Jules Brasseur was a French actor and singer, born 1829 in Paris and died in the same city in 1890, who achieved considerable popular success in Paris and around France in the second half of the 19th century.

Life and career

Born Jules-Victor-Alexandre Dumont, his father was a wood merchant and destined his son for business; a position was secured for him as assistant glove-maker in a shop in the Chaussée d'Antin. An interest in the theatre awoke in him around 1847 and he made his debut at the Théâtre de Belleville, before appearing at the Délassements-Comiques and at the Folies-Dramatiques. In August 1852 he created the role of Machavoine in '' Le Misanthrope et l'Auvergnat'' by Labiche at the

Palais-Royal The Palais-Royal () is a former royal palace located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Cardinal, it was built for Cardinal ...

securing a major success. Having appeared in ''Le Brésilien'' (alongside

Hortense Schneider Hortense Catherine Schneider, ''La Snédèr'', (30 April 1833 in Bordeaux, France – 5 May 1920, in Paris, France) was a French soprano, one of the greatest operetta stars of the 19th century, particularly associated with the works of composer J ...

) in 1863, for which Offenbach wrote (anonymously) a 'Ronde du Brésilien' which became hugely popular, he also appeared alongside Offenbach's Bouffes-Parisiens troupe in Bad Ems, singing songs and comic scenes.Yon, Jean-Claude. ''Jacques Offenbach.'' Editions Gallimard, Paris, 2000, p315. Brasseur remained at the Palais-Royal until 1877, creating many roles, including the Brésilien/Frick/Prosper in '' La Vie parisienne'' by Offenbach in 1866. His forte was grotesques, and he often exaggerated effects in the extreme sometimes to the point of becoming hoarse. He was skilled in transformation, the

Goncourt brothers The Goncourt brothers (, , ) were Edmond de Goncourt (1822–1896) and Jules de Goncourt (1830–1870), both French naturalism writers who, as collaborative sibling authors, were inseparable in life. Background Edmond and Jules were born to m ...

describing him thus « C'est toute une troupe que Brasseur. Il est cinq, six acteurs, que sais-je? Toutes les voix, tous les gestes, toutes les physionomies, il les prend, non il les a » ("Brasseur is a complete troupe. He is five, six actors – who can say ? Every voice, every gesture, every expression, he can take on – no, he has them"). He also had the reputation of easily losing his temper. During the summers he would tour the provinces with his own theatrical troupe and was also sought after in salons, where he would sing chansonnettes. In 1878 he left the Palais-Royal and founded the

Théâtre des Nouveautés The Théâtre des Nouveautés ("Theatre of the New") is a Parisian theatre built in 1921 and located at 24 boulevard Poissonnière (Paris, 9th arr.). The name was also used by several earlier Parisian theatre companies and their buildings, begin ...

, whose direction he upheld until his death. As the theatre director, Brasseur leant towards operetta and staged ''

Fatinitza ''Fatinitza'' was the first full-length, three-act operetta by Franz von Suppé. The libretto by F. Zell (a pseudonym for Camillo Walzel) and Richard Genée was based on the libretto to ''La circassienne'' by Eugène Scribe (which had been set t ...

'',Noel E and Stoullig E. ''

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 ...

, 5ème édition, 1879.'' G Charpentier et Cie, Paris, 1880, p462-64. followed by among others, ''La Cantinière'', a vaudeville with music by Planquette, ''

Le Jour et la Nuit ''Day and Night'' (french: Le Jour et la Nuit) is a 1997 French drama film directed by public intellectual Bernard-Henri Lévy and starring Alain Delon, Lauren Bacall, Arielle Dombasle and Francisco Rabal. The film follows a French author who fled ...

'', by Lecocq, ''Le Cœur et la Main'', ''L'Oiseau bleu'', ''Droit d'aînesse'', by

Francis Chassaigne Francis Chassaigne (also known as Francisque Chassaigne) (30 October 1847 – 21 December 1922) was a Belgian-born French composer of operettas, songs, and numerous pieces of dance music for piano. The English-language versions of his operettas, ...

, ''le Premier Baiser'', by

Émile Jonas Émile Jonas (5 March 1827 – 21 May 1905) was a 19th-century French composer. Works *1855: ''Le Duel de Benjamin'', libretto by Eugène Mestépès *1856: ''La Parade'', libretto by Jules Barbier and Jules Brésil) *1857: ''Le roi boit'', lib ...

; ''le Roi de Carreau'', by

Théodore Lajarte Théodore Lajarte (10 July 1826 – 20 June 1890) was a French musicologist, librarian, and composer.Huebner 1992. Early years Lajarte was born in Bordeaux. His full name has been given as Théodore Édouard Dufaure de Lajarte. He studied at th ...

; ''le Petit Chaperon Rouge'' by Gaston Serpette, and ''Serment d'Amour'', by Audran. His son Albert Brasseur also became an actor and they appeared many times on the same stage. The stage name was taken on by Albert's cousin, the actress Germaine Brasseur and her descendants:

Pierre Brasseur Pierre Brasseur (22 December 1905 – 16 August 1972), born Pierre-Albert Espinasse, was a French actor. Biography The son of actors Georges Espinasse and Germaine Brasseur, the latter a cousin of Albert Brasseur; his grandfather, Jules Br ...

Claude Brasseur Claude Brasseur (15 June 1936 – 22 December 2020) was a French actor. Life and career Claude Brasseur was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine as Claude Pierre Espinasse, the son of actor Pierre Brasseur and actress Odette Joyeux. He was the godson of Ern ...

and

Alexandre Brasseur Alexandre Brasseur (born Alexandre Espinasse; 29 March 1971) is a French actor. He was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, the son of actor Claude Brasseur, the grandson of actor Pierre Brasseur and actress Odette Joyeux and great-grandson of Jules Bras ...

.Mignon, Paul-Louis,
Le Theatre d'aujourd'hui
', Editions de l'Avant-Scene, M. Brient et Cie, Paris, 1966, p. 60

Plays in which he appeared

* 1852: ''Le Misanthrope et l'Auvergnat'' (

Eugène Labiche Eugene is a common male given name that comes from the Greek εὐγενής (''eugenēs''), "noble", literally "well-born", from εὖ (''eu''), "well" and γένος (''genos''), "race, stock, kin".Gabriel de Lurieu Gabriel de Lurieu (real name Gabriel-Zéphirin Gonyn de Lurieu; Paris, 28 October 1799 (7 brumaire year VIII) – Paris, 5 February 1889 ) was a French author and playwright. His brother Jules-Joseph-Gabriel de Lurieu (1792–1869), with whom ...

), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1855: ''La Perle de la Canebière'' (Eugène Labiche and Marc-Michel), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1855: ''Les Précieux'' (Eugène Labiche, Marc-Michel and

Auguste Lefranc Pierre-Charles-Joseph-Auguste Lefranc (2 February 1814 – 15 December 1878) was a 19th-century French playwright and journalist. Biography After secondary studies in Mâcon, he moved to Paris in order to attend law school. There he met Eugèn ...

), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1856: ''Un monsieur qui a brûlé une dame'' (Eugène Labiche and

Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois Auguste Anicet, later Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois (25 December 1806 – 12 January 1871) was a French dramatist. He was born in Paris. The first play to bear his name is ''L'Ami et le mari, ou le Nouvel Amphitryon'', a vaudeville in one act. It ...

), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1857: ''Le Secrétaire de Madame'' (Eugène Labiche and Marc-Michel), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1858: ''Le Punch Grassot'' (

Eugène Grangé Eugène Grangé (16 December 1810 – 1 March 1887) was a French playwright, librettist, chansonnier and goguettier. Biography The son of Pierre-Joseph Basté and Louise-Thérèse Grangé, Pierre-Eugène Basté was born in rue Beautreillis ...

and

Alfred Delacour Alfred Delacour or Alfred-Charlemagne Delacour, real name Pierre-Alfred Lartigue, (3 September 1817 – 31 March 1883 ) was a 19th-century French playwright and librettist. Biography In addition to his occupation as a physician, which he prac ...

), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1858: ''Le Grain de café'' (Eugène Labiche and Marc-Michel), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1858: ''En avant les Chinois !'' (Eugène Labiche and

), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1859: ''Une tempête dans une baignoire'' (

Charles Dupeuty Charles Désiré Dupeuty (6 February 1798 – 20 October 1865), was a 19th-century French librettist and playwright. Biography After he studied at the Lycée Impérial, he enrolled in the army during the Hundred Days then worked as an employ ...

and Gabriel de Lurieu), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1859: ''L'Amour, un fort volume, prix 3 F 50 c'' (Eugène Labiche and Édouard Martin, Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1860: ''La Pénélope à la mode de Caen'' (Eugène Grangé,

Paul Siraudin Pierre-Paul-Désiré Siraudin (18 December 1812 – 8 September 1883) was a French playwright and librettist. He also used the pen names Paul de Siraudin de Sancy, Paul Siraudin de Sancy and M. Malperché. Biography He wrote many plays, mai ...

and

Lambert-Thiboust Lambert-Thiboust (25 October 1827 – 10 July 1867) was a 19th-century French playwright. Biography Lambert-Thiboust began his career as a comedian. He won a prize for tragedy at the Paris Conservatoire in 1848 and briefly pursued acting at th ...

), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1860: ''La Sensitive'' (Eugène Labiche and Alfred Delacour), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1860: ''Les Trois Fils de Cadet-Roussel'' ( Michel Delaporte,

Charles Varin Charles Voirin, called Varin, (20 January 1798 (1er pluviôse an VI) – 24 April 1869) was a 19th-century French playwright. He also wrote under the pen names V. Warin and Victor. Biography Destined by his father to the profession of nota ...

et Paul Laurencin), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1861: ''La Mariée du Mardi-gras'' (Eugène Grangé and Lambert-Thiboust), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1861: ''La Beauté du diable'' (Eugène Grangé and Lambert-Thiboust), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1863: ''Le Brésilien'' (

Henri Meilhac Henri Meilhac (23 February 1830 – 6 July 1897) was a French dramatist and opera librettist, best known for his collaborations with Ludovic Halévy on Georges Bizet's ''Carmen'' and on the works of Jacques Offenbach, as well as Jules Massenet's ...

and

Ludovic Halévy Ludovic Halévy (1 January 1834 – 7 May 1908) was a French author and playwright, best known for his collaborations with Henri Meilhac on Georges Bizet's ''Carmen'' and on the works of Jacques Offenbach. Biography Ludovic Halévy was born in P ...

), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1863: ''Les Mystères de l'Hôtel des ventes'' (

Henri Rochefort Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the 'List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Montm ...

and Albert Wolff, Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1864: ''La Cagnotte'' (Eugène Labiche and

), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1865: ''La Bergère de la rue Monthabor'' (Eugène Labiche and Alfred Delacour), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1866: ''Le Myosotis'' (

William Busnach William Bertrand Busnach (7 March 1832, Paris – 20 January 1907, Paris) was a French dramatist. Biography Busnach was a nephew of the composer Fromental Halévy. His father was associated with David Ben Joseph Coen Bakri, to whom France was ...

), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1866: '' La Vie parisienne'', opéra-bouffe by

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera '' ...

, libretto by Henri Meilhac, Ludovic Halévy, Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1868: ''Le Papa du prix d'honneur'' (Eugène Labiche and Théodore Barrière), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1868: '' Le château à Toto'', opéra-bouffe by Jacques Offenbach, livret by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1868: ''Le Roi d'Amatibou'' (Eugène Labiche and Edmond Cottinet), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1868: ''Le Carnaval d'un merle blanc'' (

Henri Chivot Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the ' List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Mont ...

and

Alfred Duru Henri Alfred Duru (22 November 1829 – 28 December 1889) was a 19th-century French playwright and operetta librettist who collaborated on more than 40 librettos for the leading French composers of operetta:Alfred Duru. In: ''The New Grove Diction ...

), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1870: ''Le Plus Heureux des trois'' (Eugène Labiche and Edmond Cottinet), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1871: ''Tricoche et Cacolet'' (Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1872: ''Il est de la police'' (Eugène Labiche and Louis Leroy), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1872: ''La Tribune mécanique'' ( Georges Vibert and

Étienne-Prosper Berne-Bellecour Étienne-Prosper Berne-Bellecour (29 June 1838 – 29 November 1910) was a French painter, printmaker, and illustrator. He was known for his war art. Biography Berne-Bellecour was born on 29 June 1838 in Boulogne, France. He studied under Fra ...

), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1872: ''Doit-on le dire ?'' (Eugène Labiche and Alfred Duru), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1875: '' Un mouton à l'entresol'' (Eugène Labiche and

Albéric Second Pierre Albéric Second, (17 June 1817 - 2 June 1887 Émile Augier Guillaume Victor Émile Augier (; 17 September 182025 October 1889) was a French dramatist. He was the thirteenth member to occupy seat 1 of the Académie française on 31 March 1857. Biography Augier was born at Valence, Drôme Valence (, ...

, Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1877: ''La Boîte à Bibi'' (

Saint-Agnan Choler Saint-Agnan Choler (Paris 12 March 1820 – Paris 30 May 1880) was a French playwright, Adolphe Choler's brother. Choler studied at the collège royal de Charlemagne where he gained a prize in Greek theme ''Almanach de l’Université Royale de F ...

and

), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1878: ''Coco'' (Clairville, Eugène Grangé and

), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1879: ''Paris en actions'' (Albert Wolff 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 ...

), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1880: ''La Cantinière'' (vaudeville by

Robert Planquette Jean Robert Planquette (31 July 1848 – 28 January 1903) was a French composer of songs and operettas. Several of Planquette's operettas were extraordinarily successful in Britain, especially ''Les cloches de Corneville'' (1878), the length of ...

, words by

Paul Burani Paul Burani (born Urbain Roucoux; Paris, 26 March 1845 – Paris, 9 October 1901), was a French author, actor, songwriter and librettist. He had a short career as an actor at the Théâtre de Belleville and in the French provinces, after which he ...

and Félix Ribeyre), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1880: ''Les Parfums de Paris'' (Albert Wolff and Raoul Toché), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1881: ''La Vente de Tata'' (Albert Wolff and

Alfred Hennequin Alfred Néoclès Hennequin (13 January 1842 – 7 August 1887) was a Belgian playwright, best known for his farces. Born in Liège, Hennequin was trained there as an engineer, and was employed by the national railway company. In his spare time he w ...

), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1883: ''Le Roi de carreau'' (

Eugène Leterrier Eugène Leterrier (1843 – 22 December 1884 in Paris) was a French librettist. Leterrier worked at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris but then turned to the theatre. He mainly collaborated in writing libretti with Albert Vanloo. Their working relatio ...

and

Albert Vanloo Albert Vanloo (; Brussels, 10 September 1846 – 1920, Paris) was a Belgium, Belgian librettist and playwright. Vanloo lived in Paris as a child and was attracted to the theatre. As a young student he began writing plays and opéra comique libret ...

), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1884: ''Le Château de Tire-Larigot'' (

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), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1885: ''Le Petit Chaperon rouge'' (

opérette This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...

Gaston Serpette Henri Charles Antoine Gaston Serpette (4 November 1846 – 3 November 1904) was a French composer, best known for his operettas. After winning the prestigious Prix de Rome as a student at the Paris Conservatoire, he was expected to pursue ...

, words of Ernest Blum and Raoul Toché), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1886: ''Adam et Ève'' (Ernest Blum and Raoul Toché), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1887: ''L'Amour mouillé'' (

Jules Prével Jules Prével (1835 in Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët – 1889 in Paris) was a 19th-century French journalist and opera librettist. For a while, he was responsible for the theatre column in ''Le Figaro''. He participated in the writing of the libret ...

and

Armand Liorat Armand Liorat was the pen name of Georges Degas (10 January 1837 – 8 August 1898), a French playwright and librettist. Life and career Liorat was born in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, the son of Pierre André Constant Degas, a lawyer, and his wife Rose ...

), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1887: ''Les Saturnales'' (Albin Valabrègue), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1888: ''La Volière'' (music by Lecocq; words by

Charles Nuitter Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

and Alexandre Beaume), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1888: ''Le Puits qui parle'' (

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 ...

by Audran, words by Alexandre Beaume and Paul Burani), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1889: ''La Vénus d'Arles'' (opéra comique by

Louis Varney Louis Varney (; 30 May 1844, New Orleans, Louisiana – 20 August 1908, Cauterets, France) was a French composer. Biography Louis Varney was the son of Alphonse Varney, a French conductor at the Bouffes-Parisiens and at the Grand Théâtr ...

, livret by

Paul Ferrier Paul Ferrier (29 March 1843 - September 1920) was a French dramatist, who also provided libretti for several composers, especially Varney and Serpette. Ferrier was born in Montpellier. He had already produced several comedies when in 1873 he ...

and Armand Liorat), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1889: ''Le Royaume des femmes'' (Ernest Blum and Raoul Toché), Théâtre des Nouveautés

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brasseur, Jules French male stage actors 19th-century French male actors Male actors from Paris 1829 births 1890 deaths