Félicia Thierret

Photographic portrait by Nadar

Félicie Marie,[1] called Félicia Thierret, around 1814[2] – 1 May 1873[3] was a French comedian.

Life

Born in Paris, after attending the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique, Thierret made her debut at the Comédie-Française as Suzanne in Le Mariage de Figaro by Beaumarchais.[4] She was accepted as a boarder in 1832[5] but soon left the theatre to alternate between Parisian stages and tours in the provinces. The list of her engagements in Paris is impressive : Comédie-Française (in 1832 and 1841), Théâtre de l'Odéon (in 1839 and 1857), Théâtre du Palais-Royal (in 1848 and 1858), Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens (in 1867) and Théâtre des Menus-Plaisirs (in 1873).

She could have pursued the classical repertoire, but this probably did not suit her whimsical temperament. When she played Tartuffe at the Odéon in particular (as Dorine). As she grew older, she became overweight, which prompted her to turn – successfully – to the role of the old women. In 1858, she returned to the Théâtre du Palais-Royal, where her comic side could be expressed in comedies, vaudevilles and operettas. Charles Legrand described her as follows: "Massive, hommasse, a semi-busted nose, small mischievous eyes, a half-rare smile, the troupier step, the hâbleur gesture[6]", quoted by Henry Lyonnet.

Eugène Hugot says of her:

Nothing more comical or more completely cheerful was ever seen on the part of the weaker sex. She had a way of articulating that belonged to her alone, and she emphasized words so humorously that she centuplicated their value.[7]

In 1873, while performing La Mariée de la rue Saint-Denis at the Théâtre des Menus-Plaisirs, she felt ill and went to bed, never to get up again[8] and died of pneumonia contracted during the performances. The press widely praised an actress full of originality, verve and comic strength.[9][10]

She was married to Jean-Baptiste Georgin.[4][8] "In the town, Mme Thierret was cited for the exceptional regularity of her morals and the exemplary devotion she showed to her elderly mother.[11] »

Roles

References

  1. ^ according to her death certificate n° 423/1873 at the Mairie du 2nd arrondissement.
  2. ^ she was 58 according to her death certificate.
  3. ^ Notice d'autorité de la BNF
  4. ^ a b Bibliothèque de la Revue internationale illustrée, ed. (1902–1908). Dictionnaire des comédiens français (in French). Vol. II. Geneva. p. 681.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link).
  5. ^ Eugène Labiche; Gilbert Sigaux (1966–1968). Œuvres complètes (in French). Vol. III. Paris: Au club de l'honnête homme. p. 377..
  6. ^ Charles Legrand, Le théâtre en sonnets, Sepré, 1870.
  7. ^ Eugène Hugot, Histoire littéraire, critique et anecdotique du Théâtre du Palais-Royal, 1784–1884, Paris, Ollendorff, 1886, p. 233
  8. ^ a b Pierre Larousse, Grand Dictionnaire du XIX, tome 15, p. 124.
  9. ^ Francisque Sarcey (5 May 1873). "Chronique théâtrale". Le Temps (Quotidien français, 1861–1942) (in French). p. 2..
  10. ^ Francisque Sarcey (3 May 1873). "Nécrologie". Le Temps (in French). p. 2.
  11. ^ Eugène Labiche, Théâtre, edited by Jacques Robichez, coll. Bouquins, Éditions Robert Laffont, 1991, tome I, p. CXC
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Félicia Thierret.