Préville (17Michaud 1863
pp. 325–326
or 19'' L'Intermédiaire des chercheurs et curieux'' 1897
p. 407
September 1721 – 18 December 1799) was a French comic actor.

Biography

Born Pierre-Louis Dubus to an impoverished family in Paris, he was originally intended for the clergy. While playing with a mediocre troop of actors in provincial France, Préville's budding talents were spotted in the town of

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

Jean Monnet Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet (; 9 November 1888 – 16 March 1979) was a French civil servant, entrepreneur, diplomat, financier, administrator, and political visionary. An influential supporter of European unity, he is considered one of the ...

, who engaged him to perform with the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

in Paris in 1743.Forman 2010, p. 204. Later Préville returned to the provinces and was the manager of the Grand Théâtre in Lyon. He joined the Comédie Francaise in Paris in 1753, where he debuted on 20 September in the role of Crispin in Jean-François Regnard's ''Le Légataire universel'' (''The Sole Legatee''). He took on roles previously played by and revealed himself to be the best comedian in the company since He appeared with the actress with great success in several plays by Pierre de MarivauxHartnoll 1983, p. 661. and created the roles of Figaro in Pierre Beaumarchais's '' Le Barbier de Séville'' in 1775 and Brid'oison in '' Le Mariage de Figaro'' in 1784. One of his most notable successes was playing 6 characters in one in

Edmé Boursault Edmé Boursault (October 163815 September 1701) was a French dramatist and miscellaneous writer, born at Mussy l'Evéque, now Mussy-sur-Seine (Aube). Biography On Boursault's first arrival in Paris in 1651 his language was limited to Burgundia ...

's ''Le Mercure galant''. He retired in 1786, returning to the stage in 1791 and 1794–5, and died in

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris. The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most populous ...

at the age of 78 years and 3 months. He was married to

Mademoiselle Préville Madeleine Angélique Michelle Drouin, stage names Mademoiselle Préville (1731–1798), was a French stage actress.Émile Campardon, Les Comédiens du roi de la troupe française pendant les deux derniers siècles, Paris, H. Champion, 1879 She w ...

References

;Notes ;Sources * Forman, Edward (2010). ''Historical Dictionary of French Theatre''. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press. . * Hartnoll, Phyllis (1983). ''The Oxford Companion to the Theatre''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. . * '' L'Intermédiaire des chercheurs et curieux'', vol. 36 (1897). Paris
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at Google Books. * Michaud, Louis Gabriel (1863). ''Biographie universelle ancienne et moderne'', vol. 34. Paris: Desplaces
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at Google Books. {{DEFAULTSORT:Preville 1721 births 1799 deaths Male actors from Paris French male stage actors 18th-century French male actors Sociétaires of the Comédie-Française

Biography

See also

References