Belleroche (actor)

See also: Belleroche, Poisson (homonymy)

Raymond Poisson , known as Belleroche , is a Acteur French of the 17th century. Although its baptismal certificate was not found yet, all its biographers agree to say that Raymond Poisson would have been born “about 1630”, according to the version of Henry Lyonnet. Seul Victor Fournel claims that it would have been born in 1633, but without us to give its sources. He died in Paris the 9 or the May 10th 1690.

He will use finally little the pseudonym of Belleroche which he had chosen at the beginning, and one finds it quoted everywhere under his true patronym, Raymond Poisson, or under the name of Crispin Ier, referring to the character that he generally played and that he made famous.

Orphan early, it was initially domestic of the duke Charles III of Créquy, then of his/her brother François but, pulled by the taste of the theater, Belleroche their service towards 1650 leaves to enlist in a troop of actors and to go to play in province.

Noticed by Louis XIV in one of its voyages, it integrates the troop of the Hôtel of Burgundy in 1660, in order to play the first comic parts there. It will play there without stopping until its retirement with Easter 1685.

It is in the role of the Crispin servant that Poisson was distinguished particularly. It created practically this type, gave him its physique and made it evolve/move, throughout its career, by its play and the personality that it conferred to him - grimaces, mumbling, acrobatics. The public liked so much to see Poisson in this role which one saw this character becoming more and more often a first role in the comedies which were written as of the beginning of the year 1660.

As from the years 1670, the name of this servant appeared even in the titles of the parts.

Comic actor also recognized by his pars, its talents of improvisation enabled him to on several occasions play sides Italian jokers, in particular of Scaramouche and Arlequin in 1681.

August 8th, 1680, when the duke of Créqui writes the orders of the king for the junction of the two large Parisian troops, the name of Poisson appears in the list drawn up by the king. It thus has a share of member in the news Comédie-Française, born from the fusion of the troop of the Hôtel of Burgundy and that of the Guénégaud. Poisson always plays there of Crispins, that the authors made age with him, and it shares the other first comic roles with Hauteroche, Raisin, very appreciated him also, and the actors of old the Troupe of Molière.

Belleroche is also the author of ten plays, published between 1661 and 1681, and gathered in a volume of works in 1679, then in two volumes in 1687. One understands with the reading of the nine parts that he wrote that he for the posterity was forgotten with the profit of Molière which, in addition to to have had like him it genius of the scene, had that of the writing. However, it does not miss liveliness. Its cheerfulness can appear coarse, its weak versification and its often commonplace style, but its parts are truly those of an actor-author, allow great possibilities of play and testify for several of them to the slides to the profession at that time.

That of its parts, which obtained the most success and remained long enough with the theater, has as a title the Baron of the Filth (1662). The others are Lubin or the Stupid one avenged (1661) in worms for eight syllables, Insane reasonable the (1664), the After-soup of the inns (1665) which was one of the first parts to play on comic of language, with many accents, identifiable with the writing, the False Muscovites (1668), the Basque Poet (1668), excellent “comedy of the actors” which offers to the two main roles of the seldom explored possibilities of play, vain Women (1670), its only comedy in five act, sick Holland (1672), Insane diverting the (1680).

Its Œuvres was joined together with Paris, 1687 and 1743, 2 vol. in-12.

Belleroche is the ancestor of three generations of actors. His/her son Paul Poisson also illustrated himself in the roles of Crispin.

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