Jérôme Savary (27 June 1942 – 4 March 2013) was an

Argentinian Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish ( masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

-French theater director and actor. His work has democratized and widened the appeal of musical theater in France, drawing together and blending such genres as opera, operetta, and

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

Biography

Savary was born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

; his father was a writer and his mother the daughter of Frank W. Higgins, governor of New York (1905–1907). Savary moved to Paris at a very young age. Here, he studied music under Maurice Martenot, continuing his studies at the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs. At nineteen, he moved to New York, where he associated with Lenny Bruce, Jack Kerouac,

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

, and

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

. In 1962, he returned to Argentina to fulfill his military service requirements. He remained as an illustrator of dictionaries and a cartoonist, contributing to the same magazine as Copi. In 1965, after returning to Paris, he created the "Compagnie Jérôme Savary", which evolved into "Le Grand Magic Circus" and finally into "Le Grand Magic Circus et ses animaux tristes". His version of ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...

'' won awards in France (the

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 greatest writers in the French language and worl ...

, 1987) and Spain (1993). He has remained active, producing such diverse works as '' La Périchole,

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had co ...

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based ...

, La Légende de Jimmy, Marylin Montreuil,

Mistinguett Mistinguett (, born Jeanne Florentine Bourgeois; 5 April 1873 – 5 January 1956) was a French actress and singer. She was at one time the highest-paid female entertainer in the world. Early life The daughter of Antoine Bourgeois, a 31-year- ...

, Irma la Douce'', and many other works. After directing the Centre Dramatique National du Languedoc-Roussillon and the Carrefour Européen du Théâtre du 8e à Lyon, he headed the

Théâtre National de Chaillot The Théâtre National de Chaillot (English: Chaillot National Theatre) is a theatre located in the Palais de Chaillot at 1, place du Trocadéro, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. Close by the Eiffel Tower and the Trocadéro Gardens—the Th� ...

from 1988 to 2000. In the field of opera Savary's first production was ''La Périchole'' in

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

in 1982. Other important early work in the genre included ''

Anacreon Anacreon (; grc-gre, Ἀνακρέων ὁ Τήϊος; BC) was a Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and erotic poems. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets. Anacreon wrote all of his poetry in the ...

'' and ''

Fra Diavolo Fra Diavolo (lit. Brother Devil; 7 April 1771–11 November 1806), is the popular name given to Michele Pezza, a famous guerrilla leader who resisted the French occupation of Naples, proving an "inspirational practitioner of popular insurrect ...

'' at La Scala and several operas for Bregenz. He directed ''

Le Comte Ory ''Le comte Ory'' (''Count Ory'') is a comic opera written by Gioachino Rossini in 1828. Some of the music originates from his opera '' Il viaggio a Reims'' written three years earlier for the coronation of Charles X. The French libretto was by Eug ...

'' at

Glyndebourne Glyndebourne () is an English country house, the site of an opera house that, since 1934, has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The house, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England, is thought to be about six hun ...

in 1997 and ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (russian: Война и мир, translit=Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy that mixes fictional narrative with chapters on history and philosophy. It was first published ...

'' for

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

in 1991. His last production was '' L'étoile'' in Geneva in 2009.Jérôme Savary (Obituary). ''

Opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

'', August 2013, p993. From 2000 to 2007 was director of the Paris Opéra-Comique. Turkish actor, writer and director Ferhan Şensoy worked in his theater for a while after his graduate as Savary's assistant. Richard Elfman performed with Savary's Grand Magic Circus in the early 1970s and married the show's leading lady, Marie-Pascale (Elfman). Richard's brother, Danny Elfman, performed with the troupe when he was 18. The show, ''Zartan'', included Danny's first public musical performance and compositions. Richard says his work with Jerome Savary and the Magic Circus helped inspire him to create the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. Savary composed the song "Pleure" in Richard Elfman's film ''

Forbidden Zone ''Forbidden Zone'' is an American absurdist musical fantasy comedy film produced and directed by Richard Elfman, and co-written by Elfman and Matthew Bright. Shot in 1977 and 1978, the film premiered in 1980 and was distributed in 1982. Origi ...

''. He died at

Levallois-Perret Levallois-Perret () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies some from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of the French capital. It is the most densely populated ...

, on 4 March 2013, of cancer, at the age of 70.

Selected productions

Theater

# ''Looking for/A la Recherche de Josephine – New Orleans for Ever'' (2006) # ''

'' (2006) # ''

'' (2006) # '' Carmen'' (2004) # ''Zazou, une histoire d’amour sous l’Occupation'' (2003) # '' Irma la Douce'' (2000) # ''

La Cenerentola ' ('' Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant'') is an operatic ''dramma giocoso'' in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the libretti written by Charles-Guillaume Étienne for the opera ''Cendrillon'' ...

'' (2001) # ''Cabaret'' (1986) # ''Le Voyage dans la Lune'' (1986) # '' The Merry Widow'' (1983) # '' La Périchole'' (1982)

Film

# ''La fille du garde-barrière'' (1975) # ''Le Boucher, la star et l'orpheline'' (1975)

Television

# ''La Belle et la toute petite Bête'' (2003) # ''Mistinguett, la dernière revue'' (2001) # ''

Les contes d'Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in ...

'' (2000) # '' La Périchole, la chanteuse et le dictateur'' (2000) # ''

Le comte Ory ''Le comte Ory'' (''Count Ory'') is a comic opera written by Gioachino Rossini in 1828. Some of the music originates from his opera '' Il viaggio a Reims'' written three years earlier for the coronation of Charles X. The French libretto was by Eug ...

'' (1997) # ''Y'a d'la joie!… Et d'l'amour'' (1997) # ''Nina Stromboli'' (1996) # ''Attila'' (1991)

Honors

* Knight of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

* Knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

References

External links

Official site of Jérôme Savary

Jérôme Savary à Solo Opéra

Jérôme Savary présente "Carmen 2 le retour"

Jérome Savary présente "La mascotte"

Jérôme Savary présente "Looking for Chano" {{DEFAULTSORT:Savary, Jerome 1942 births 2013 deaths Argentine people of French descent Argentine people of American descent Deaths from cancer in France People from Buenos Aires French theatre directors French opera directors Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur