Albert Carré (before 1938) - Archivio Storico Ricordi FOTO001068

Albert Carré (born

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

22 June 1852, died Paris 12 December 1938) was a French

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

director,

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

. He was the nephew of librettist

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 lib ...

(1821–1872) and cousin of cinema director

(1865–1945). His wife was the French soprano

Marguerite Carré Marguerite Carré (''née'' Giraud, also known as Marguerite Giraud-Carré) (16 August 1880 – 26 November 1947) was a French soprano who created numerous roles at the Paris Opéra-Comique in the course of her career. She was born in Cabourg, ...

(1880–1947). For over 50 years Albert Carré was a central personality in the theatrical and musical life of Paris.

Life and work

Leaving Alsace for Paris in 1870, Carré studied drama at the

Paris Conservatoire 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 ...

, winning a 2nd prize in comedy, and was engaged at the

Théâtre du Vaudeville The Théâtre du Vaudeville was a theatre company in Paris. It opened on 12 January 1792 on rue de Chartres. Its directors, Piis and Barré, mainly put on "petites pièces mêlées de couplets sur des airs connus", including vaudevilles. Af ...

, leading to a successful career as an actor, before becoming co-director of the Vaudeville in Paris and later the Théâtre-Libre and the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

.Langham Smith R. "Albert Carré". In: '' New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Macmillan, London and New York, 1997. He left the Vaudeville to become director of the

Opéra This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...

in Nancy, where he also helped institute a regular season of symphony concerts in the Salle Poirel from 1889. Carré's main contribution to operatic history was made as director of the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

, a post he held from 1898 to 1914 and then again from 1919 to 1925 (co-director with Émile and Vincent Isola). He worked to raise the musical standards of the

and was responsible for the premieres of major operas by French composers, commissioning

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

's '' Pelléas et Mélisande'',

Gustave Charpentier Gustave Charpentier (; 25 June 1860 – 18 February 1956) was a French composer, best known for his opera '' Louise''.Langham Smith R., "Gustave Charpentier", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997. Life and c ...

's ''

Louise Louise or Luise may refer to: * Louise (given name) Arts Songs * "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005 * "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984 * "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013 * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 *"Louise", by Clan of ...

'' and Dukas's '' Ariane et Barbe-bleue'', and works by

Reynaldo Hahn Reynaldo Hahn (; 9 August 1874 – 28 January 1947) was a Venezuelan-born French composer, conductor, music critic, and singer. He is best known for his songs – ''mélodies'' – of which he wrote more than 100. Hahn was born in Caracas b ...

, Alfred Bruneau and

Georges Hüe Georges Adolphe Hüe (6 May 1858 – 7 June 1948) was a French composer of classical music. Biography Hüe was born in Versailles into a noted family of architects. His musical education included studies with Charles Gounod and César Franck. ...

. Carré was more progressive musically than his predecessor Carvalho, from whom he took over in 1898. He had written a report for government on the management of opera houses in Germany and approached his position at the Opéra-Comique with reforming zeal, introducing many modern practices.

André Messager André Charles Prosper Messager (; 30 December 1853 – 24 February 1929) was a French composer, organist, pianist and conductor. His compositions include eight ballets and thirty opéra comique, opéras comiques, opérettes and other stage wo ...

, (a lifelong friend and collaborator on his most important projects) became the 'directeur de la musique' with expanded responsibilities, allowing him an important role in deciding the works to be performed and singers to be hired. He instituted a more rigorous rehearsal schedule and absentee policy. Carré also created subscription series in which subscribers were guaranteed that works would not be repeated in the same season. In 1899 he inaugurated a 'family series', at a lower cost and concentrating on older works from the repertory. His contract stipulated that he keep in the repertory works of composers who had created the opéra-comique genre, and also that he could not foist the older repertory on secondary artists. He produced the first French performances of several Italian operas, including ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language drama ...

'' (13 October 1903) and ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

'' (28 December 1906), and mounted many other important new productions, including ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' (8 December 1898). He was responsible for a new production of ''

Le roi malgré lui ''Le roi malgré lui'' (''King in Spite of Himself'' or ''The reluctant king'') is an opéra-comique in three acts by Emmanuel Chabrier of 1887 with an original libretto by Emile de Najac and Paul Burani. The opera is revived occasionally, but ...

'' in 1929 which helped to bring the piece back to the stage. He wrote vaudevilles, comedies, and opéra-comique libretti, sometimes with Alexandre Bisson (1848–1912). He retired in 1936 and wrote his memoirs. Before and during the First World War, Carré also worked for the 'Deuxième Bureau'. This was part of the

intelligence service An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objectives. Means of informatio ...

of the French army and was involved in recruiting Alsatians to the French army when the region was still part of Germany.From Albert Carré, ''Les engagés volontaires alsaciens-lorrains pendant la guerre'', Flammarion, 1923, p24
quoted in article ''L’Académie de Réchésy'' by Gisèle Loth

Works

* ''

La Basoche ''La Basoche'' is an opéra comique in three acts, with music by André Messager and words by Albert Carré. The opera is set in Paris in 1514 and depicts the complications that arise when the elected "king" of the student guild, the Basoche, is ...

'', opéra-comique in 3 acts, music by

, (Opéra-comique, 30 May 1890) * ''Faust en ménage'', fantaisie lyrique in one act, music by Claude Terrasse, (Théâtre de la Potinière, 5 January 1924) * ''La montagne enchantée'', pièce fantastique by Émile Moreau and Carré, music by André Messager and Xavier Leroux, 1897 * ''Frétillon'', opéra-comique in 3 acts and 4 tableaux with songs by Béranger and book by Albert Carré. (Théâtre municipal de Strasbourg, 5 March 1927) * ''Le roi bossu'', opéra-comique in one act 17 March 1932. Music by Elsa Barraine

Non-theatre works

* Les théâtres en Allemagne et en Autriche, 1889 * Les engagés volontaires alsaciens-lorrains pendant la guerre, Flammarion, 1923 * L'Opéra-Comique connu et inconnu, 1925 * Souvenirs de théâtre, Plon, 1950 * .

References

External links

Albert Carré
on data.bnf.fr
Albert Carré
on

Cinderella stamp In philately, a cinderella stamp is "virtually anything resembling a postage stamp, but not issued for postal purposes by a government postal administration". There is a wide variety of cinderella stamps, such as those printed for promotional ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carre, Albert French opera librettists French opera directors Opera managers French male stage actors Conservatoire de Paris alumni Administrators of the Comédie-Française 20th-century French dramatists and playwrights Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Members of the Ligue de la patrie française Writers from Strasbourg 1852 births 1938 deaths Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Actors from Strasbourg