Noël Lebreton, sieur de Hauteroche (

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 ...

, 1617 – Paris, 14 July 1707), was a French actor and playwright who died blind. The son of a bailiff in

Parlement Under the French Ancien Régime, a ''parlement'' () was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 ''parlements'', the original and most important of which was the ''Parlement'' of Paris. Though both th ...

, Hauteroche fled to Spain in order to escape a marriage that was to be imposed on him and became a comedian in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. He played in Germany and founded his own company in Paris in 1654, then joined the

Théâtre du Marais The Théâtre du Marais () has been the name of several theatres and theatrical troupes in Paris, France. The original and most famous theatre of the name operated in the 17th century. The name was briefly revived for a revolutionary theatre in 1 ...

the same year and passed to the Hôtel de Bourgogne in 1660. In 1671, he succeeded

Floridor Josias de Soûlas, known as "Floridor", Sieur de Prinefosse (c.1608-14 August 1671) was a French actor.J. Fransen, Les Comédiens français en Hollande au XVII* et au XVIII «siècle. Paris, librairie Honoré Champion, 4925. JSTOR "Mais ce que l'on ...

as director of the troupe. Representing the third tragic roles, he was noted for the skill with which he told stories. At the same time he composed comedies and was among the emulators 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 great writers in the French language and world liter ...

. Without rising to the creation of characters or the painting of manners, his talent was to skillfully build a plot and sow the dialog with pleasant traits. Retired from stage in 1684, he then experienced his greatest success as a playwright. ''L’Amant qui ne flatte point'', in five acts, in verse (1668), ''Les Apparences trompeuses'' (1673), and ''L'Esprit follet'' (1684) were among his most popular plays. Three of his plays, ''

Crispin Saints Crispin and Crispinian are the Christian patron saints of Shoemaking, cobblers, curriers, Tanning (leather), tanners, and leather workers. They were beheaded during the reign of Diocletian; the date of their execution is given as 25 Octob ...

médecin'', in three acts, in prose (1670), ''le Deuil'', in one act, in verse (1680), ''le Cocher supposé'', in one act (1684''Le Cocher supposé'' de NOËL LEBRETON, sieur de HAUTEROCHE
au theatre-classique.fr) remained quite some time in the repertoire. His other plays include ''le Souper mal apprêté'', in one acte, in verse (1670) ; ''les Apparences trompeuses ou les Maris infidèles'', in three acts, in verse (167) ; ''Crispin musicien'', in five acts, in verse (1674) ; ''les Nobles de province'', in five acts, in verse (1678) ; ''la Barrette'', in five acts, in prose (1680) ; ''la Dame invisible'', in five acts, in verse (1685) ; ''le Feint Polonais ou la Veuve impertinente'', in three acts, in prose (1686) ; ''les Bourgeoises'', in five acts, in verse (1691), play imitated from ''

Les Précieuses ridicules ''Les Précieuses ridicules'' (, ''The Absurd Précieuses'' or ''The Affected Ladies'') is a one-act satire by Molière in prose. It takes aim at the ''précieuses'', the ultra-witty ladies who indulged in lively conversations, word games and, in ...

''. De Hauteroche was among the first actors in the troupe of 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 ...

(see

Troupe of the Comédie-Française in 1680 Composition of the troupe of the Comédie-Française in 1680 As of 24 August 1680, La Grange (actor), La Grange set in his register: :« ''Jonction de la Troupe Royalle cy-devant à l'Hôtel de Bourgogne (theatre), hostel de bourgogne avec Guén� ...

References

Sources

Gustave Vapereau Louis Gustave Vapereau (4 April 1819 – 18 April 1906) was a French writer and lexicographer famous primarily for his dictionaries, the ''Dictionnaire universel des contemporains'' and the ''Dictionnaire universel des littérateurs''. Biography ...

, ''Dictionnaire universel des littératures'', Paris, Hachette, 1876,

External links

His theatre plays and their présentations
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CÉSAR
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hauteroche, Noel Lebreton de 17th-century French male actors French male stage actors 17th-century French dramatists and playwrights 17th-century French male writers Troupe of the Comédie-Française Male actors from Paris Writers from Paris 1617 births 1707 deaths