The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Crébillon, Prosper Jolyot de
(prôspr´ zhôly´ d krbyôN´) (KEY) , 1674–1762, French dramatist. His tragic melodramas, marked by violent plots, include Idoménée (1705), Électre (1708), and Rhadamiste et Zénobie (1711), which is considered his best. After a long retirement he was persuaded by Mme de Pompadour, who was seeking a rival to Voltaire, to write Catilina (1748), which was performed with great success.
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yôN´) (KEY) , 1674–1762, French dramatist. His tragic melodramas, marked by violent plots, include Idoménée (1705), Électre (1708), and Rhadamiste et Zénobie (1711), which is considered his best. After a long retirement he was persuaded by Mme de Pompadour, who was seeking a rival to Voltaire, to write Catilina (1748), which was performed with great success.
