Michel Baron (8 October 1653 – 22 December 1729) was a French

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and playwright.

Life

His family name was originally Boyron. His father and mother were leading players, André Boiron and Jeanne Auzoult. He was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

. He was orphaned at age 9, and joined the child company ''Petits Comédiens Dauphins'' at age 12, becoming its brightest star. Baron came to the notice of

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and worl ...

, joined his troupe, and eventually became his protégé. He left the troupe after a conflict with Molière's wife,

Armande Béjart Armande-Grésinde-Claire-Élisabeth Béjart (1645 – 30 November 1700) was a French stage actress, also known under her stage name Mademoiselle Molière.Scott, Virginia (2010). Women on the stage in early modern France : 1540-1750''. Cambridg ...

, but rejoined in 1670. He played the role of Domitien in Pierre Corneille's ''

Tite et Bérénice ''Tite et Bérénice'' is a heroic comedy by the 17th-century French playwright Pierre Corneille. It was premiered on 28 November 1670 by the troupe of Molière at the Palais Royal Theater in Paris, in the same month as the more famous tra ...

'' and played in

Corneille Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronag ...

's ''

Psyché Psyche (''Psyché'' in French) is the Greek term for "soul" (ψυχή). Psyche may also refer to: Psychology * Psyche (psychology), the totality of the human mind, conscious and unconscious * ''Psyche'', an 1846 book about the unconscious by Car ...

''. He stayed with the troupe until Molière's death in 1673, when he joined the troupe at the Hotel de Bourgogne. This troupe merged with another in 1680 to become the

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 ...

. With Comédie-Française, Baron was the undisputed master of the French stage until his retirement in 1691. He created many of the leading roles in

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...

's plays, and in his own ''L'Homme à bonnes fortunes'' (1686), his most popular play, and ''La Coquette''. He also wrote ''Les Enlèvements'' and ''Le Debauche'', and translated and acted in two plays by

Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought ...

. After retiring in 1691, Baron re-appeared in 1720 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 R ...

, and was very active. During his last years on stage, he regularly performed with

Adrienne Lecouvreur Adrienne Lecouvreur (5 April 1692 – 20 March 1730), born Adrienne Couvreur, was a French actress, considered by many as the greatest of her time. Born in Damery, she first appeared professionally on the stage in Lille. After her Paris debut ...

. He died on 22 December 1729. Barons's son Étienne Michel Baron (1676–1711) was also an actor. Etienne's son and two daughters all acted with the

References

;Attribution *

External links

*
''The Lucky Man'' by Michel Baron
at

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...

- a translation of ''L'homme à bonne fortune'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baron, Michel 1653 births 1729 deaths 17th-century French male actors 18th-century French male actors French male stage actors 17th-century French dramatists and playwrights 17th-century French male writers 18th-century French dramatists and playwrights Sociétaires of the Comédie-Française