Jules Brasseur (; 1829-1890) was a French actor and singer, born 1829 in Paris and died in the same city in 1890, who achieved considerable popular success in Paris and around France in the second half of the 19th century.

Life and career

Born Jules-Victor-Alexandre Dumont, his father was a wood merchant and destined his son for business; a position was secured for him as assistant glove-maker in a shop in the Chaussée d'Antin. An interest in the theatre awoke in him around 1847 and he made his debut at the Théâtre de Belleville, before appearing at the Délassements-Comiques and at the Folies-Dramatiques. In August 1852 he created the role of Machavoine in '' Le Misanthrope et l'Auvergnat'' by Labiche at the

Palais-Royal The Palais-Royal () is a former French royal palace located on Rue Saint-Honoré in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre Palace, Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Ca ...

securing a major success. Having appeared in ''Le Brésilien'' (alongside

Hortense Schneider Hortense Catherine Schneider, ''La Snédèr'', (30 April 1833 in Bordeaux, France – 5 May 1920, in Paris, France) was a French soprano, one of the greatest operetta stars of the 19th century, particularly associated with the works of composer Jac ...

) in 1863, for which Offenbach wrote (anonymously) a 'Ronde du Brésilien' which became hugely popular, he also appeared alongside Offenbach's Bouffes-Parisiens troupe in Bad Ems, singing songs and comic scenes.Yon, Jean-Claude. ''Jacques Offenbach.'' Editions Gallimard, Paris, 2000, p315. Brasseur remained at the Palais-Royal until 1877, creating many roles, including the Brésilien/Frick/Prosper in '' La Vie parisienne'' by Offenbach in 1866. His forte was grotesques, and he often exaggerated effects in the extreme sometimes to the point of becoming hoarse. He was skilled in transformation, the

Goncourt brothers The Goncourt brothers (, , ) were Edmond de Goncourt (1822–1896) and Jules de Goncourt (1830–1870), both French naturalism writers who, as collaborative sibling authors, were inseparable in life. Background Edmond and Jules were born to ...

describing him thus « C'est toute une troupe que Brasseur. Il est cinq, six acteurs, que sais-je? Toutes les voix, tous les gestes, toutes les physionomies, il les prend, non il les a » ("Brasseur is a complete troupe. He is five, six actors – who can say ? Every voice, every gesture, every expression, he can take on – no, he has them"). He also had the reputation of easily losing his temper. During the summers he would tour the provinces with his own theatrical troupe and was also sought after in salons, where he would sing chansonnettes. In 1878 he left the Palais-Royal and founded the

Théâtre des Nouveautés The Théâtre des Nouveautés ("Theatre of the New") is a Parisian theatre built in 1921 and located at 24 boulevard Poissonnière (Paris, 9th arr.). The name was also used by several earlier Parisian theatre companies and their buildings, begin ...

, whose direction he upheld until his death. As the theatre director, Brasseur leant towards operetta and staged '' Fatinitza'',Noel E and Stoullig E. '' Les Annales du Théâtre et de la Musique, 5ème édition, 1879.'' G Charpentier et Cie, Paris, 1880, p462-64. followed by among others, ''La Cantinière'', a vaudeville with music by Planquette, '' Le Jour et la Nuit'', by Lecocq, ''Le Cœur et la Main'', ''L'Oiseau bleu'', ''Droit d'aînesse'', by

Francis Chassaigne Francis Chassaigne (also known as Francisque Chassaigne) (30 October 1847 – 21 December 1922) was a Belgian-born French composer of operettas, songs, and numerous pieces of dance music for piano. The English-language versions of his operettas, ...

, ''le Premier Baiser'', by Émile Jonas; ''le Roi de Carreau'', by Théodore Lajarte; ''le Petit Chaperon Rouge'' by Gaston Serpette, and ''Serment d'Amour'', by Audran. His son Albert Brasseur also became an actor and they appeared many times on the same stage. The stage name was taken on by another actress, Germaine Brasseur and her descendants:

Pierre Brasseur Pierre Brasseur (; 22 December 1905 – 16 August 1972), born Pierre-Albert Espinasse, was a French actor. Biography The son of actors Georges Espinasse and Germaine Brasseur was an actor as well. The family tradition of using the name ''Br ...

Claude Brasseur Claude Brasseur (; 15 June 1936 – 22 December 2020) was a French actor. Life and career Claude Brasseur was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine as Claude Pierre Espinasse, the son of actor Pierre Brasseur and actress Odette Joyeux. He was the godson of E ...

and Alexandre Brasseur.Mignon, Paul-Louis,
Le Theatre d'aujourd'hui
', Editions de l'Avant-Scene, M. Brient et Cie, Paris, 1966, p. 60

Plays in which he appeared

* 1852: ''Le Misanthrope et l'Auvergnat'' ( Eugène Labiche), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1853: ''Un feu de cheminée'' (Eugène Labiche), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1854: ''Le Sabot de Marguerite'' (Marc-Michel and Pol Moreau), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1855: ''Le Roman chez la portière'' (Henry Monnier and

Gabriel de Lurieu Gabriel de Lurieu (real name Gabriel-Zéphirin Gonyn de Lurieu; Paris, 28 October 1799 (7 brumaire year VIII) – Paris, 5 February 1889 ) was a French author and playwright. His brother Jules-Joseph-Gabriel de Lurieu (1792–1869), with whom he ...

), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1855: ''La Perle de la Canebière'' (Eugène Labiche and Marc-Michel), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1855: ''Les Précieux'' (Eugène Labiche, Marc-Michel and Auguste Lefranc), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1856: ''Un monsieur qui a brûlé une dame'' (Eugène Labiche and Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1857: ''Le Secrétaire de Madame'' (Eugène Labiche and Marc-Michel), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1858: ''Le Punch Grassot'' ( Eugène Grangé and Alfred Delacour), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1858: ''Le Grain de café'' (Eugène Labiche and Marc-Michel), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1858: ''En avant les Chinois !'' (Eugène Labiche and Alfred Delacour), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1859: ''Une tempête dans une baignoire'' ( Charles Dupeuty and Gabriel de Lurieu), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1859: ''L'Amour, un fort volume, prix 3 F 50 c'' (Eugène Labiche and Édouard Martin, Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1860: ''La Pénélope à la mode de Caen'' (Eugène Grangé, Paul Siraudin and Lambert-Thiboust), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1860: ''La Sensitive'' (Eugène Labiche and Alfred Delacour), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1860: ''Les Trois Fils de Cadet-Roussel'' ( Michel Delaporte, Charles Varin et Paul Laurencin), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1861: ''La Mariée du Mardi-gras'' (Eugène Grangé and Lambert-Thiboust), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1861: ''La Beauté du diable'' (Eugène Grangé and Lambert-Thiboust), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1863: ''Le Brésilien'' (

Henri Meilhac Henri Meilhac (; 23 February 1830 – 6 July 1897) was a prolific French playwright and opera librettist, known for his collaborations with Ludovic Halévy on comic operas with music by Jacques Offenbach. He also wrote occasionally for serious w ...

and

Ludovic Halévy Ludovic Halévy (1 January 1834 – 7 May 1908) was a French people, French author and playwright, known for his collaborations with Henri Meilhac on the libretto, libretti for Georges Bizet's ''Carmen'' and comic operas by Jacques Offenbach, inc ...

), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1863: ''Les Mystères de l'Hôtel des ventes'' (

Henri Rochefort Henri is the French form of the masculine given name Henry, also in Estonian, Finnish, German and Luxembourgish. Bearers of the given name include: People French nobles * Henri I de Montmorency (1534–1614), Marshal and Constable of France * ...

and Albert Wolff, Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1864: ''La Cagnotte'' (Eugène Labiche and Alfred Delacour), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1865: ''La Bergère de la rue Monthabor'' (Eugène Labiche and Alfred Delacour), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1866: ''Le Myosotis'' ( William Busnach), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1866: '' La Vie parisienne'', opéra-bouffe by

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

, libretto by Henri Meilhac, Ludovic Halévy, Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1868: ''Le Papa du prix d'honneur'' (Eugène Labiche and Théodore Barrière), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1868: '' Le château à Toto'', opéra-bouffe by Jacques Offenbach, livret by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1868: ''Le Roi d'Amatibou'' (Eugène Labiche and Edmond Cottinet), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1868: ''Le Carnaval d'un merle blanc'' ( Henri Chivot and Alfred Duru), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1870: ''Le Plus Heureux des trois'' (Eugène Labiche and Edmond Cottinet), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1871: ''Tricoche et Cacolet'' (Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1872: ''Il est de la police'' (Eugène Labiche and Louis Leroy), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1872: ''La Tribune mécanique'' ( Georges Vibert and Étienne-Prosper Berne-Bellecour), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1872: ''Doit-on le dire ?'' (Eugène Labiche and Alfred Duru), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1875: '' Un mouton à l'entresol'' (Eugène Labiche and

Albéric Second Pierre Albéric Second, (17 June 1817 - 2 June 1887 Émile Augier Guillaume Victor Émile Augier (; 17 September 182025 October 1889) was a French dramatist. He was the thirteenth member to occupy seat 1 of the on 31 March 1857. Biography Augier was born at Valence, Drôme, the grandson of Pigault Lebrun, an ...

, Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1877: ''La Boîte à Bibi'' ( Saint-Agnan Choler and Alfred Duru), Théâtre du Palais-Royal * 1878: ''Coco'' (Clairville, Eugène Grangé and Alfred Delacour), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1879: ''Paris en actions'' (Albert Wolff and Raoul Toché), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1880: ''La Cantinière'' (vaudeville by

Robert Planquette Jean Robert Planquette (; 31 July 1848 – 28 January 1903) was a French composer of songs and operettas. Several of Planquette's operettas were extraordinarily successful in Britain, especially ''Les cloches de Corneville'' (1878), the length o ...

, words by Paul Burani and Félix Ribeyre), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1880: ''Les Parfums de Paris'' (Albert Wolff and Raoul Toché), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1881: ''La Vente de Tata'' (Albert Wolff and Alfred Hennequin), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1883: ''Le Roi de carreau'' ( Eugène Leterrier and Albert Vanloo), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1884: ''Le Château de Tire-Larigot'' ( Ernest Blum and Raoul Toché), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1885: ''Le Petit Chaperon rouge'' (

opérette This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most co ...

by Gaston Serpette, words of Ernest Blum and Raoul Toché), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1886: ''Adam et Ève'' (Ernest Blum and Raoul Toché), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1887: ''L'Amour mouillé'' (

Jules Prével Jules Prével (1835 in Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët – 1889 in Paris) was a 19th-century French journalist and opera librettist. For a while, he was responsible for the theatre column in ''Le Figaro''. He participated in the writing of the libre ...

and Armand Liorat), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1887: ''Les Saturnales'' (Albin Valabrègue), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1888: ''La Volière'' (music by Lecocq; words by Charles Nuitter and Alexandre Beaume), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1888: ''Le Puits qui parle'' (

opéra comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular ''opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Théâtre de la foire, Fair Theatres of St Germain and S ...

by Audran, words by Alexandre Beaume and Paul Burani), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1889: ''La Vénus d'Arles'' (opéra comique by Louis Varney, livret by Paul Ferrier and Armand Liorat), Théâtre des Nouveautés * 1889: ''Le Royaume des femmes'' (Ernest Blum and Raoul Toché), Théâtre des Nouveautés

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brasseur, Jules French male stage actors 19th-century French male actors Male actors from Paris 1829 births 1890 deaths