  michel-jean sedaine (2 june 1719 &ndash; 17 may 1797) was a french dramatist and librettist, especially noted for his librettos for opÃ©ras comiques, in which he took an important and influential role in the advancement of the genre from the period of charles-simon favart to the beginning of the revolution.charlton 1992, p. 297. ==early life== sedaine was born in paris. his father, who was an architect, died when sedaine was quite young, leaving no fortune, and the boy began life as a mason's labourer. he was at last taken as pupil by an architect whose kindness he eventually repaid by the help he was able to give to his benefactor's grandson, the painter david. meanwhile he had done his best to repair his deficiencies of education, and in 1750 he published a recueil de piÃ¨ces fugitives, which included fables, songs and pastorals. ==writer of opÃ©ras comiques== thumb|left|a scene from le diable Ã  quatre sedaine's especial talent was, however, for light opera. he wrote le diable Ã  quatre, set mainly to vaudevilles with additional music by philidor, laruette and baurans. first performed at the foire saint-laurent on 19 august 1756, it was produced numerous times with music by different composers and became one of the most performed comic operas in the latter half of the 18th century. other such works followed, including blaise le savetier (1759) with music of philidor; on ne s'avise jamais de tout (1761) and others with pierre-alexandre monsigny; aucassin et nicolette (1780), richard coeur-de-lion (1784), and amphitryon (1788) with andrÃ© grÃ©try. among his more important works in the genre were two set by monsigny: le roi et le fermier (1762), notable for its portrayal of royal recognition of common justice and its 3-act length, and le dÃ©serteur (1769), which included a through-composed finale with chorus. ==work as a dramatist== sedaine's work in opÃ©ra comique attracted the attention of diderot, and two plays of his were accepted and performed at the thÃ©Ã¢tre franÃ§ais. the first and longest, the philosophe sans le savoir, was acted in 1765; the second, a lively one-act piece, la gageure imprÃ©vue in 1768. these two at once took their place as stock pieces and are still ranked among the best french plays, each of its class. except these two pieces little or nothing of his has kept the stage. he wrote two historical dramas, raymond 
1719_births 1797_deaths 18th-century_dramatists_and_playwrights French_dramatists_and_playwrights French_male_writers French_opera_librettists Members_of_the_AcadA(c)mie_d\'architecture Members_of_the_AcadA(c)mie_franASSaise Writers_from_Paris