Jean-Antoine Romagnesi (1690 in

Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...

– 11 May 1742 in

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...

) was an 18th-century French actor and playwright, the son of Italian comedians. Romagnesi appeared in Paris at the

Théâtre de la Foire Théâtre de la foire () is the collective name given to the theatre put on at the annual fairs at Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Saint-Germain and Saint-Laurent church, Paris, Saint-Laurent (and for a time, at Saint-Ovide) in Paris. Foire Sain ...

, started without success at the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

then played nearly twenty years in the

Comédie-Italienne Comédie-Italienne () or Théâtre-Italien () are French names which have been used to refer to Italian-language theatre and opera when performed in France. The earliest recorded visits by Italian players were ''commedia dell'arte'' companies ...

where he was especially successful in the roles of Swiss, Germans and drunkards. He wrote extensively, alone or in collaboration, notably parodies,

bouffon Bouffon (English originally from French: "farceur", "comique", "Donovan", "jester") is a modern French theater term to describe a specific style of performance work that has a main focus in the art of mockery. It was re-coined in the early 1960 ...

neries and

harlequinade ''Harlequinade'' is an English comic theatrical genre, defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "that part of a pantomime in which the harlequin and clown play the principal parts". It developed in England between the 17th and mid-19th ce ...

s. Some of his works were collected (Paris, nouv. édit.

1772 Events January–March * January 10 – Shah Alam II, the Mughal Emperor of India, makes a triumphant return to Delhi 15 years after having been forced to flee. * January 17 – Johann Friedrich Struensee and Queen Caroli ...

, 2 vol. in-8°).

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 ...

, ''Dictionnaire universel des littératures'', Paris, Hachette, 1876,

External links

Works by Jean-Antoine Romagnesi
on onlinebooks.library.
Books by Jean-Antoine Romagnesi
18th-century French dramatists and playwrights 18th-century French male actors French male stage actors 1690 births 1742 deaths {{France-playwright-stub