Favart, Charles-Simon

Favart, Charles-Simon (13 November 1710, Paris; 12 March 1792, Belleville), librettist, wrote his first vaudeville at age 15 and embarked upon a literary career cut short by the sudden death of his father. The nascent poet turned to theatrical compositions to obtain funds to survive in the capital, and he wrote a pair of skits for Bienfait’s puppet shows as well as vaudevilles and parodies of tragedies given by the legitimate actors at the Comédie-Française. The success of his La Chercheuse…