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Félicia Mallet

Félicia Mallet
Félicia Mallet 1891 poster by Jules Chéret.png
1891 poster by Jules Chéret for a pantomime of "the tightrope dancer"
Born 1863
Bordeaux, France
Died 1928
Nationality French
Occupation Singer, Pantomime artist

Félicia Mallet (1863–1928) was a French comedian, singer and pantomime artist.

Félicia Mallet was born in Bordeaux in 1863. In 1887 she played the part of Giovanni Paisiello, the court composer, in the first staging of Victorien Sardou's drama La Tosca. In May 1888 she appeared with the Cercle Funambulesque pantomime company at the Fantaisies-Parisiennes in its first evening of performances, starring in Léandre Ambassadeur. Her performances with the Cercle Funambulesque launched her into stardom.

In 1890 Mallet played Pierrot in a production of L'Enfant prodigue staged in Paris. In 1893 Maurice Lefèvre dedicated his book À travers chants to Mallet. In it he presented a defense of popular songs.Georges Wague made his debut as a mime in 1893. Mallet assisted him in developing his own individual style in the years that followed. Wague was an innovative mime artist who became a film actor. Mime was important in the early days of silent films since a typical mime sketch was short, did not depend on words and could easily be enhanced by music.

Mallet appeared in 1897 at the relatively high-brow La Bodinière theater, where she sang chansons brutales after being introduced in a talk by Lefèvre. She sang Noël de Pierrot and Fête des Morts, both compositions by Xavier Privas. Mallet visited London in 1897 and played Pierrot in A Pierrot's Life in matinees at the Prince of Wales Theatre. In 1899 Mallet was an understudy for the cabaret singer and actress Yvette Guilbert. Félicia Mallet acted in L'Enfant prodigue at the Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre, which opened on 28 April 1900 at the Exposition Universelle, and gave programs that featured films with manually synchronized sound tracks as well as live performances.

Félicia Mallet died in 1928, aged about 65. According to Pierre Trimouillat she was "an incomparable mime, an impeccable story teller and an actress of the first order.


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