Henri Adolphe Franconi (1801 – 2 November 1855) 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 ...

and

circus performer A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

. A grandson of

Antonio Franconi Antonio Franconi (1737 in Udine, Italy - 1836 in Paris, France) was an Italian equestrian. He started as a juggler and wandering physician, then arranged bullfights in Lyon and Bordeaux. In 1783, he associated with the English horse rider Philip ...

and son of

Henri Franconi Henri Franconi, full name Jean Gérard Henri Franconi, (4 November 1779 – 22 July 1849) was a French playwright and circus performer of the early 19th century. A son of Antonio Franconi, in 1807 he became with his brother Laurent director of t ...

, he succeeded him in 1827 as managing director of the Cirque-Olympique. He specialized in training horses. In 1835, he forged an association with

Louis Dejean Louis Dejean (June 9, 1872 in Paris – January 6, 1953 in Paris), was a French sculptor and engraver. He worked in the workshop of Gaston Schnegg, along with Antoine Bourdelle, Charles Despiau, Robert Wlérick, Léon-Ernest Drivier, François ...

in order to establish a circus tent on the

Champs-Élysées The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an Avenue (landscape), avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc ...

, at the Carré Marigny. He died of a heart attack at the Cirque-Olympique in 1855.

Works

*1819: ''Le Soldat laboureur'', mimodrama en 1 act *1828: ''Le Chien du régiment, ou l'Exécution militaire'',

melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...

in 1 act, with Henri Franconi *1828: ''Le Drapeau'', military melodrama in 2 acts, a show with

Louis Ponet Louis Ponet (1776 in Paris – May 1845 in Paris) called Portelette, was a French novelist and playwright during the first half of the 19th century. The son of a cook, he joined as an employee in the Treasury and then entered the administration of ...

and

Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois Auguste Anicet, later Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois (25 December 1806 – 12 January 1871) was a French dramatist. He was born in Paris. The first play to bear his name is ''L'Ami et le mari, ou le Nouvel Amphitryon'', a vaudeville piece in one a ...

*1828: ''L'éléphant du roi de Siam'', mimodrama in nine tableaux, with

Léopold Chandezon Léopold Chandezon (died 17 July 1846) was a French playwright and librettist of the 19th century whose plays have been presented on the most famous Parisian stages of his time: Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique, Théâtre de la Gaîté, Théâtre de ...

and

Ferdinand Laloue Ferdinand Laloue (1794 in Passy – 27 September 1850) was a French dramatist, librettist and theatre producer. Administrator of the Théâtre du Cirque-Olympique, he also was director of the Hippodrome and the théâtre des Délassements comique ...

, (

mise-en-scène (; or "what is put into the scene") is the stage design and arrangement of actors in scenes for a theatre or film production, both in the visual arts through storyboarding, visual themes, and cinematography and in narrative-storytelling through ...

) *1830, ''L'Empereur'', historical events in 5 actes and 18 tableaux, with Ferdinand Laloue and

Auguste Lepoitevin de L'Égreville 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 ...

*1855: ''Le Cavalier : cours d'équitation pratique'', Michel Lévy brothers

Bibliography

* Artaud de Montor, ''Encyclopédie des gens du monde'', 1839, * Alphonse Karr, ''Notice nécrologique'', in ''Les Bourdonnements du siècle'' issue 25, 25 November 1855 * Camille Dreyfus, André Berthelot, ''La Grande encyclopédie: inventaire raisonné des sciences...'', 1886, * Henry Lyonnet, ''Dictionnaire des comédiens français'', 1911, 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights French circus performers 1801 births 1855 deaths Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery {{France-writer-stub