes in 2 actions *1811: ''Le Jugement suprême, ou l'Innocence sauvée'', tableaux in 3 actions, with

Nicolas Brazier Nicolas Brazier (17 February 1783, Paris - 18 February 1838) was a French chansonnier and vaudevillist. Life Son of a boarding school master and author of school manuals, Brazier's education was however strongly neglected due to the French Revo ...

and Cuvelier *1812: ''Frédégonde et Brunehaut'' *1812: ''Geneviève ou La confiance trahie'', pantomime in 3 acts *1812: ''La mine Beaujonc ou Le dévouement sublime'' *1812: ''La Famille d'Armincourt, ou les Voleurs'', tableaux by Boilly set in action, pantomime in 2 acts, with Jean-Baptiste-Louis Camel *1812: ''Frédégonde et Brunehaut'', historical pantomime in 3 acts after the historical novel by

Jacques Marie Boutet Jacques Marie Boutet (25 March 1745 – 13 February 1812) was a French actor and comic playwright from Lunéville. His pseudonym was Monvel. He was a small, thin man without good looks or voice, and yet he became one of the greatest comedians of h ...

*1812: ''Maria ou le Mauvais fils'', pantomime in 3 acts *1812: ''Les Trois aigles ou les Mariages lithuaniens'', historical and military pantomime, with Cuvelier *1813: ''Arsène, ou le Génie maure'', pantomime in 3 acts, extravaganza with machines *1813: ''Guliver ou la Manie des voyages'', pantomime folie in 3 acts *1813: ''La Dame du lac, ou l'Inconnu'', pantomime in 3 acts, extravaganza *1814: ''L'Entrée de Henri IV à Paris'', historical tableau, in 2 acts, with Cuvelier *1814: ''Le Maréchal de Villars, ou la Bataille de Denain'', historical and military action *1814: ''La Mort du capitaine Cook, ou les Insulaires d'O-Why-E'', pantomime in 2 acts, extravaganza *1815: ''Diane et les satyres ! ou Une vengeance de l'Amour'', pantomime in 2 acts, with 1

prologue A prologue or prolog (from Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "word") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ...

*1815: ''Orsino'', pantomime with dialogue in 3 acts *1815: ''Robert-le-Diable, ou le Criminel repentant'', pantomime in 3 acts, extravaganza *1815: ''La mine Beaujonc ou le Dévouement sublime'', historical fact in 2 acts *1816: ''Sancho dans l'île de Barataria'', pantomime bouffonne in 2 acts, with 1 prologue, with Cuvelier *1817: ''Caïn, ou le Premier crime'', pantomime in 3 acts, after the poem by Gessner *1818: ''La ferme des carrières'', fait historique, pantomime in 2 acts, mingled with dialogue, with

Pierre Villiers Pierre Antoine Jean-Baptiste Villiers (10 March 1760 – Paris, 21 July 1849) was a French playwright, journalist and poet. Biography A captain of dragoons, author of comedies, dramas and plays in verse, he also published newspapers such as ...

*1819: ''Poniatowski, ou le Passage de l'Elster'', military drama in 3 acts, with Villiers *1819: ''Le Soldat laboureur'', mimodrame in 1 act *1820: ''Le Cuirassier, ou la Bravoure récompensée'', mimo-drame en 1 act *1820: ''Fayel et Gabrielle de Vergy'', with Pierre Blanchard *1820: ''L'Hospitalité, ou la Chaumière hongroise'', military anecdote in 1 act, extravaganza, with

Pierre Carmouche Pierre Carmouche (9 April 1797 - 9 December 1868) was a French playwright and chansonnier. He wrote more than 200 successful plays, comedies, comédies en vaudevilles and texts for opéras comiques, in collaboration with diverse authors - Braz ...

*1821: ''La Bataille de Bouvines'', mimodrame in 3 acts *1821: ''Le Soldat fermier, ou le Bon seigneur'', mimodrama in 1 act, extravaganza, a sequel to ''Soldat laboureur'' *1823: ''Le Pâtre'',

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 ...

in 2 acts *1823: ''La Lettre anonyme'', comedy in 1 act and in prose, with Charles-Maurice Descombes *1824: ''Le 27 septembre 1824'', vaudeville in 1 act and extravaganza, with

Amable de Saint-Hilaire Amable Vilain de Saint-Hilaire (born 30 November 1799) was a French dramatist whose plays have been performed on the most important Parisian stages of the 19th century: Théâtre du Vaudeville, Théâtre des Variétés, Théâtre de la Renaissance ...

*1824: ''Le Pont de Logrono, ou le Petit tambour'', suivi de ''la Prise du Trocadero'', historical and military action in 3 parts, with Cuvelier *1825: ''Le Chien du régiment, ou l'Exécution militaire'', melodrama in 1 act, with Saint-Léon and Adolphe Franconi *1825: ''L'Incendie de Salins'', melodrama in 1 act, extravaganza, with Saint-Léon *1825: ''Le Vieillard ou La Révélation'', melodrama in 2 acts, with

Alexandre-Joseph Le Roy de Bacre Alexandre-Joseph Le Roy de Bacre, born in Paris, was a 19th-century French playwright. Biography He first made a career in the army as an officer before devoting himself to theater. He attended the military school in Ventimiglia and served as a ...

*1825: ''Les Recruteurs, ou la Fille du fermier'', play in 2 acts, extravaganza, with Carmouche and Henri de Saint-Georges *1830: ''Youli, ou les Souliotes'', melodrama in 2 acts and 5 tableaux, with

Théodore Nézel Théodore Nézel (25 February 1799 – 23 May 1854) was a 19th-century French playwright and librettist. An employee at the ministry of public instruction, he was appointed managing director of the Théâtre du Panthéon in 1838. His plays, ofte ...

External links

Henri Franconi
on data.bnf.fr {{DEFAULTSORT:Franconi, Henri 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights French circus performers Writers from Lyon 1779 births 1849 deaths Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery 18th-century circus performers 19th-century circus performers