Émile Doux (1798–1876), known in Portugal and Brazil as Emílio Doux, was a French theatre actor, director, playwright and impresario in Portugal and later in Brazil.

Career

Little is known about the early life of Doux, other than that he was a graduate of the ''

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

''. In the 1830s he joined a theatre company led by Paul Charton and his wife that travelled to the Portuguese capital,

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, to give some performances in French, with Roux first performing with the company at the '' Teatro da Rua dos Condes'' in January 1835. The company presented romantic dramas by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

and

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

, comedies by

Eugène Scribe Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of man ...

, melodramas and vaudevilles. With the return of the company to France, Doux decided to stay in Lisbon, becoming one of the most important characters in Lisbon's theatrical history, working as an impresario and as a rehearser. Doux improved the quality of the theatre in Lisbon, introducing new genres and styles of acting, notably promoting interest in

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

. His staging of '' Um auto de Gil Vicente'', by

Almeida Garrett João Baptista da Silva Leitão de Almeida Garrett, 1st Viscount of Almeida Garrett (; 4 February 1799 – 9 December 1854) was a Portuguese poet, orator, playwright, novelist, journalist, politician, and a peer of the realm. A major promoter ...

in 1838 is considered to have inaugurated Portuguese romantic theatre. His management was considered as successful and of high quality but in 1840 the management of the theatre passed into the hands of the Count of Farrobo, who kept Doux as a rehearser. In contrast to the period when Doux had full control, Farrobo's three-year management was not financially successful, a fact attributed to the dubious choice of repertoire and the financial extravagances in paying high fees to the artists and setting up the shows. During the

Patuleia

The Patuleia, Guerra da Patuleia, or Little Civil War was a civil w ...

, or Little Civil War, in 1846–1847, theatrical activities in Lisbon were disrupted. After it was over the owners of the '' Teatro do Ginásio'' sought out Doux to ask him to take over directing at the theatre. This he did with some success, in part by introducing

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

. During his 20 years in Lisbon, Doux directed at the ''Rua dos Condes'', the ''Ginásio'', the '' Teatro do Salitre'', and the '' Teatro D. Fernando''. He trained and directed a large number of actors who would become popular, including Teodorico Baptista da Cruz, Epifânio Aniceto Gonçalves, Joaquim José Tasso,

Emília das Neves Emilia may refer to: People * Emilia (given name), list of people with this name Places * Emilia (region), a historical region of Italy. Reggio, Emilia * Emilia-Romagna, an administrative region in Italy, including the historical regions of Emi ...

, Delphina do Espírito Santo, Carlota Talassi, Ana Cardoso, and Emília Cândida. Doux's history in Portugal, however, was not only marked by successes. Clashes with businessmen, local artists and the press were regular events, making him move to Brazil in 1851. In Rio de Janeiro, he teamed up with the Brazilian actor, João Caetano, the greatest Brazilian actor of the period, and also worked with the young group of actors, remaining active for another 20 years. He worked at the '' Teatro São Pedro'' in Rio de Janeiro, again introducing vaudevilles. He then moved to the ''Teatro Ginásio Dramático'', which was in competition with João Caetano. Doux was highly praised by the Brazilian dramatist,

José de Alencar José Martiniano de Alencar (May 1, 1829 – December 12, 1877) was a Brazilian lawyer, politician, orator, novelist and dramatist. He is considered to be one of the most famous and influential Brazilian Romantic novelists of the 19th century, ...

, and by

Machado de Assis Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (), often known by his surnames as Machado de Assis, ''Machado,'' or ''Bruxo do Cosme Velho''Vainfas, p. 505. (21 June 1839 – 29 September 1908), was a pioneer Brazilian people, Brazilian novelist, poet, playwr ...

, widely regarded as the greatest Brazilian writer. At the beginning of the 1860s, Doux started working at the ''Companhia de Ópera Nacional'', which had been founded in 1858.

Death

Doux died in 1876 in Rio de Janeiro, shortly after having become a Brazilian citizen.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doux, Émile French theatre directors Immigrants to Brazil Brazilian theatre directors Brazilian theatre managers and producers French theatre managers and producers 1798 births 1876 deaths