Louis Canonge

June 29, 1822 (age 70)

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

The field of journalism offered the best means for the expression of Canonge's overflowing ideas. He began as a contributor to L'Abeille, and throughout his life he wrote for that noted French daily as well as for the numerous French journals and reviews that flourished for short intervals in Louisiana. He also took a keen interest in church publications, being editor-in-chief of Le Propagateur Catholique. For La Presse, the noted Parisian daily, he contributed a series of essays under the title of Institutions americaines. Politics, law, literature, and art occupied his attention in equal measure as a newspaper writer, but he showed a marked preference for theatrical criticism, being editor of La Lorgnette. His interest in the theatre was not limited to literary studies; tradition credits him with capacity as an an actor; and he wrote many plays: Le maudit passeport (1840), a vaudeville; Gaston de St-Elme (1840), a tragedy; L'Ambassadeur d'Autriche (1850); Un grand d'Espagne; Le Comte de Monte-Cristo; Histoire sous Charles-Quint; France et Espagne; ou la Louisiane en 1768 et 1769 (1850); Le Comte de Carmagnola (1856); Qui perd gagne, a one-act comedy (1849) dedicated to the author of Les Nuits. The majority of these plays were acted in New Orleans; the last three were also published in New Orleans; and Le Comte de Carmagnola enjoyed a Parisian production. Canonge was also interested in the musical play, for he is reputed to have written three librettos, only one of which, Louise de Lorraine, is known specifically; he composed songs intensely patriotic, one of which, "La Louisiane, " is preserved in the Howard Memorial Library. Canonge also served as manager of theatrical troupes, selecting one in Paris for the old Orleans Theatre immediately before the Civil War and after that struggle managing the French Opera for two seasons. In these ventures he enjoyed social and artistic, if not financial, success. Canonge took an active part in civic life. He practised law for several years. An ardent devotee of the Lost Cause he translated into French Nojoque (1867) written by H. R. Helper, preserving all the bitterness of the attack against the North but omitting all unpleasant allusions to his Church. He served his people as their representative at the state capital, as superintendent of education, and as professor of French at the State University. Canonge's chief claim to fame resides in his journalistic work of the feuilletoniste type. He excelled in short articles written on the spur of the moment on all the varied topics that interested a French-speaking community fond of French literature, culture, and art. As a dramatist his work belongs solely to the French Romantic School which he imitated closely; lovers of Les trois mousquetaires of Dumas would find delight in his Comte de Carmagnola, a drama of intrigue in five acts and ten tableaux.

Louis Placide Canonge

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dramatist journalist

Background

Louis Placide Canonge was born on June 29, 1822 in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States; of French ancestry. His father was J. F. Canonge of Santo Domingo, who had married a widow, Amelie (Mercier) Amelung of New Orleans.

Education

Intense rivalry then existed between the French and American elements of the population of Louisiana, and the parents of Canonge in order to assure to their son a position of leadership in the struggle sent him to study in France where both his parents had been educated. He attended the College Louis-le-Grand in Paris while the Romantic movement headed by Hugo was at its height. The exuberance of the period produced a lasting impression on the young Louisianian who returned home in 1838, his heart aglow with liberalism.

Career

The field of journalism offered the best means for the expression of Canonge's overflowing ideas. He began as a contributor to L'Abeille, and throughout his life he wrote for that noted French daily as well as for the numerous French journals and reviews that flourished for short intervals in Louisiana. He also took a keen interest in church publications, being editor-in-chief of Le Propagateur Catholique. For La Presse, the noted Parisian daily, he contributed a series of essays under the title of Institutions americaines. Politics, law, literature, and art occupied his attention in equal measure as a newspaper writer, but he showed a marked preference for theatrical criticism, being editor of La Lorgnette. His interest in the theatre was not limited to literary studies; tradition credits him with capacity as an an actor; and he wrote many plays: Le maudit passeport (1840), a vaudeville; Gaston de St-Elme (1840), a tragedy; L'Ambassadeur d'Autriche (1850); Un grand d'Espagne; Le Comte de Monte-Cristo; Histoire sous Charles-Quint; France et Espagne; ou la Louisiane en 1768 et 1769 (1850); Le Comte de Carmagnola (1856); Qui perd gagne, a one-act comedy (1849) dedicated to the author of Les Nuits. The majority of these plays were acted in New Orleans; the last three were also published in New Orleans; and Le Comte de Carmagnola enjoyed a Parisian production. Canonge was also interested in the musical play, for he is reputed to have written three librettos, only one of which, Louise de Lorraine, is known specifically; he composed songs intensely patriotic, one of which, "La Louisiane, " is preserved in the Howard Memorial Library. Canonge also served as manager of theatrical troupes, selecting one in Paris for the old Orleans Theatre immediately before the Civil War and after that struggle managing the French Opera for two seasons. In these ventures he enjoyed social and artistic, if not financial, success. Canonge took an active part in civic life. He practised law for several years. An ardent devotee of the Lost Cause he translated into French Nojoque (1867) written by H. R. Helper, preserving all the bitterness of the attack against the North but omitting all unpleasant allusions to his Church. He served his people as their representative at the state capital, as superintendent of education, and as professor of French at the State University.

Canonge's chief claim to fame resides in his journalistic work of the feuilletoniste type. He excelled in short articles written on the spur of the moment on all the varied topics that interested a French-speaking community fond of French literature, culture, and art. As a dramatist his work belongs solely to the French Romantic School which he imitated closely; lovers of Les trois mousquetaires of Dumas would find delight in his Comte de Carmagnola, a drama of intrigue in five acts and ten tableaux.

Achievements

Some of his plays were produced at the Théâtre d'Orléans. The French government decorated him twice for his labors in the field of French letters.

Works

$Le Comte de Carmagnola, Drame En Cinq Actes, Dix Tableaux et Deux \u00C9poques, (French Edition) Le Comte de Carmagnola, Drame En Cinq Actes, Dix Tableaux et Deux \u00C9poques, (French Edition)$

book
- Le Comte de Carmagnola, Drame En Cinq Actes, Dix Tableaux et Deux Époques, (French Edition)

Personality

He reflected the life of his times in New Orleans; a tireless energy and ready versatility characterized him as a man and as a writer.

Connections

He married Helene Halphern who died in 1889.

Father:: J. F. Canonge
Mother:: Amelie (Mercier) Amelung
Wife:: Helene Halphern

References

Creole Families of New Orleans

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book

Le Comte de Carmagnola, Drame En Cinq Actes, Dix Tableaux et Deux Époques, (French Edition)

Louis Placide Canonge

Background

Education

Career

Achievements

Works

book

Personality

Connections

References

Born

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