René de Chazet, full name René André Polydore Balthazar Alissan de Chazet, (23 October 1774 – 23 August 1844) was a French

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

, poet and novelist.

Short biography

The son of an annuities controller, parent of Mackau, the ambassador of

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, he accompanied him to Italy in 1792 and returned to France only in 1797. He collaborated with many newspapers and became known for his numerous plays, many of which written in collaboration with Charles-Augustin Sewrin. These plays were given in the most important Parisian stages of the first half of the XIXe century:

Théâtre des Variétés The Théâtre des Variétés () is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7–8, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1974. History The theatre owed its creation to Mademoiselle Montans ...

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 ...

Théâtre du Palais-Royal The Théâtre du Palais-Royal () is a 750-seat Parisian theatre at 38 rue de Montpensier, located at the northwest corner of the Palais-Royal in the Galerie de Montpensier at its intersection with the Galerie de Beaujolais. Brief history O ...

Théâtre du Vaudeville The Théâtre du Vaudeville () was a theatre company in Paris. It opened on 12 January 1792 on rue de Chartres. Its directors, Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis, Piis and Yves Barré, Barré, mainly put on "petites pièces mêlées de couplets s ...

etc. He competed in 1808 at the

Académie française 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 ...

and won the first runner with his ''Éloge de Pierre Corneille''. In 1814, he was pensioned by

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

, made a

chevalier de la Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

and appointed librarian of the king, then Finance receiver, a position he lost in 1830 when the regime fell.

Works

He wrote 436 plays including: *1793: ''La Ruse villageoise'',

opéra comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular ''opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Théâtre de la foire, Fair Theatres of St Germain and S ...

in 1 act, in prose and in

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 ...

s *1794: ''Le mot de l'énigme'', vaudeville in 1 act, with Désaugiers and Lafortelle *1797: ''Arlequin journaliste'', comedy in 1 act, en prose, mingled with vaudevilles, with Emmanuel Dupaty and Jean-Baptiste Mardelle *1797: ''Il faut un état, ou La revue de l'an six'', proverbe in 1 act, in prose and in vaudevilles, with Jean-Michel-Pascal Buhan and

François-Pierre-Auguste Léger François-Pierre-Auguste Léger (Bernay, Eure, 16 March 1766 – Paris, 28 March 1823) was an 18th–19th-century French playwright. Short biography The son of a surgeon, he became a tutor for sons of the bourgeoisie then left teaching to join a ...

*1797: ''Les français à Cythère'', vaudeville, with

Auguste Creuzé de Lesser Auguste may refer to: People Surname * Arsène Auguste (1951–1993), Haitian footballer * Donna Auguste (born 1958), African-American businesswoman * Georges Auguste (born 1933), Haitian painter * Henri Auguste (1759–1816), Parisian gol ...

and Emmanuel Dupaty *1798: ''Le Déménagement du salon, ou le Portrait de Gilles'', comédie-parade in 1 act and in vaudevilles, with Noël Aubin, Dupaty et Léger *1799: ''La journée de Saint-Cloud, ou Le dix-neuf brumaire'', divertissement-vaudeville in 1 act and in prose, with

Armand Gouffé Armand Gouffé (22 March 1775 – 19 October 1845) was a 19th-century French poet, Chansonnier (singer), chansonnier, Goguette, goguettier and Vaudeville, vaudevillist. Career Hired as an employee in the Finance Ministry, he became chief depu ...

and Léger *1799: ''Champagnac et Suzette'', comédie-vaudeville in 1 act *1799: ''Le Buste de Préville'',

impromptu An impromptu (, , loosely meaning "offhand") is a free-form musical composition with the character of an ''ex tempore'' improvisation as if prompted by the spirit of the moment, usually for a solo instrument, such as piano. According to ''Allgeme ...

in 1 act and in prose, with Dupaty *1799: ''Deux pour un'', comedy in 1 act, mingled with vaudevilles, with Francis *1799: ''Il faut un état'', proverbe in 1 act, with Léger *1800: ''Éloge de Cailly père'' *1800: ''Finot'', proverbe archi-bête in 1 act *1800: ''La Lyre d'Anacréon'', choix de romances, vaudevilles, rondes de table et ariettes *1800: ''Racine ou la Chute de Phèdre'', comedy in 2 acts and on verse, mingled with vaudevilles, with Sewrin *1801: ''L'Hôtel garni, ou la Revue de l'an IX'', comédie-vaudeville in 1 act, with Dieulafoy *1801: ''La Revue de l'an huit, suite de la Revue de l'an six'', comédie-vaudeville in 1 act, with Dieulafoy and Gouffé *1801: ''Philippe le Savoyard, ou l'Origine des ponts-neufs'', divertissement in 1 act and in prose mingled with vaudevilles, with

Georges Duval Georges-Louis-Jacques Labiche (26 October 1772 – 21 May 1853), better known as Georges Duval, was an early 19th-century French playwright. Biography Duval was originally expected to become a priest, but the French Revolution occurred when ...

and Armand Gouffé *1801: ''Le joueur d'échecs'', vaudeville in 1 act, with Benoît-Joseph Marsollier des Vivetières *1802: ''11, 76, 88, ou le Terne de Gonesse'', vaudeville anecdote in 1 act and in prose, with Michel Dieulafoy and Jean-Baptiste Dubois *1802: ''Le Concert aux Champs-Élysées'', vaudeville in 1 act, with Lafortelle *1802: ''Le Salomon de la rue de Chartres ou les Procès de l'an dix'',

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

épisodique, vaudeville in 1 act, with J-B Dubois *1802: ''La Première nuit manquée, ou Mon tour de garde'', comédie-vaudeville in 1 act, with Dupaty *1802: ''Molière chez Ninon'', ou La lecture de Tartufe, with J-B Dubois *1802: ''Le Mariage de Nina-Vernon, suite de la Petite ville, et des Provinciaux à Paris'', comedy in 1 act and in prose, with Dieulafoy and J-B Dubois *1802: ''Un tour de jeune homme'', anecdote in 1 act, with léger *1802: ''Étrennes à Geoffroy'' *1803: ''L'Amour et l'argent, ou le Créancier rival'', comedy in 1 act, in prose, mingled with vaudevilles, with Lafortelle and

Marc-Antoine Désaugiers Marc-Antoine Désaugiers (1742 – 10 September 1793) was a French composer of numerous operas as well as a cantata on the storming of the Bastille and several pieces of sacred music. He was born in Fréjus. He studied music there but was largely ...

*1803: ''Le Portrait de Juliette'', vaudeville in 1 act, with Dupaty *1803: ''Cassandre aveugle, ou le Concert d'Arlequin'', comédie-parade in 1 act, mingled with vaudevilles, with

Théophile Marion Dumersan Théophile Marion Dumersan (4 January 1780, Plou, Cher, Plou, Cher – 13 April 1849, Paris) was a French writer of plays, vaudevilles, poetry, novels, chanson collections, librettos, and novels, as well as a numismatist and curator attached to t ...

and Charles-François-Jean-Baptiste Moreau de Commagny *1803: ''Le Vin, le jeu et les femmes, ou les Trois défauts'', comedy in 1 act, mingled with vaudevilles *1804: ''L'Amant soupçonneux'', comedy in 1 act, in verse, with A.-M. Lafortelle *1804: ''Caponnet, ou l'Auberge supposée'', vaudeville in 1 act, with

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

*1804: ''L'École des Gourmands'', vaudeville in 1 act, with Francis and Lafortelle *1804: ''Ossian cadet, ou les Guimbardes, parody of the ''Bardes'' '', vaudeville in 3 acts, with Dupaty *1804: ''Folie et raison'', comedy in 1 act, with Sewrin *1804: ''Le Médecin de Palerme'', comedy in 1 act, mingled with vaudevilles, with Sewrin *1804: ''L'hôtel de Lorraine'', proverbe in 1 act, with Lafortelle *1804: ''La Leçon conjugale, ou l'Avis aux maris'', comedy in 3 acts and in verse, with Sewrin *1804: ''Les Vélocifères'', comédie-parade in 1 act, mingled with vaudevilles, with Charles-François-Jean-Baptiste Moreau de Commagny *1805: ''La fille jokey'', vaudeville in 1 act, with Lafortelle *1805: ''Janvier et Nivôse'', étrennes in vaudeville, with Sewrin *1805: ''La Laitière de Bercy'', comédie anecdotique in 2 acts and in prose, mingled with vaudevilles, with Sewrin *1805: ''Éloge de La Harpe'' *1805: ''M. de Largillière, ou Mon Cousin de Dreux'', comedy in 1 act, with Sewrin *1806: ''Les petites marionnettes ou La loterie'' *1806: ''Roquelaure'', comedy in 1 act, mingled with vaudevilles *1806: ''La Belle hôtesse'', comédy in 1 act, mingled with vaudevilles, with Léger *1806: ''La Petite métromanie'', comedy in 1 act and in prose, mingled with vaudevilles *1806: ''Racine'', comedy in 2 acts, with Sewrin *1806: ''Les Petites marionnettes, ou la Loterie'', comedy in 1 act and in prose, mingled with vaudevilles *1806: ''Mademoiselle Gaussin'', comedy in 1 act, mingled with vaudevilles *1806: ''Dubelloy, ou les Templiers'', vaudeville in 1 act, with Lafortelle *1806: ''Le Politique en défaut'', comedy in 1 act and in verse, with Sewrin *1806: ''La Duègne et le valet'', comedy in 2 acts and in vaudevilles, with Sewrin *1806: ''Lundi, mardi et mercredi, ou Paris, Melun et Fontainebleau'', comedy in 3 days and in vaudevilles, with Sewrin *1806: ''Le Chemin de Berlin, ou Halte militaire'', divertissement-impromptu mingled with vaudevilles, with Sewrin *1807: ''La famille des lurons'', vaudeville in 1 act, with Sewrin *1807: ''La famille des innocents ou Comme l'amour vient'', comedy in 1 act, with Sewrin *1807: ''Pauvre Jacques'', vaudeville, with Sewrin *1807: ''La Guerre et la paix'', comedy in 3 acts *1807: ''L'Impromptu de Neuilly'', divertissement in 1 act *1807: ''Romainville, ou la Promenade du dimanche'', vaudeville grivois, poissard et villageois, in 1 act, with Sewrin *1807: ''L'Intrigue en l'air'', comedy in 1 act, mingled with vaudevilles, with Sewrin *1807: ''François Ier, ou la Fête mystérieuse'', comedy in 2 acts and in verse, mingled with ariettes, with Sewrin *1807: ''La Journée aux enlèvemens'', comedy in 2 acts and in prose, mingled with vaudevilles, with Sewrin *1807: ''La Ligue des femmes ou le Roman de la rose'', comédie anecdotique in 1 act, in prose mingled with vaudevilles, with Ourry *1808: ''Les Acteurs à l'épreuve'', vaudeville épisodique in 1 act, with Charles-Augustin Sewrin *1808: ''Les Bourgeois campagnards'', comedy in 1 act mingled with vaudevilles, with Sewrin *1808: ''Le Mari juge et partie'', comedy in 1 act and in verse, with Ourry *1808: ''La Comédie au foyer'', Épilogue en vaudevilles *1808: ''Odes couronnées le 20 janvier à la loge des Neuf-sœurs'' *1808: ''Habits, vieux galons'', comedy in 1 act, mingled with vaudevilles, with Sewrin *1808: ''Ordre et désordre'', comedy in 3 acts and in verse, with Sewrin *1808: ''Éloge de Pierre Corneille'' *1809: ''A bas Molière'', comedy in 1 act, mingled with vaudevilles *1809: ''M. Asinard ou Le Volcan de Montmartre'', folie in 1 act, mingled with

couplet In poetry, a couplet ( ) or distich ( ) is a pair of successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (closed) couplet, each of the two lines is end-stopped, implying that there ...

s, with Ourry *1809: ''La Leçon de l'oncle, ou Il était tems !'', comedy in 1 act and in prose, mingled with vaudevilles, with Sewrin *1809: ''Esprit de l'Almanach des Muses depuis sa création jusqu'à ce jour'' *1809: ''L'Écu de six francs, ou l'Héritage'', comedy in 1 act and in prose, mingled with couplets, with Sewrin *1809: ''Le Caporal Schlag, ou la Ferme de Muldorf'',

one-act play A one-act play is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts. One-act plays may consist of one or more scenes. The 20-40 minute play has emerged as a popular subgenre of the one-act play, especially in writi ...

, mingled with couplets, with Sewrin *1809: ''Le fils par hasard, ou Ruse et folie'', comedy in 5 acts, in prose, with Ourry *1810: ''Les baladines'', folie in 1 act, in prose, mingled with couplets *1810: ''Les Commères, ou la Boule de neige'', comedy in 1 act and in prose, mingled with vaudevilles, with Sewrin *1810: ''Les Commissionnaires, ou Récompense honnête'', comedy in 1 act and in prose, mingled with couplets, with Ourry *1810: ''La Cendrillon des écoles, ou le Tarif des prix'', comédie-vaudeville in 1 act, in prose, with J-B Dubois *1810: ''Le Bouquet de roses, ou le Chansonnier des grâces'' *1810: ''Le Jardinier de Schoenbrunn, ou le Bouquet de noces'', comedy *1810: ''Le Mai d'amour, ou le Rival complaisant'', comedy in 1 act and in prose, mingled with couplets, with Ourry *1810: ''Monsieur Grégoire ou Courte et bonne'' *1810: ''Charles et Emma, ou les Amis d'enfance'', with

August Lafontaine August Heinrich Julius Lafontaine (5 October 1758 – 20 April 1831) was a German novelist. Biography Lafontaine was born and brought up in Brunswick, the son of the court painter Ludolph Lafontaine and his fifth wife, the court maid-in-waitin ...

*1810: ''Coco Pépin, ou la Nouvelle année'', étrennes in 1 act, mingled with vaudevilles, with Sewrin *1810: ''La Double méprise'', comedy in 1 act, in prose *1810: ''La Fête du château'', bouquet en vaudevilles *1811: ''Le Billet de loterie'', comedy in 1 act, with Léger *1811: ''Les Hommes femmes'', folie in 1 act mingled with couplets, with Ourry *1811: ''Les Orgues de Barbarie'', comedy in 1 act and in prose, mingled with couplets, with Sewrin *1811: ''L'Officier de quinze ans'', divertissement in 1 act *1811: ''La Grande famille, ou la France en miniature'', divertissement in 1 act and in vaudevilles *1811: ''Le Chantier de Saardam, ou l'Impromptu hollandais'', divertissement *1812: ''L'Art de causer, épître d'un père à son fils'' *1812: ''La Famille mélomane'', comédy in 1 act, mingled with couplets, with Ourry *1812: ''Les Russes en Pologne'', tableau historique depuis 1762 jusqu'à nos jours *1812: ''Je m'émancipe'', comédie-vaudeville in 1 act, with J-B Dubois *1812: ''Les Filles à marier, ou l'Opéra de Quinault'', comedy in 1 act, mingled with couplets, with

Antoine Simonnin Antoine Simonnin (born Antoine-Jean-Baptiste Simonnin; Paris, 11 January 1780 – Paris, 14 May 1856) was a French writer and dramatist. Simonnin wrote, alone or in collaboration, more than 200 comédies en vaudeville, parodies or fantaisies. ...

*1813: ''La Ci-devant jeune femme'', comedy in 1 act, mingled with couplets, with Simonnin *1812 ''Les Poètes en voyage, ou le Bouquet impromptu'', vaudeville in 1 act, with Désaugiers *1814: ''Bayard à Mézières'', opéra comique in 1 act, with Dupaty *1814: ''Lecoq, ou les Valets en deuil'', comedy in 1 act mingled with couplets, with Simonnin *1814: ''La Cabale au village'', comedy in 1 act, mingled with couplets, with Simonnin *1814: ''La Batelière du Loiret'', comedy in 1 act, mingled with vaudevilles, with Maurice Ourry *1816: ''Chacun son tour, ou l'Écho de Paris'', divertissement villageois in vaudevilles, with Marc-Antoine Désaugiers and Michel-Joseph Gentil de Chavagnac *1817: ''Les Trois Journées, ou Recueil des différens ouvrages que l'auteur a eu l'honneur d'adresser, au nom de la Garde nationale, à Sa Majesté et à S. A. R. Monsieur, pour l'anniversaire des 12 avril et 4 mai 1814 et du 8 juillet 1815'' *1817: ''Tableau des élections, depuis 1789 jusqu'en 1816, suivi de Quelques idées sur les élections prochaines'' *1817: ''Les deux Macbeth impromptu'' *1818: ''Les Femmes officiers, ou Un jour sous les armes'', comedy in 1 act mingled with vaudevilles, with J-B Dubois *1818: ''La Statue de Henri IV, ou la Fête du Pont-Neuf'', tableau grivois in 1 act, with Désaugiers, Michel-Joseph Gentil de Chavagnac and

Joseph Pain Marie Joseph Pain (4 August 1773, Paris – March 1830, ibid.) was a 19th-century French playwright, poet and essayist. Biography A member of the , censor and office manager at the Prefecture of the Seine under the Bourbon Restoration, chief edi ...

*1819: ''M. Partout, ou le Dîner manqué'', tableau-vaudeville in 1 act, with Désaugiers and Léger *1819: ''La robe feuille morte'',

*1820: ''Éloge historique de... Charles-Ferdinand d'Artois, duc de Berry'' *1820: ''La nuit et la journée du 29 septembre 1820, ou Détails authentiques de tout ce qui s'est passé le jour de la naissance de monseigneur le duc de Bordeaux'' *1820: ''Le Berceau du prince, ou les Dames de Bordeaux'', à-propos vaudeville in 1 act, with Nicolas Brazier,

, Jean-Baptiste Dubois and Michel-Joseph Gentil de Chavagnac *1821: ''Les Arts rivaux'', intermède *1821: ''Un dimanche à Passy, ou M. Partout'', tableau-vaudeville in 1 act, with Désaugiers and Léger, 1821 *1821: ''Le concert d'amateurs'', comedy in 1 act, with Brazier *1822: ''Relation des fêtes données par la ville de Paris et de toutes les cérémonies qui ont eu lieu dans la capitale à l'occasion de la naissance et du baptême de Mgr le duc de Bordeaux'' *1822: ''L'Inauguration de la statue de Louis XIV'', ode *1822: ''Les Royalistes à la Chaumière'' *1822: ''Le Matin et le soir, ou la Fiancée et la mariée'', comedy in 2 acts, mingled with couplets, with

Armand d'Artois Armand d'Artois (3 October 1788 – 28 March 1867) was a 19th-century French playwright and librettist A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque ...

and

Emmanuel Théaulon Marie-Emmanuel-Guillaume-Marguerite Théaulon de Lambert (14 August 1787, Aigues-Mortes – 16 November 1841) was a French playwright. A customs inspector, then an inspector of military hospitals, he composed an ''Ode'' on the birth of the King of ...

*1822: ''L'Écarté, ou Un lendemain de bal'', comédy in 1 act, mingled with vaudevilles, with Jacques-André Jacquelin and Maurice Ourry *1823: ''Le Deux Mai ou la Fête de Saint-Ouen'', divertissement in 1 act *1823: ''La France et l'Espagne, ou les Deux familles'', intermède *1823: ''Les Femmes de chambre'', vaudeville in 1 act, with Sewrin *1824: ''Le Conciliateur, ou Trente mois de l'histoire de France'' *1824: ''Louis XVIII à son lit de mort, ou Récit exact et authentique de ce qui s'est passé au château des Tuileries, les 13, 14, 15 et 16 septembre 1824'' *1829: ''Des mœurs, des lois et des abus, tableaux du jour'' *1829: ''Mémoires posthumes, lettres et pièces authentiques touchant la vie et la mort de Charles-François, duc de Rivière'' *1834: ''La jolie voyageuse ou Les deux Giroux'', anecdote contemporaine in 1 act, with Achille d'Artois and Joseph-Bernard Rosier *1836: ''Les chansons de Désaugiers'', comedy in 5 acts mingled with couplets, with

Frédéric de Courcy Frédéric de Courcy, born Frédéric Charlot de CourcyThus he is not part of the Norman Courcy family, contrary to his entry in ''Dictionnaire de biographie française'' (16 August 1796, Paris – 6 May 1862, Paris) was a French dramatist, poet a ...

and Emmanuel Théaulon *1836: ''La Cour des miracles, chronique de 1450'', vaudeville in 2 acts (from ''

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (, originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. The title refers to the Notre-Dame Cathedral, which features prominently throughout the novel. I ...

'' 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 ...

), with Jean-Pierre Lesguillon and Emmanuel Théaulon *1836: ''Du Pain et de l'eau'', comédie anecdote in 1 act *1837: ''Charles X'', esquisse historique *1837: ''Mémoires, souvenirs, œuvres et portraits'' *1840: ''Eudoxie ou Le meunier de Harlem'' *undated: ''Hymne à l'amitié'', romance nouvelle with piano or harp *undated: ''Le Vingt-un janvier, chant funèbre'' *undated: ''Vive le roi ! ou le chant d'un français''

Bibliography

* François-Xavier Feller, Charles Weiss, ''Biographie universelle'', 1848, p. 586-587 * J. Goizet, A. Burtal, ''Dictionnaire universel du Théâtre en France et du théatre français'', vol.2, 1867, p. 28-33 * ''Dictionnaire de biographie française'', vol.8, Letouzay, 1959, p. 962 * David Chaillou, ''Napoléon et l'Opéra: La politique sur la scène (1810–1815)'', 2004

External links

René de Chazet
on data.bnf.fr {{DEFAULTSORT:Chazet, Rene de 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights 1774 births Writers from Paris 1844 deaths