Beaumarchais, Pierre Augustin Caron de
French dramatist. His great comedies, Le Barbier de Seville/The Barber of Seville (1775) and Le Mariage de Figaro/The Marriage of Figaro (1778, but prohibited until 1784), form the basis of operas by Rossini and Mozart, with their blend of social criticism and sharp humour.
Louis XVI entrusted Beaumarchais with secret missions, notably for the profitable shipment of arms to the American colonies during the War of Independence. Accused of treason 1792, he fled to Holland and England, but in 1799 he returned to Paris.
Louis XVI entrusted Beaumarchais with secret missions, notably for the profitable shipment of arms to the American colonies during the War of Independence. Accused of treason 1792, he fled to Holland and England, but in 1799 he returned to Paris.
© RM 2012. Helicon Publishing is division of RM.
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