Joseph-François Duché de Vancy (29 October 1668,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

– 14 December 1704) was a French playwright.

Life

He was the son of a gentleman in the household of

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

and was himself a valet de chambre du roi. He followed Anne-Jules, 2nd duc de Noailles to Spain as his secretary. His talents gained him a pension from

Madame de Maintenon Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ( ...

, and a commission from her for Vancy and

Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ; ; 22 December 1639 – 21 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 tr ...

to compose sacred poems, edifying stories and religious tragedies for the maison de Saint-Cyr (''Absalon'', ''Jonathas'', ''Débora''). Vancy also wrote opera librettos modelled on Racine, the best known of which were '' Céphale et Procris'' and ''

Iphigénie en Tauride ''Iphigénie en Tauride'' (, ''Iphigenia in Tauris'') is a 1779 opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck in four acts. It was his fifth opera for the French stage. The libretto was written by Nicolas-François Guillard. With ''Iphigénie,'' Gluck too ...

'' (the latter with additions by Antoine Danchet). He was a member of the

Académie des inscriptions An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

Works

;Plays and libretti *'' Céphale et Procris'', tragédie lyrique, music by

Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

Académie royale de musique The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

, 15 March 1694 Text online
/small> *''Les Amours de Momus'', ballet, music by

Henri Desmarets Henri Desmarets (February 1661 – 7 September 1741) was a French composer of the Baroque music, Baroque period primarily known for his stage works, although he also composed sacred music as well as secular cantatas, songs and instrumenta ...

, Académie royale de musique, 25 May 1695 Text online
/small> *''Téagène et Chariclée'', tragédie lyrique, music by Henri Desmarets, Académie royale de musique, 12 April 1695 Text online
/small> *''Les Fêtes galantes'', ballet, music by Henri Desmarets, Académie royale de musique, 10 May 1698 *''Jonathas'', tragedy drawn from the Scriptures,

Château de Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines Department of Île-de-France region in France. The palace is owned by the government of F ...

, 5 December 1699 Text online
/small> *''Scylla'', tragedy, music by Theobaldo di Gatti, Académie royale de musique, 16 September 1701 Text online
/small> *''Débora'', tragedy drawn from the Scriptures, 1701 *''

'', tragédie lyrique, with Antoine Danchet, music by Henri Desmarets and

André Campra André Campra (; baptized 4 December 1660 – 29 June 1744) was a French composer and conductor of the Baroque era. The leading French opera composer in the period between Jean-Baptiste Lully and Jean-Philippe Rameau, Campra wrote several '' trag ...

, Académie royale de musique, 6 May 1704 Text on line
/small> *''Absalon'', five-act tragedy drawn from the Scriptures, 7 April 1712 Text online
/small> ;Varia *''Les Préceptes de Phocylide avec des remarques & des pensées & peintures critiques à l'imitation de cet auteur'', 1698 Text online
/small> *''Lettres inédites de Duché de Vanci contenant la relation historique du voyage de Philippe d'Anjou, appelé au trône d'Espagne, ainsi que des ducs de Bourgogne et de Berry ses frères, en 1700...'', éditées par Colin et Raynaud, Paris : Librairies de Lacroix, 1830. Text online
/small> *''Recueil d'histoires édifiantes, pour servir de lectures à de jeunes personnes de condition'', 1706

External links

His plays and productions of them
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CÉSAR
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duche De Vancy, Joseph-Francois Writers from Paris 1668 births 1704 deaths 17th-century French dramatists and playwrights French opera librettists Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres French male dramatists and playwrights 17th-century French male writers