Désiré-Alexandre Batton (January 2, 1798 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

– October 15, 1855 in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

) was a French composer. A student of

Luigi Cherubini Maria Luigi Carlo Zenobio Salvatore Cherubini ( ; ; 8 or 14 SeptemberWillis, in Sadie (Ed.), p. 833 1760 – 15 March 1842) was an Italian Classical and Romantic composer. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethov ...

at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or 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 Jean Ja ...

, he composed

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

s and

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

s; a number of his operas were seen at the

Théâtre Feydeau The Théâtre Feydeau (), a former Parisian theatre company, was founded in 1789 with the patronage of Monsieur, Comte de Provence (later to become Louis XVIII), and was therefore initially named the Théâtre de Monsieur. It began performing in ...

and the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...

. In 1817 he took first second price in 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 ...

competition for his cantata ''La Mort d' Adonis''. It was after winning the prize and when he became associated with

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...

that it is believed he introduced the composer to the romantic poem by

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

, '' The Lady of the Lake'', which became the basis of the romantic opera, ''

La donna del lago ''La donna del lago'' (English language, English: ''The Lady of the Lake'') is an opera composed by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola (whose verses are described as "limpid" by one critic) based on the French translationO ...

''.Gossett, p. 12 In 1842 Batton became inspector of music schools in France and in 1849 he began teaching at the Conservatoire.

Works

*''La Mort d'Adonis'', cantata, 1817 *''La Reconnaissance'', cantata *''Le Prisonnier d'État'', opera *''Le camp du drap d'or'', opera *''La fenêtre secrète'', opera, 1818 *''Velleda'', opera, 1820 *''Ethelvina'', opera, 1827 *'' La marquise de Brinvilliers'', opera, 1831 *''Le Remplacant'', opera, 1837

References

Notes Sources *Gossett, Philip (1983), "''La Donna del Lago'' and the revival of the Rossini 'opera seria' " in the booklet accompanying the 1983 Pollini recording. 1798 births 1855 deaths French opera composers French male opera composers Conservatoire de Paris alumni Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris Prix de Rome for composition Composers from Paris 19th-century French male musicians {{France-composer-stub