Augustin Eugène Scribe

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Scribe, [Augustin] Eugene (1791–1861), playwright. The leading French dramatist of the first half of the 19th century, he reacted to the overblown, romantic melodramas of his day by devising the “well‐made” play in which essentially middle‐class problems were presented in neat, economically contrived plots and with prosaic, commonplace dialogue. While these plays were theatrically effective, many detractors felt they merely substituted taut construction for vitality and depth. Although a number of his works were translated and met with varying success in America, he was best known and largely remembered here for a single drama, Adrienne Lecouvreur.

(b Paris, 24 Dec 1791; d there, 20 Feb 1861). French dramatist and librettist. A highly skilled theatrical craftsman, he produced ‘well-made’ comedies and dramas concentrating attention on the plot, forward-moving action, contrasting characters and artful engagement of the audience; his librettos use similar principles, blended with the Romantic elements of passionate love, religious or social conflict and a period setting, to create a sequence of stirring scenes that builds to a huge finale. He is remembered for his distinctive contribution to French grand opera, especially with Meyerbeer, but also for his work with Auber, Bellini, Donizetti, Gounod, Halévy, Offenbach and Verdi.

Scribe, Eugène (1791-1861). French dramatist. Father of the ‘well-made play’, he wrote some 300 plays, often with collaborators. His importance in theatre history lies in the way in which he transformed the mechanics of play-making by inventing plots which are complicated but neat and tight, connecting scenes and acts in a logical and coherent chain that leads to satisfying endings through a liberal use of surprise and suspense. Satirical comedies like Bernard et Raton (1833), historical plays like Le Verre d'eau (1840), and domestic dramas like Une chaîne (1841) owed their vast success to his plots. Masters like Ibsen learned from him.

[S. Beynon John]