Charles-Gaspard Delestre-Poirson, known as Delestre-Poirson (22 August 1790, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

– 19 November 1859) was a French playwright and theatre director. Delestre-Poirson was the director of the Gymnase dramatique, from 1820 to 1844 ; his resistance to the decisions taken by the Société des auteurs dramatiques provoked part of the SACD to boycott using that theatre for 2 years. This conflict, in which only Narcisse Fournier remained loyal to Delestre-Poirson, led in the end to Delestre-Poirson's retirement. Delestre-Poirson is to be credited with the discovery of all the parts

Rachel Rachel () was a Bible, Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph (Genesis), Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban (Bible), Laban. Her older siste ...

could play thanks to her deep and penetrating voice, her noble bearing and heroic fits of anger, thus bringing about a renaissance in French classical tragedy, which had been in decline and which Delestre-Poirson thus rejuvenated. He wrote several comedies, alone (e.g. ''Le Fat en province ou Le plan de comédie'', a 3-act comedy ; ''Inès et Pédrille ou La cousine supposée'', a 3-act comedy ; ''Spectacle demandé ou Rien qu'en famille'', a one-act divertissement "mêlée de couplets" ; ''Les Anglais supposés ou Lequel est mon gendre ?'', at

Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin The Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin () is a venerable theatre and opera house at 18, Boulevard Saint-Martin in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. History It was first built very rapidly in 1781 under the direction of (1726–1810) to hou ...

, 1815), or in collaboration with

Eugène Scribe Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of man ...

and

Mélesville Baron Anne-Honoré-Joseph Duveyrier, pen-name Mélesville (13 December 1787 in Paris – 7 November 1865 in Marly-le-Roi) was a French dramatist. The playwright Mélesville fils was his son. Life The son of Honoré-Nicolas-Marie Duveyrier, M ...

(such as ''La Petite Pinson ou Une nuit à Beaune'', a one-act folie-vaudeville, with

, put on at the

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 ...

from 20 February 1819). He also wrote a novel, ''Un Ladre, récit d’un vieux professeur émérite'' (Paris, Lenormant, 1859), a touching and moral book whose excellent intentions excuse its implausibility.

Sources

Gustave Vapereau Louis Gustave Vapereau (4 April 1819 – 18 April 1906) was a French writer and lexicographer famous primarily for his dictionaries, the ''Dictionnaire universel des contemporains'' and the ''Dictionnaire universel des littérateurs''. Biography ...

, '' L’Année littéraire et dramatique'', Paris, Hachette, 1860, p. 458

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Delestre-Poirson, Charles-Gaspard Writers from Paris 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights French theatre directors French opera librettists 1790 births 1859 deaths 19th-century French novelists