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Camille du Locle (16 July 18329 October 1903) was a French theatre manager and a Steegmuller 1982, p. 260
His friendship with
"Du Locle, Camille"
vol. 1, p. 1272, in ''
Camille Du Locle
on data.bnf.fr 1832 births 1903 deaths French opera librettists French theatre managers and producers People from Orange, Vaucluse French expatriates in Italy French male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights 19th-century French male writers {{Opera-bio-stub
Camille du Locle (16 July 18329 October 1903) was a French theatre manager and a 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 theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
. He was born in Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
, France. From 1862 he served as assistant to his father-in-law, Émile Perrin, 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 ...
. From 1870, he was co-director at 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 ...
with Adolphe de Leuven
Adolphe de Leuven (30 September 1802 – 14 April 1884) was a French theatre director and a librettist. Also known as Grenvallet, and Count Adolph Ribbing.
He was the illegitimate son of Adolph Ribbing, who was involved in the assassination of ...
, and sole director from 1874 to 1876. He is best remembered for mounting the original production of Bizet
Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', which has become on ...
's '' Carmen'' in 1875.Huebner 1992.
Du Locle was responsible for completing the libretto of Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...
's ''Don Carlos
''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Friedric ...
'' (1867) after the death of Joseph Méry. He also played a key role in the genesis of ''Aida
''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...
'' in 1869–70.
According to Charles Pigot, Du Locle inspired the subject, words and music of Bizet's ''Djamileh
''Djamileh'' is an ''opéra comique'' in one act by Georges Bizet to a libretto by Louis Gallet, based on an oriental tale, ''Namouna'', by Alfred de Musset.
Composition history
De Musset wrote ''Namouna'' in 1832, consisting of 147 verses in thr ...
'' (1872). He was a pall-bearer
A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person.
Some traditions distinguish between the roles of ...
at Bizet's funeral in 1875 and made a speech at his interment at Père Lachaise.
In 1876, a financial dispute arose with Verdi, and Du Locle moved to Capri
Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has bee ...
, where he constructed and lived in the Villa Certosella, now a hotel. In Capri he was known for his reclusiveness, short temper, and sharp tongue. He often went around in a French suit
A suit, lounge suit, or business suit is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt suit is similar, but with a matching skirt instead of tr ...
, causing him to be regarded as a bit eccentric. One day he started attracting attention by wearing a suit and cape made of rough, uncoloured wool, a fabric usually only worn by fishermen. Soon many of the Germans and English on the island adopted attire made of similar material, which stimulated a local industry of hand-woven wool cloth which persisted until machine-made fabrics took over several decades later.Ernest Reyer
Louis Étienne Ernest Reyer (1 December 1823 – 15 January 1909) was a French opera composer and music critic.
Biography
Ernest Reyer was born in Marseille. His father, a notary, did not want his son to take up a career in music. However, he d ...
led to him providing libretti for ''Sigurd
Sigurd ( non, Sigurðr ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon and was later murdered. It is possible he was inspired by one or more figures from the Frankish Meroving ...
'' (1884) and ''Salammbô
''Salammbô'' (1862) is a historical novel by Gustave Flaubert. It is set in Carthage immediately before and during the Mercenary Revolt (241–237 BCE). Flaubert's principal source was Book I of the '' Histories'', written by the Greek h ...
'' (1890).
Du Locle died in Capri in 1903.
Notes
Bibliography
* Budden, Julian (1985). ''Verdi''. London: J M Dent & Sons. . * Dean, Winston (1975). ''Bizet''. Lond, Melbourne, and Toronto: J. M. Dent & Sons. . * Huebner, Steven (1992)"Du Locle, Camille"
vol. 1, p. 1272, in ''
The New Grove Dictionary of Opera
''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...
'', four volumes, edited by Stanley Sadie
Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the ''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...
. London & New York: Macmillan. . (1998 paperback).
* Steegmuller, Francis, editor and translator (1982). ''The Letters of Gustave Flaubert: 1857-1880''. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. .
External links
Camille Du Locle
on data.bnf.fr 1832 births 1903 deaths French opera librettists French theatre managers and producers People from Orange, Vaucluse French expatriates in Italy French male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights 19th-century French male writers {{Opera-bio-stub