Alexandre Montfort (12 May 1803 – 13 February 1856) was a French classical composer. His works included instrumental music,

art song An art song is a Western vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the collective genre of such songs ...

s and six operas. He was awarded the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

in composition in 1830. Fétis, François-Joseph (1864)
"Montfort (Alexandre)"
''Biographie universelle des musiciens et bibliographie générale de la musique'', vol. 6, p. 186. Firmin Didot frères, fils et Cie

Life and career

Montfort was born in Paris, the son of a prominent antiquarian and

numismatist A numismatist is a specialist in numismatics ("of coins"; from Late Latin ''numismatis'', genitive of ''numisma''). Numismatists include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholars who use coins and other currency in object-based research. Altho ...

. He studied at the

Paris Conservatory The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

under Fétis and

Berton Berton is a both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: As a surname *Alain Berton, (1912–1979), French chemical engineer specialized in toxicology * Annibale Berton (born 1936), Italian Olympic canoeist * George Frede ...

and in 1830 was awarded (jointly with Berlioz) the

in composition. He stayed in Rome at the Villa Medici for two years and used the rest of his Prix de Rome bursary to travel and study in other parts of Italy and then in Germany. On his return to Paris in 1835 he made his debut as a composer with a series of instrumental overtures, piano music, and art songs. Michaud, Louis Gabriel (1863)
"Montfort (Alexandre)"
''Biographie universelle'', vol. 20, p. 119. Desplaces Montfort's first stage work was ''La chatte metamorphosée en femme'', a three-act ballet which premiered at the

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...

on 16 October 1837 with

Fanny Elssler Fanny Elssler (born Franziska Elßler; 23 June 181027 November 1884) was an Austrian ballerina of the Romantic Period. Life and career She was born in Gumpendorf, a neighborhood of Vienna. Her father Johann Florian Elssler was a second ge ...

in the title role. Berlioz, who had attended the premiere, described the music as displaying "a smooth, elegant and graceful talent." Five more stage works by Montfort were premiered between 1839 and 1855, all in the

opéra comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular '' opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...

genre. Of these, the most successful was the first, ''Polichinelle''. Pieces from ''Polichinelle'' were also published separately and became popular as

salon music Salon music was a popular music genre in Europe during the 19th century. It was usually written for solo piano in the romantic style, and often performed by the composer at events known as "Salons". Salon compositions are usually fairly short and ...

. In January 1843 Montfort married Alexandrine Dacheux in a ceremony at the

Église Saint-Roch The Church of Saint-Roch (french: Église Saint-Roch) is a 17th-18th-century French Baroque and classical style church in Paris, dedicated to Saint Roch. It is located at 284 rue Saint-Honoré, in the 1st arrondissement. The current church was ...

with

Adolphe Adam Adolphe Charles Adam (; 24 July 1803 – 3 May 1856) was a French composer, teacher and music critic. A prolific composer for the theatre, he is best known today for his ballets ''Giselle'' (1841) and '' Le corsaire'' (1856), his operas ''Le pos ...

as the organist. Alexandrine was the niece of

François-Louis Crosnier François-Louis Crosnier (12 May 1792 - 1 September 1867) was a French theatre manager, politician, and playwright, who used the pen name Edmond Crosnier. Biography Born François-Louis Croisnu, he was the son of Louis Croisnu, who adopted ...

, the director of the Théâtre de Opéra-Comique company from 1834 until 1845. As a wedding present,

Eugène Scribe Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of man ...

had promised a new libretto for Montfort. This was to become the three-act opéra comique ''La Charbonnière''. Scribe had planned to finish the libretto by the time Montfort returned from his honeymoon, but did not even begin working on it until August of that year. According to Scribe ''La Charbonnière'' was based on an idea he and

Mélesville Baron Anne-Honoré-Joseph Duveyrier, pen-name Mélesville (13 December 1787 in Paris – 7 November 1865 in Marly-le-Roi) was a French dramatist. The playwright Mélesville fils was his son. Life The son of Honoré-Nicolas-Marie Duveyrier, M� ...

had conceived twenty years earlier. He wrote to his friend Mahérault, "if ideas are like wine in bottles, then this one must now be excellent." It was not a view shared by the critics when the opera finally premiered in 1845. After the relative failure of ''La Charbonnière'' and the change in management at the Opéra-Comique in 1845, Montfort produced no further stage works for the next eight years. During that period he supported himself by giving music lessons and working as a piano accompanist and organist. He returned to stage composition with his one-act ''L'Ombre d'Argentine'' in 1853. It was followed by another one-act opéra comique, ''Deucalion et Pyrrha'', which premiered to critical success on 8 October 1855 with Ernest Mocker and Marie-Charlotte Lemercier in the title roles. It was to be his last work. Four months later, Montfort died in Paris from

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

at the age of 52. His funeral was held at the

Église de la Madeleine , other name = , native_name = , native_name_lang = French , image = Madeleine Paris.jpg , landscape = , imagesize = , caption = , imagelink ...

Stage works

* ''La Chatte métamorphosée en femme'', ballet in three acts, libretto by

Charles Duveyrier Charles Duveyrier (12 April 1803 – 10 November 1866) was a French playwright and Saint-Simonianism ideologist, born on April 12, 1803 in Paris, where he died on November 10, 1866. Biography A son of Honoré-Nicolas-Marie Duveyrier and half-b ...

, choreography by

Jean Coralli Jean Coralli (15 January 1779 – 1 May 1854) was a French ballet dancer and choreographer, best known for collaborating with Jules Perrot in creating ''Giselle'' (1841), the quintessential Romantic ballet of the nineteenth century. Early life ...

, premiered

(

Salle Le Peletier The Salle Le Peletier or Lepeletier (sometimes referred to as the Salle de la rue Le Peletier or the Opéra Le Peletier) was the home of the Paris Opera from 1821 until the building was destroyed by fire in 1873. The theatre was designed and con ...

), 16 October 1837All entries in this list are sourced from Casaglia (2005) * ''Polichinelle'',

in one act, libretto by

and Charles Duveyerier, premiered

Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique The Salle Favart, officially the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique, is a Paris opera house and theatre, the current home of the Opéra-Comique. It was built from 1893 to 1898 in a neo-Baroque style to the designs of the French architect Louis Berni ...

(

Théâtre des Nouveautés The Théâtre des Nouveautés ("Theatre of the New") is a Parisian theatre built in 1921 and located at 24 boulevard Poissonnière (Paris, 9th arr.). The name was also used by several earlier Parisian theatre companies and their buildings, begin ...

), 14 June 1839 * ''La Jeunesse de Charles-Quint'', opéra comique in three acts, libretto by

(Anne-Honoré-Joseph Duveyrier) and Charles Duveyrier, premiered Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique (2° Salle Favart), 1 December 1841 * ''La Sainte-Cécile'', opéra comique in three acts, libretto by

Jacques-François Ancelot Jacques-Arsène-Polycarpe-François Ancelot (9 January 1794 – 7 September 1854) was a French dramatist and litterateur. Biography Born in Le Havre, Ancelot became a clerk in the admiralty, and retained his position until the Revolution of ...

and

Alexis Decomberousse Alexis Decomberousse, full name Alexis Barbe Benoît Decomberousse, (13 January 1793 – 22 November 1862) was a 19th-century French playwright and vaudevillist. His plays were presented on the most important Parisian stages of the 19th centur ...

, premiered Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique (2° Salle Favart), 19 September 1844 * ''La Charbonnière'', opéra comique in three acts, libretto by Eugène Scribe and Mélesville (Anne-Honoré-Joseph Duveyrier), premiered Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique (2° Salle Favart), 13 October 1845 * ''L'Ombre d'Argentine'', opéra comique in one act, libretto by Jean-François-Alfred Bayard and Edmond de Biéville, premiered Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique (2° Salle Favart), 28 April 1853 * ''Deucalion et Pyrrha'', opéra comique in one act, libretto by

Michel Carré Michel Carré (20 October 1821, Besançon – 27 June 1872, Argenteuil) was a prolific French librettist. He went to Paris in 1840 intending to become a painter but took up writing instead. He wrote verse and plays before turning to writing libre ...

and

Jules Barbier Paul Jules Barbier (8 March 182516 January 1901) was a French poet, writer and opera librettist who often wrote in collaboration with Michel Carré. He was a noted Parisian bon vivant and man of letters.1803 births 1856 deaths French opera composers French male opera composers French Romantic composers Composers from Paris Conservatoire de Paris alumni 19th-century French male musicians