Adolphe-Dominique Florent Joseph Simonis , known as Empis , (29 March 1795, Paris ? 11 December 1868, Paris ) was a French dramatist .

Biography [ edit ]

After studying at the lycee Imperial , Empis became master clerk in a notary's office. It was in this capacity that he happened to be at the home of the composer Spontini , who lived in Paris at that time. In search of inspiration, the musicien consulted Empis and declared himself charmed by his advice. Thus encouraged to launch himself down a new path, Empis wrote two booklets in collaboration, of which the second, Vendome en Espagne , was set to music in 1823 by Herold and Auber . The following year, Empis began to write for the theatre and at the same time set forth on an administrative career, becoming at various times the secretary to the royal libraries, inspector of the crown house governing service, and ultimately head of the first division to the ministry of the royal house. His dramas and comedies made him worthy of election to the Academie francaise in 1847, and then to succeed Arsene Houssaye as administrateur general of the Theatre-Francais in 1856.

While certain of Empis' plays became fashionable, notably La Mere et la fille , which ran at the Theatre de l'Odeon in 1830 with Frederick Lemaitre in the principal role, they were mostly attracted a cool critical reception and disdain from the public. After seeing Un Jeune Menage at the Theatre-Francais in 1838, a theatre critic wrote in L'Artiste  : "Nothing distinguishes this new drama from the other plays which Monsieur Empis has given to the theatre. It contains the same kind of intrigue and the same ideas. In a word, it is a work which without being absolutely bad, does not shine either with respect to inventiveness, nor characterization, nor style.. a mediocre work without bearing, which has no purpose but to reproduce scenes of daily life in all their common reality". Empis' plays never regained their popularity.

Theatre [ edit ]

• Sapho, tragedie lyrique en 3 actes , Paris, Academie royale de musique , 12 August 1818
• Vendome en Espagne, drame lyrique en 1 acte , Paris, Academie royale de musique, December 1823
• Bothwell, drame historique en 5 actes et en prose , Paris, Comedie-Francaise, 21 June 1824
• L'Agiotage, ou le Metier a la mode, comedie en 5 actes et en prose , Paris, Theatre-Francais, 25 July 1826
• Lambert Simnel, ou le Mannequin politique, comedie en 5 actes et en prose , Paris, Theatre-Francais, 24 March 1827
• La Mere et la fille, comedie en 5 actes et en prose , Paris, Theatre de l'Odeon, 11 October 1830
• La Dame et la demoiselle, comedie en 4 actes et en prose , Paris, Theatre-Francais, 14 October 1830
• Un Changement de ministere, comedie en 5 actes et en prose , Paris, Theatre de l'Odeon, 12 March 1831
• Une Liaison, comedie en 5 actes et en prose , Paris, Theatre-Francais, 21 April 1834
• Lord Novart, comedie en 5 actes et en prose , Paris, Theatre-Francais, 27 February 1836
• Julie, ou Une separation, comedie en 5 actes et en prose , Paris, Theatre-Francais, 2 May 1837
• Un Jeune Menage, drame en 5 actes et en prose , Paris, Theatre-Francais, 6 September 1838
• Theatre (2 volumes, 1840)
• L'Heritiere, ou Un coup de partie, comedie en 5 actes et en prose , Paris, Theatre-Francais, 4 September 1844
• L'Ingenue a la cour, comedie en 5 actes, Paris, Theatre de l'Odeon, 20 mars 1846
• Les Six Femmes de Henri VIII, scenes historiques (2 volumes, 1854) Online text 1 2