Difference between revisions of "Louise Liard-Fleury"

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Latest revision as of 09:19, 7 August 2011

Louise Liard-Fleury
Spouses Fusil
Also known as Louise Fusil
Louise Fleury
Biography
Birth date Around 1771
Death 1848
Biographical entries in old dictionaries


Entry by Valérie van Crugten-André, 2004

Probably born in Stuttgart in 1771, Louise Fusil came from a family of actors, of whom the most well-known is her grandfather, François Liard-Fleury, at one time a member of the Théâtre-François. His presumed relationship with his namesake, Abraham-Joseph Bénard, known as Fleury, the famous actor of the Comédie Française, is doubtful. François Liard married a demoiselle Clavel, aunt of the famous diva Antoinette Clavel, better known under the name of Madame Saint-Huberti. The latter introduced Louise to the art of singing and brought her to Paris where she became a student of Piccini. Louise's father, Henri Liard-Fleury, and her mother, Catherine Durussose, were also actors. Shortly before the outbreak of the Revolution, Louise married the actor Fusil, in Toulouse. A friend of Talma's, he participated in the spectacles of the Théâtre de la République, where Louise also appeared several times. The couple, who produced a girl, Henriette, who would also become an actress, separated not long afterwards: Fusil was hired in Marseille whilst the young woman led a solo career in Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp, Tournai and Lille where she accompanied the tour of the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a famous composer and interpreter from Guadeloupe. In 1806, she left France for Russia (St Petersburg and Moscow) where, until 1812, she displayed her talents on the stages of imperial theatres and within a small troup of French actors directed by Aurore Bursay. Forced to flee the fires of Moscow, she returned to France with, amongst her luggage, a young "orphan", little Nadèje, rescued during Napoleon's flight. The anecdote is moving, but hardly credible, and it is more reasonable to assume that the "orphan of Wilna", as she is now known, was in truth Louise's illegitimate daughter. Back in France, she adopted Nadèje and taught her to sing, to dance and to act, putting her on the stage throughout Europe, where she gained moderate success. Distraught following the loss of Nadèje in 1832, Louise Fusil lived in England for a while, before returning once and for all to France, where, out of necessity, she published in 1841 her Souvenirs d'une actrice. Between 1844 and 1848, she edited a 'fashion and literary periodical", which, unfortunately for her, did not receive the same success accorded to her memoirs. Forsaken by all, she died, in 1848, in the most abject poverty.

Few testimonies of her qualities as singer and actress have survived and she was only really well-known for the two large volumes of her Souvenirs. These are a pleasant read and of real interest, despite serious factual and chronological errors. We encounter, through Louise's account of her daily life, the names of those who fill the pages of history: Saint-Georges, Talma, Lekain, Chénier, Dauberval, Boïeldieu, Rostopchin, Gluck, Grétry, the prince de Ligne or the famous Count Du Barry. The second part, essentially devoted to life in Russia, combines the charm of a simple portrait with documentary details and reports. The memoirs are not merely conversation pieces. Aside from the undeniable literary qualities of the work, which skilfully blend the technique of portraiture with fiction, rich and detailed descriptions with abstract reflections, the historico-sociological, even ethnological, value of the text is easily recognisable. The work constitutes a prime document for the study of the lifestyle of actors at the end of the eighteenth century, and an exceptional testimony of the evolution of fashion and of the art of dramatic and lyrical theatre. Louise Fusil writes like a woman who had long reflected on her work and her profession. She comments on the reorganisation of theatres, their emancipation, the remuneration of actors etc. Widely-read, she notes pertinently the influence of the Revolution on new literary currents, the return to antiquity and the idealisation of heroes of the Roman Republic. A skilled commentator of the mores of her time, she was however, neither moralist, nor reformist and her work lacks any real critique of the Ancien Régime. If Louise Fusil is rarely cited in the context of theatre history, historians of France often mention her anecdotes as a primary source for the history of the Revolution, despite the unreliability of her accounts. A critical edition of her Souvenirs is forthcoming from H. Champion.

(translated by Cathy McClive)

Works

- 1817 : L'incendie de Moscou, la petite orpheline de Wilna, passage de la Bérésina et Retraite de Napoléon jusqu'à Wilna. Par madame Fusil, témoin oculaire. Ces mémoires sont suivis d'un Voyage aux confins de l'Asie russe, sur les bords de la Wolga, de Notes sur la Russie, le Kremlin, Petrosky, et les principaux édifices qui ont été la proie de flammes,Londres, impr. de Schulze et Dean.
- 1841 : Souvenirs d'une actrice, par Mme Louise Fusil, Paris, Dumont -- Éd. Valérie van Crugten-André, Paris, H. Champion, (à paraître, printemps 2005).
- 1843 : «L'Oranger de la superstition», Magasin de récréations des dames, juillet 1843, Paris, au bureau de la gazette des femmes, p.80-84 (récit d'une anecdote survenue à Moscou en 1809).
- 1844 : Proserpine à Paris. Revue anecdotique de Modes, de Nouveautés, de littérature, d'industrie, etc., rédigée par plusieurs dames, Paris, Brière, Bureaux, à la Tente, au Palais-Royal, 1844 (devient en 1846, Revue des dames. Journal littéraire. Anecdotes et nouvelles inédites,Bureaux, à la Tente, au Palais-Royal, Galerie Montensier, 6 au premier; devient en 1848: Revue des arts, de la littérature, depuis 1790 jusqu'en 1848 par Mme Louise Fusil, Auteur des Souvenirs d'une actrice, de l'incendie de Moscou, du passage de la Bérésina, de l'île des vieilles[sic], du prince et la chanteuse[sic], de la famille ste.-Amaranthe[sic], Bureaux, Salon littéraire de la Tente).
- 1847 : Notice historique sur mademoiselle Mars, par Mme L. Fusil, auteur des Souvenirs d'une actrice, d'une relation de l'incendie de Moscou, de nombreuses notices anecdotiques sur les théâtres, les artistes éminents, et sur l'art dramatique, du temps de la république, de l'Empire et de la Restauration. Avec un autographe de l'illustre comédienne adressé à l'auteur, Paris, à la Tente, au Palais-Royal et chez les marchands de nouveautés.
- 1848 : Notice historique sur son altesse royale Mme la princesse Adélaïde, par Mme L. Fusil, Paris, imprimerie de Madame Lacombe.


Selected bibliography

- Barbé, J.-J. Dictionnaire des musiciens de la Moselle. Metz, Imprimerie du Messin, 1929.
- Id. «Un chapitre de l'histoire du théâtre de Metz au XVIIIe, Les Fleury, comédiens et chanteurs». Le Pays Lorrain, 1925, p.320-326.
- Roman d'Amat et al. (dir.).Dictionnaire de Biographie française. Paris, Letouzey et Ané, 1976, t.XIV, p.1459-1463.
- Lyonnet, Henri. Dictionnaire des comédiens français (ceux d'hier). Biographie, Bibliographie, Iconographie[...]. Paris, E. Jorel, 2 vol., librairie de l'art du théâtre, s.d. [1904].


Reception

- (à propos du Théâtre des Beaujolais) «Le divorce inutile. Comédie en prose et en un acte par M. Gabiot. Très jolie pièce, écrite avec pureté, pleine de sentiments relevés, et d'idées fines et spirituelles; il y règne d'un bout à l'autre un excellent ton; et l'on ne peut trop engager les acteurs de ce théâtre à entremêler souvent leurs opéras de comédies du même genre. Mesdames Sara et Fusil s'y font applaudir, parce que les bons rôles siéent toujours aux talents» (Almanach général de tous les spectacles de Paris et des Provinces pour l'année 1791, p.86-87).
- «Une femme aimable et spirituelle, dont la longue carrière n'a pas été sans éclat, et qui a obtenu dans les arts des succès brillants, vient de finir ses jours dans un hospice [...]. Telle est souvent la destinée des artistes qui manquent de prévoyance, et qui ne songent pas qu'une vogue éphémère ne les préservera pas des chances hasardeuses de l'avenir. Mme Fusil, née Louise Fleury, qui aurait pu être inconnue de la génération actuelle, ne l'était cependant pas, puisque sa plume septuagénaire, qui avait conservé l'esprit, le grâce et la fraîcheur de la jeunesse, a tracé récemment des Mémoires qui, au charme du style, joignent un grand intérêt de curiosité pour les amateurs de théâtre et pour les curieux d'anecdotes littéraires» (extrait d'un article de nécrologie sur Louise Fusil, La semaine, 1849).

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