Saint-Fal, real name Étienne Meynier (or Saint Phal) (10 June 1752 – 22 November 1835) was a French stage actor.

Biography

Étienne Meynier 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 ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

on 10 June 1752. After he participated in an amateur troupe, he integrated that of Mademoiselle Montansier at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

, then moved to

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

where he stayed three years. He performed in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

in 1781, then at the

Théâtre de la Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (, ; , ; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is ho ...

in Brussels. On 8 July 1782, Saint-Fal made his debut 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 ...

in ''Gaston et Bayard'' by Belloy. Received as a test on 17 March 1783, he was definitely admitted on 25 March of the following year. At the time of the French Revolution, Saint-Fal was denounced by La Bussière and thrown into jail. On his release, he joined Mlle Raucourt at the

Théâtre Louvois The Théâtre Louvois () or Salle Louvois () was a theatre located at what is today 8 rue de Louvois in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris. Inaugurated in 1791 and closed in 1825, it was used by the Théâtre-Italien from 20 March 1819 to 8 November ...

and then gave the exact measure of his talent. On the night of 2 September 1793, he was arrested again, along with 12 other comedians in the Théâtre Français remained loyal to the monarchy, as "suspects" and imprisoned in the

Madelonnettes Convent The Madelonnettes Convent (''couvent des Madelonnettes'') was a Paris convent in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris. It was located in what is now a rectangle between 6 rue des Fontaines du Temple (where there are the remains of one of its walls), ...

, for playing a theatrical performance judged seditious: '' Pamela''.On 1 August 1793, on the stage of the théâtre de la Nation, Nicolas François de Neufchâteau had a

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

in verses performed: ''

Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded ''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' is an epistolary novel, epistolary novel first published in 1740 by the English writer Samuel Richardson. Considered one of the first true English novels, it serves as Richardson's version of conduct book, condu ...

'', after the novel by

Samuel Richardson Samuel Richardson (baptised 19 August 1689 – 4 July 1761) was an English writer and printer known for three epistolary novels: '' Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' (1740), '' Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady'' (1748) and '' The Histo ...

, imitated from

Goldoni Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni (, also , ; 25 February 1707 – 6 February 1793) was an Italian playwright and librettist from the Republic of Venice. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. Audiences have admired the plays ...

. The day of the ninth representation, as the curtain was about to rise, a police officer came in the name of the

Committee of Public Safety The Committee of Public Safety () was a committee of the National Convention which formed the provisional government and war cabinet during the Reign of Terror, a violent phase of the French Revolution. Supplementing the Committee of General D ...

which forbade the play because of these two verses deemed subversive:
''Ah ! les persécuteurs sont les seuls condamnables.'' (Ah! the persecutors are the only condemnable)
''Et les plus tolérants sont les seuls raisonnables.'' (And the most tolerant are the only reasonable)
Francois de Neufchateau then made the corrections required by the Committee but said committee signed a

ministerial order A ministerial decree or ministerial order is a decree by a Ministry (government department), ministry. With a ministerial decree the administrative department is delegated the task to impose a formal judgement or mandate. Ministerial decrees are u ...

closing the theater and delivered a charge against François de Neufchateau. He was incarcerated, as well as his comédians. Among the 13 actors (actresses were jailed at

Sainte-Pélagie Prison Sainte-Pélagie was a prison in Paris, in active use from 1790 to 1899. It was founded earlier than that, however, in 1662, as place for "repentant girls" and later "debauched women and girls." The former Parisian prison was located between the ...

) of the Théâtre Français incarcerated at the

, were: * Fleury *

Louise Contat Louise-Françoise Contat (16 June 1760 – 9 March 1813) was a French Actor, actress. Biography She was born in Paris and made her debut at the Comédie Française in 1766 as Atalide in ''Bajazet (play), Bajazet''. It was in comedy, however, ...

Dazincourt Joseph-Jean-Baptiste Albouy (11 December 1747, in Marseille – 28 March 1809, in Paris), stage name Dazincourt, was a Theatre in France, French actor. Life Educated by the Oratory of Jesus, Oratorians, Dazincourt entered the service of the Lo ...

* François-René Molé *

Charlotte Vanhove Charlotte Vanhove (10 September 1771 – 11 April 1860) was a French stage actress and playwright. She was active at the Comedie-Francaise from 1786. She is also known as a writer, and was the author of several plays and books. Life Charlot ...

* Saint-Prix * Saint-Fal. At the fusion of the two troupes of French actors, he took over from his model, actor Molé, and became dean of the

. He retired in 1824, eleven years before he died. He died in Paris, France on 22 November 1835 and is buried in the 19th division of the

Père Lachaise cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...

. His brother

Charles Meynier Charles Meynier (1763 or 1768, Paris – 1832, Paris) was a French painter of historical subjects in the late 18th and early 19th century. He was a contemporary of Antoine-Jean Gros and Jacques-Louis David. Biography Meynier was the son of a ...

(1768–1832) was a renowned painter.

References

Journal des débats politiques et littéraires, 24 november 1835
read on line {{portal bar, theatre 18th-century French male actors 19th-century French male actors French male stage actors Troupe of the Comédie-Française Male actors from Paris 1752 births 1835 deaths Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery

Biography

See also

References