Henry François Becque French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 dramatist, was born in Lille

Lille

Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...

.

In 1867, he wrote, in imitation of Lord Byron, the libretto for Victorin de Joncières

Victorin de Joncières

Félix-Ludger Rossignol, known as Victorin de Joncières was a French composer and music critic.-Biography:...

's opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 Sardanapale, but his first important work, Michel Pauper, appeared in 1870. The importance of this sombre drama was first realized when it was revived at the Odéon

Odéon

The Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe is one of France's six national theatres.It is located at 2 rue Corneille in the 6th arrondissement of Paris on the left bank of the Seine, next to the Luxembourg Garden...

 in 1886. Les Corbeaux (1882) established Becque's position as an innovator, and in 1885 he produced his most successful play, La Parisienne. Becque produced little during the last years of his life, but his disciples carried on the tradition he had created.

His other works include Querelles littéraires (1890), and Souvenirs d'un auteur dramatique (1895), consisting chiefly of reprinted articles in which he does not spare his opponents. His Théâtre complet (3 vols., 1899) includes L'Enfant prodigue (Vaudeville Theatre, 6 November 1868); Michel Pauper (Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin, 17 June 1870); L'Enlèvement (Vaudeville, 18 November 1871); La Navette (Gymnase, 15 November 1878); Les Honnêtes Femmes (Gymnase, 1 January 1880); Les Corbeaux (Comédie-Française

Comédie-Française

The Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few state theaters in France. It is the only state theater to have its own troupe of actors. It is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris....

, 14 September 1882); and La Parisienne (Théâtre de la Renaissance, 7 February 1885).

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