Eugène-Prosper Prévost (23 April 1809 – 19 August 1872) was a French composer and conductor.

Life

Born in Paris, Prévost was introduced to music by his older sister, the singer

Geneviève-Aimé-Zoë Prévost Geneviève-Aimé-Zoë Prévost (15 April 1802, Paris – 10 April 1861, Paris) was a French operatic soprano. She created leading roles in some of the most notable French opéras comiques of the first half of the nineteenth century, including "F ...

. From 1827 he studied

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

at the

Conservatoire de Paris 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 ...

with

Daniel Jelensperger Daniel Jelensperger (1 April 1799 – 30 May 1831) was a French musicologist. Life Born in Mulhouse, Jelensperger studied with Anton Reicha at the Conservatoire de Paris where he later taught counterpoint and musical composition. In 1830 he pub ...

and Louis Seuriot and

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

with

Jean-François Lesueur Jean-François is a French given name. Notable people bearing the given name include: * Jean-François Carenco (born 1952), French politician * Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832), French Egyptologist * Jean-François Clervoy (born 1958), Fr ...

. In 1831, he won the Premier Grand Prix de Rome with the two-part scene ''La Fuite de Bianca Capello'' on a text by Amédée de Pastoret. In the same year he married the singer Augustine Dejean-Leroy (born 1807), who became known as Éléonore Colon, and went with her to

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

. After his stay in Rome in 1833 he made his debut as a composer with the world premiere of the

Opéra bouffe Opéra bouffe (, plural: ''opéras bouffes'') is a genre of late 19th-century French operetta, closely associated with Jacques Offenbach, who produced many of them at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, inspiring the genre's name. Opéras bouf ...

''Cosimo ou le peintre badigeonneur'' 1835 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 ...

, where several more of his operas were performed until 1839. In 1838, he was engaged as a conductor at the Théâtre Français in New Orleans, where he introduced himself with a performance of ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...

''. In addition to works by contemporary Italian and French composers such as

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...

and

Daniel-François-Esprit Auber Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (; 29 January 178212 May 1871) was a French composer and director of the Paris Conservatoire. Born into an artistic family, Auber was at first an amateur composer before he took up writing operas professionally when ...

, he performed several operas of his own. 1841 he conducted several performances of the ballet ''La Sylphide'' by

Filippo Taglioni Filippo Taglioni (aka Philippe Taglioni; 5 November 1777 – 11 February 1871) was an Italian dancer and choreographer and personal teacher to his own daughter, Romantic ballerina Marie Taglioni. (He had another child who also danced ballet, ...

with the dancer Fanny Elßler. In the summer of 1843, Prévost toured North America with his orchestra, taking him to New York, Philadelphia and Montreal. In 1845 he performed again in New York, where on July 4 he composed a ''Patriotic Cantata'' and a ''National March'' for this occasion. Between 1850 and 1852 he conducted at the theatre in The Hague. In 1853, Prévost conducted the world premiere of the opera ''David'' by the then fifteen-year-old

Ernest Guiraud Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor * Ernest, ...

in New Orleans. He wrote his own compositions, including a three-part oratorio, songs and piano pieces, and worked as a teacher. Among others he studied counterpoint and harmony with

Edmond Dédé Edmond Dédé (November 20, 1827 – January 5, 1903) was an American musician and composer from New Orleans, Louisiana. A free-born Creole, he moved to Europe to study in Paris in 1855 and settled in France. His compositions include ''Quasimod ...

. With the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

in 1861, Prévost returned to France, but in the summer of the following year gave a benefit concert in New Orleans for the musicians and artists of the city. In 1864, he became director of the

Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens The Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens () is a Parisian theatre founded in 1855 by the composer Jacques Offenbach for the performance of opéra bouffe and operetta. The current theatre is located in the 2nd arrondissement at 4 rue Monsigny with an ...

founded by Offenbach, where he worked until 1867. Besides several operettas by Offenbach he also performed

Léo Delibes Clément Philibert Léo Delibes (; 21 February 1836 – 16 January 1891) was a French Romantic composer, best known for his ballets and operas. His works include the ballets ''Coppélia'' (1870) and '' Sylvia'' (1876) and the opera ''Lakm� ...

' ''Le Serpent à plumes''. He was also conductor of the Concerts des Champs-Élysées from 1864. In 1863, his opera ''L'Illustre Gaspard'' was performed at the Opéra-Comique. In late 1867, Prévost returned to New Orleans, where he taught music and singing at the "Institution Locquet". His last opera, ''Blanche et René'', was written here in 1871. Prévost had three sons: Léon Prévost, who also became known as a composer; Toussaint, who became an internationally successful pianist under the name

Théodore Ritter Toussaint Prévost, known under the pseudonym Théodore Ritter (5 April 1840 – 6 April 1886) was a 19th-century French composer and pianist. Biography The son of composer Eugène Prévost, he was a student of Hector Berlioz. He began his car ...

; and Eugène, who died in 1856 at the age of sixteen.

Works

* ''Cosimo ou le peintre badigeonneur'', opéra bouffe, 1835 * ''Les Pontons de Cadix'',

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 ...

after a libretto by

Paul Duport Nicolas-Paul Duport (22 April 1798 – 26 December 1866) was a French dramatist and librettiste who also wrote under the pen names M. P. D., Paulin and Erbert. Theatre * 1824 : ''Le Beau-frère, ou la Veuve à 2 maris'', comédie-vaudeville in ...

and

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 ...

, 1836 * ''La Esméralda'', opera in 4 acts after Victor Hugo's ''

the Hunchback of Notre-Dame ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (french: Notre-Dame de Paris, translation=''Our Lady of Paris'', originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story o ...

'', 1836 * ''Le Bon garçon'', opéra comique after a libretto by

Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois Auguste Anicet, later Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois (25 December 1806 – 12 January 1871) was a French dramatist. He was born in Paris. The first play to bear his name is ''L'Ami et le mari, ou le Nouvel Amphitryon'', a vaudeville in one act. It ...

, 1837 * ''La Chaste Suzanne'', opera in 4 acts, 1839 * ''Cosimo'', opera, f.p. 1839 * ''Oratorium'' in three parts: ''Josué'', ''Ouverture patriotique'', ''L'Orléanaise'', Messe, ''Te Deum'' * ''La Marche du général Taylor'', march for piano, 1846 * ''The Departure of the volunteer, a national song'', for voice and piano, 1846 * ''L'Illustre Gaspard'', opera, 1863 * ''La Sensitive'', for piano, 1866 * ''Chant de fête de la Garde'', cantata after a text by

Gustave Chouquet Gustave Chouquet (16 April 1819 – 30 January 1886)Grove & Charlton 2001. was a French music historian, music critic, and teacher of French. Early life and career Born Adolphe-Gustave Chouquet in Le Havre, he spent six years in Paris studying ...

, 1867 * ''Blanche et René'', opéra comique after a libretto by Louis Placide Canonge,Louis Placide Canonge
/ref> 1871

References

External links

on ''Musica et Memoriam'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Prevost, Eugene 1809 births 1872 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century French composers Deaths from hepatitis French conductors (music) French male composers French male conductors (music) French opera composers French Romantic composers Musicians from Paris Prix de Rome for composition 19th-century French male musicians