Édouard-Théodore Nicole (c. 1823 – 19 February 1900), known as Léonce, was a 19th-century French actor and singer.

Biography

Léonce was born 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 ...

. After studying law, he made his stage debut at the Théâtre de Belleville. He also played the cello. In the 1850s, he was engaged at the

Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens The Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens () is a Parisian theatre founded in 1855 by the composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers ...

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 ...

and sang many roles in the works of Offenbach and Hervé. After some time at the Théâtre de l'Athenée, he played in the premieres of '' Tromb-al-ca-zar'', '' Croquefer'', ''

Orphée aux Enfers ''Orpheus in the Underworld'' and ''Orpheus in Hell'' are English names for (), a comic opera with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed as a two-act " opéra bouffon" at the Th ...

'', '' Mesdames de la Halle'' and '' Monsieur Choufleuri''. For several years, he appeared 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 ...

including in '' Les brigands'', '' Le docteur Ox'', '' La Vie parisienne'' and ''

La Périchole ''La Périchole'' () is an opéra bouffe in three acts with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The opera depicts the mutual love of two impoverished Peruvian street singers – too poor to afford a marriage ...

''. After an unwise investment in a café, he ended his life in poverty. He died at Raincy on 19 February 1900.

Theatre

; Comedian-singer *1858: '' Mesdames de la Halle'', une opérette bouffe de

- created on 3 March

1858 Events January–March * January 9 ** Revolt of Rajab Ali: British forces finally defeat Rajab Ali Khan of Chittagong. ** Anson Jones, the last president of the Republic of Texas, commits suicide. * January 14 – Orsini affair: Pi ...

at the

(salle Choiseul) - as ''Madame Poiretapée, poissonnière'' *1858: ''

'', opéra-bouffe by Jacques Offenbach - created on 21 October at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens - as ''Aristée-Pluton'' - *1859: '' L'Omelette à la Follembuche'', operetta bouffe by Eugène Labiche and Marc-Michel - created on 8 June at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens - as ''La baronne de Follembuche'' *1861: '' M. Choufleuri restera chez lui le . . .'', opéra bouffe by Jacques Offenbach - created on 14 September

1861 This year saw significant progress in the Unification of Italy, the outbreak of the American Civil War, and the emancipation reform abolishing serfdom in the Russian Empire. Events January * January 1 ** Benito Juárez captures Mexico Ci ...

at the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens - as ''Mme Balandard'' *1865: '' Les bergers'', opéra-comique by Jacques Offenbach - as the Marquis *1869: '' Les brigands'', opéra bouffe by Jacques Offenbach - created at the

on 10 December - as ''Antonio, caissier du duc de Mantoue'' *1873: '' Les Braconniers'', opéra bouffe by Jacques Offenbach - created at the Théâtre des Variétés on 29 January - as ''Bibès, veux braconnier'' *1875: '' Les Trente Millions de Gladiator'', comédie en vaudeville by Eugène Labiche and Philippe Gille - created at

on 22 January - as ''Pepitt'' *1875: '' La boulangère a des écus'', opéra bouffe by Jacques Offenbach - created on 19, October

1875 Events January * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the year (Third C ...

at the Théâtre des Variétés - as ''Délicat'' *1876: '' Le roi dort'' by Eugène Labiche and Alfred Delacour - created on 31 March at the Théâtre des Variétés - as ''Bec de miel'' *1877: '' Le docteur Ox'', opéra-bouffe by Jacques Offenbach - created on 26 January at the Théâtre des Variétés - as ''Ygène'' *1883: '' Mam'zelle Nitouche'',

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

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 Albert Millaud - created on 26 January at the Théâtre des Variétés - as ''Loriot, "brigadier"'' ; Author *1859: ''Dans la rue'', operetta by Léonce (lyricist)"Dans la rue"
sur Gallica - Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens - created on 8 SeptemberLéonce
sur Data.BnF

References

Sources

* Gänzl Kurt. ''The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre.'' Blackwell, Oxford, 1994. * ''This article incorporates some material re-edited from French Wikipedia'' 1820s births 1900 deaths 19th-century French male opera singers Male actors from Paris 19th-century French male actors {{France-opera-singer-stub