Favart, Charles Simon

Favart, Charles Simon (shärl sēmôN` fävär`), 1710–92, French dramatist and theatrical manager, for a time director of the Opéra-Comique. He was the originator of the modern light opera and wrote, largely in collaboration with his wife, about 150 comedies and operettas, including La Chercheuse d'esprit (1741), Les Amours de Bastien et de Bastiene (1753), and Les Trois Sultanes; ou, Soliman second (1761). His wife,

Marie Justine Benoîte Duronceray Favart, 1727–72, was a brilliant light-opera star.