Alexandre Flan

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Alexandre Flan

Marie-Alexandre Flan , known as Alexandre Flan , (born May 30, 1827 in Paris ; † September 15, 1870 ibid), was a French playwright and man of letters, as well as a vaudevillist and chansonnier.

biography

Flan's parents ran a glass and chinaware store. He attended the Collège Stanislas and was a diligent student. Throughout his entire school career, he was one of the best in his class. At his father's request, he began to study law, but felt more drawn to literature and so he began to work on various journals. He also wrote his first drama, Les Vaudois , which he sought to accommodate at the Comédie-Française in 1851 but was rejected.

Flan was well acquainted with the well-known Paul Henrion , and so he composed the music for Flan's cycle Je chanterai . The chansons were very popular as a result and that brought Flan's artistic breakthrough. The first major play, the Vaudeville Les étrennes du diable , was then premiered in 1852 at the Théâtre du Luxembourg . He was able to continue this success in the small theaters on the Boulevard du Temple .

His way of working was often quick and superficial. He was especially valued for his language games. He was also known for his New Year's Eve revues, which were so superficial that they were only successful with a pompous decoration and accompanied by a number of young, pretty women.

Flan was also known as a chansonnier and goguettier . In 1864 he became a member of the Société du Caveau , whose president he became the following year. He also regularly took part in the Dîners des Gnoufs-Gnoufs .

Flan's journalistic activity was always part-time, even if his position as editor-in-chief of La Chanson illustrée, which he held from 1868, was very busy. Not least because he published articles in it under various pseudonyms.

Flan lived in a small house in Neuilly , which corresponded to his financial means, in which he liked to withdraw and also reluctantly went out. There he had amassed an extensive library and art collection and a thousand other things that seemed important to him.

When the Pale of Defense, in which his house was also located, were being prepared in advance of the siege of Paris , he was supposed to vacate his house, which had not yet been paid off. That hit Flan like a blow. Desperately he packed his possessions, which were so important to him, in baskets and boxes, wrapped them in sheets, carried them to the side of the road and wanted to have them removed, but there were no transport vehicles available.

When Flan's house was blown up, he was there. That hit Flan deeply, he turned pale and sagged with tears. Resignedly, he had to get to safety in Paris from the approaching Prussian troops, without his belongings; without ever returning to Neuilly. A few days later his friends went missing and when they finally found him in a hotel, he was dead, due to a nervous fever.

It is also reported that Flan killed himself with a targeted stab in the heart.

Work (excerpt)

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Flan, Alexandre
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Flan, Marie-Alexandre (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French playwright and writer, as well as vaudevillist and chansonnier
DATE OF BIRTH May 30, 1827
PLACE OF BIRTH Paris
DATE OF DEATH September 15, 1870
Place of death Paris