Coraly Zahonero ・ Comédie-Française

Coraly Zahonero enrolled at the Montpellier Conservatory at the age of 15 and made her first acting steps thanks to Jean Négroni who cast her as Juliet in his rendition of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in 1986. The following year, she played in Racine’s Britannicus with Silvia Montfort in the Paris theater of the same name. She trained in classes taught by Jacques Sereys, Philippe Adrien and Stuart Seide at the Conservatoire national supérieur d’art dramatique run by Jean-Pierre Miquel. When the latter was appointed General Administrator of the Comédie-Française in 1994, he hired Coraly Zahonero to play Silvia in his staging of Marivaux’s La Double Inconstance. For this role she was nominated for a Molière Award for Best Newcomer, as well as for the 1995 Daniel Sorano Award.
She was appointed the 504th sociétaire on the 1st of January 2000.

Her theatrical world has developed along with the diverse influences in her life. In 2007, Omar Porras introduced her to mask theatre when he staged Lope de Vega’s Pedro and the Commander at the Salle Richelieu. In 2010, she took part in the adventure that was Paroles, pas de rôles/vaudeville, a performance experiment with the tg STAN, de KOE and Discordia collectives. Sought after by directors from all sides, she has interpreted complex and varied roles. She has accordingly played the title role in Federico García Lorca Yerma by Vicente Pradal, Natalia Ivanovna in Chekhov’s Three Sisters by Alain Françon with whom she reunited for Edward Bond’s The Sea. Under the direction of Andrei Serban, she played Jessica in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. She also played Olivia in Twelfth Night, Or What You Will, also by Shakespeare, which was directed by Andrzej Seweryn. Coraly Zahonero played Margarita in Goldoni’s The Boors (Les Rustres) having reconnected with director Jean-Louis Benoit who had worked with her previously on Corneille’s The Liar (Le Menteur) and Gogol’s The Government Inspector (Le Révizor). Giorgio Barberio Corsetti cast her as Clara, the milliner in Labiche’s The Italian Straw Hat, while Lilo Baur cast her as Magdalena in The House of Bernarda Alba by García Lorca. She performed in Feydeau’s plays once as Lucette in Un fil à la patte by Jérôme Deschamps and as Marcelle in The Free Exchange Hotel (L’Hôtel du Libre-Échange) by Isabelle Nanty. She paid great tribute to Victor Hugo playing Cyprienne in Mille francs de récompense by Jean-Paul Rousillon and Marcinelle in The Intervention (L’Intervention) by Bénédicte Ardiley. Under the watchful eye of Thierry Hancisse, who directed her in L’École des maris by Molière, she conceived the staging and scenography for L’Inattendu by Fabrice Melquiot, which she also starred in.

In 2016, as part of the Singulis solo program, she authored Griselidis, a theatrical adaptation of the work of prostitute, painter and writer Grisélidis Réal, which she directed and interpreted. Playing outside the Comédie-Française, the show reaped great success on tour.

Together with Vicente Pradal, Coraly Zahonero conceived and staged the musical Viento del pueblo on the life of poet Miguel Hernandez. She has often appeared in film and on television; most notably in Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud by Claude Sautet and in Riens du tout and Chacun cherche son chat by Cédric Klapisch. She has played in a number of television series: Le Grand Patron, R.I.S. Police scientifique, La vie devant elles. In 2015, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi cast her for the television movie adapted from Chekhov’s Three Sisters, and Coline Serreau cast her as Yvonne de Gaulle in Pierre Brossolette ou les passagers de la lune.

Coraly Zahonero is Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres) and Chairperson of the Chant des hommes Association, a social and artistic charity organization.

During the 2018/2019 season, she will be playing in Goldoni’s La Locandiera by Alain Françon, Hors la loi written and directed by Pauline Bureau and in the rerun of Feydeau’s The Free Exchange Hotel by Isabelle Nanty. Her Grenier des acteurs will be dedicated to Sylvie Caster.