Cogniard brothers

The Cogniard brothers were two French brothers who worked as playwrights and theatre directors, producing an incalculable number of vaudevilles, reviews, féeries and operettas.

In 1845, Hippolyte took sole charge of the Théâtre du Vaudeville, then of the Théâtre des Variétés from 1854 to 1869, where he instituted a repertoire solely consisting of operettas.

In 1869, on behalf of his son Léon, Hippolyte acquired the Cirque-Impérial and renamed it the Théâtre du Château d'Eau, after its proximity to the Place du Château d'Eau (now Place de la République).

(After several failures, in 1904 that theatre became one of the most famous Parisian music halls, as the Alhambra.)

As playwrights, the Cogniard brothers produced an impressive number of plays, fééries and reviews from 1830 onwards, collaborating with Hector Crémieux, Louis-François Clairville and Paul Siraudin.