Louis Bruyas
Encyclopedia
Louis Bruyas stage and pen-name Bruyas, was a French actor and playwright. He was a member of the prestigious Académie des Arcades de Rome
.
on 16 February 1761, in the rôle of Zamore in Voltaire
's Alzire. The Mercure de France
for March wrote "This new débutant is an agreeable figure, and of an advantageous size. The organ of his voice is naturally beautiful. He shows much fire." Reading this, he left the Théâtre-Français shortly afterwards to enter the company of Mademoiselle Montansier
, holder of the theatre concession for Britanny and Normandy
. Bursay thus spent 8 years as a theatre director, playing with the company in Amiens
, Rouen
and Nantes
.
In 1768, he reached Vienna
and there met and became friends with Noverre
. On Bruyas's return to Paris
the following year, he débuted for a second time at the Comédie-Française
on 15 January 1769, in La Métromanie by Alexis Piron
and in L'Époux par supercherie by Louis de Boissy
. After another stay in Vienna in 1772, he acted at La Rochelle
before being taken on by Brussels
's Théâtre de la Monnaie
for the 1773-1774 season.
He then went to Marseille
, where he acted from 1775 to 1780 (with the exception of the 1778-1779 season, which he spent in Brussels), and there had printed several of his translations from Kotzebue
. On 1 October 1776 he married Marie-Anne Moylin, daughter of two actors, in Marseille
. Taken on again in Brussels in 1781, he stayed there until 1793, making more translations of Kotzebue than his own plays, in which he played the lead rôles.
His daughter-in-law, Aurore Domergue, a singer at the Opéra de Paris under the stage-name Mlle Aurore, had several of his plays and translations put on in Hamburg
, Saint Petersburg
and Moscow
under the name Mme Bursay.
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
Life
He débuted at the Comédie-FrançaiseComédie-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....
on 16 February 1761, in the rôle of Zamore in Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
's Alzire. The Mercure de France
Mercure de France
The Mercure de France was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group....
for March wrote "This new débutant is an agreeable figure, and of an advantageous size. The organ of his voice is naturally beautiful. He shows much fire." Reading this, he left the Théâtre-Français shortly afterwards to enter the company of Mademoiselle Montansier
Mademoiselle Montansier
Marguerite Brunet, known by her stage name of Mademoiselle Montansier , was a French actress and theatre director.-Background:...
, holder of the theatre concession for Britanny and Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
. Bursay thus spent 8 years as a theatre director, playing with the company in Amiens
Amiens
Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
, Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
and Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
.
In 1768, he reached Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and there met and became friends with Noverre
Jean-Georges Noverre
Jean-Georges Noverre was a French dancer and balletmaster, and is generally considered the creator of ballet d'action, a precursor of the narrative ballets of the 19th century...
. On Bruyas's return to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
the following year, he débuted for a second time at the 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....
on 15 January 1769, in La Métromanie by Alexis Piron
Alexis Piron
Alexis Piron was a French epigrammatist and dramatist.He was born at Dijon, where his father, Aimé Piron, was an apothecary. Piron senior wrote verse in the Burgundian language. Alexis began life as clerk and secretary to a banker, and then studied law...
and in L'Époux par supercherie by Louis de Boissy
Louis de Boissy
Louis de Boissy was a French writer. He was elected to seat 6 of the Académie française on 12 August 1754...
. After another stay in Vienna in 1772, he acted at La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
before being taken on by Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
's Théâtre de la Monnaie
La Monnaie
Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie , or the Koninklijke Muntschouwburg is a theatre in Brussels, Belgium....
for the 1773-1774 season.
He then went to Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, where he acted from 1775 to 1780 (with the exception of the 1778-1779 season, which he spent in Brussels), and there had printed several of his translations from Kotzebue
August von Kotzebue
August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue was a German dramatist.One of Kotzebue's books was burned during the Wartburg festival in 1817. He was murdered in 1819 by Karl Ludwig Sand, a militant member of the Burschenschaften...
. On 1 October 1776 he married Marie-Anne Moylin, daughter of two actors, in Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
. Taken on again in Brussels in 1781, he stayed there until 1793, making more translations of Kotzebue than his own plays, in which he played the lead rôles.
His daughter-in-law, Aurore Domergue, a singer at the Opéra de Paris under the stage-name Mlle Aurore, had several of his plays and translations put on in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
and Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
under the name Mme Bursay.
Works and translations
- Artaxerce, after Pietro Metastasio (Marseille, 1765, printed in Paris in 1765 and in Marseille in 1776)
- Orphée (Marseille, 1775)
- La Fête des Tigres (Marseille, 1779 ; Paris, 1782)
- L'Ami de Cour (Marseille, 1775, 1779 et 1780)
- Momus fabuliste ou le Mariage de Vénus et de Vulcain, a comedy "returned to the theatre with several alterations" (Marseille, 1776)
- Les Indiens en Angleterre (Brussels, 14 May 1792)
- Les Lois et les rois, ou le Bonheur des peuples (Brussels, 15 April 1793)
- Le Perroquet ou la Récompense de l'amour filial (Brussels, 9 October 1793, non imprimé)
- L'Enseigne, ou le Jeune Militaire (Brussels, 29 August 1792, imprimé en 1799)
- Misanthropie et repentir (Brussels, 3 May 1793, imprimé à Paris en 1799)