Jean Alexandre Ferdinand Poise (3 June 1828 – 13 May 1892) was a French composer, mainly of

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 ...

s, for which he also frequently wrote the

libretto 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 ...

Career

Born in Nimes, Poise studied 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 ...

under the tutelage of

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 ...

, himself a pupil of Boieldieu. His first opera was "Bonsoir voisin" (1853), which established his career and remains his most enduring success since it is still performed in France and Belgium. He did not follow contemporary operetta trends, but preferred to remain in line with the 18th century

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 ...

Alphonse Daudet Alphonse Daudet (; 13 May 184016 December 1897) was a French novelist. He was the husband of Julia Daudet and father of Edmée, Léon and Lucien Daudet. Early life Daudet was born in Nîmes, France. His family, on both sides, belonged to the ''bo ...

was his librettist for ''Les Charmeurs'' (1855) and ''Les Absents'' (1864). In 1862, the cantata ''Nemausa'' was created, the libretto of which was written by ''Le Roi Don Pèdre'' (1857) and ''Le Corricolo'' (1868) were failures, but Poise, drawing inspiration from the works of the late 17th and 18th centuries, went on to create quality works: ''Les Deux billets'' (1870) after Florian, ''Les Trois souhaits'' (1873) and the trilogy ''La Surprise de l'amour'' (1877), ''L'Amour médecin'' (1880) and ''Joli-Gilles'' (1884). ''Carmosine'' was a work that is in a different style from the others. His contemporary

Arnold Mortier Arnold Mortier (1843 – 2 January 1885) was a 19th-century French journalist, playwright, and librettist. Arnold Mortier was responsible for the drama column at ''Le Figaro'', gathered in a collection entitled ''Les soirées parisiennes de 18NN p ...

portrayed him as "long, emaciated and funereal. Poise, who wrote such vivid and valiant scores, is, I am assured, one of the saddest men in Paris". Poise died in Paris at age 63.

Works

* ''Bonsoir voisin'', staged on 18 September 1853 at the

Théâtre Lyrique The Théâtre Lyrique was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century (the other three being the Opéra, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre-Italien). The company was founded in 1847 as the Opéra-N ...

* ''Les Charmeurs'', staged on 17 March 1855 at the Théâtre Lyrique de Paris * ''Thé de Polichinelle'',staged on 4 March 1856 aut the Bouffes-Parisiens * ''Le Roi Don Pèdre'', staged on 30 September 1857 * ''Le Jardinier galant'', staged on 4 March 1861 at the Théâtre national de l'Opéra-Comique * ''La Poularde de Caux'', staged on 17 May 1861 at the

Palais Royal The Palais-Royal () is a former royal palace located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Cardinal, it was built for Cardinal R ...

(in collaboration with Bazille, Clapisson, Gautier, Gevaert, Mangeant) * ''Les Absents'', staged on 26 October 1864 at the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique (libretto by

) * ''Jean Noël'', performed in 1865 * ''Les Moissoneurs'' (cantata), 15 August 1866 * ''Le Corricolo'', staged on 28 November 1868 at the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique à Paris * ''Les Deux billets'', staged on 19 February 1870 at the Théâtre de l’Athénée * ''Les Trois souhaits'', staged on 29 October 1873 at the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique * ''La Surprise de l'amour'', staged on 31 October 1877 at the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique * ''La Cigale et la fourmi'', performed in 1877 * ''La Dame de compagnie'', performed in 1877 * ''L'Amour médecin'', staged on 20 December 1880 at the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique * ''La Reine d'une heure'' * ''Joli-Gilles'', performed in 1884 * ''Le Médecin malgré lui'', performed in 1887 in Paris * ''Carmosine'', performed in 1928 in Monte-Carlo

Bibliography

* David Charlton: "Poise, Ferdinand", in:

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

, ed. Stanley Sadie (London: Macmillan, 1980), vol. 15.

Discography

* ''Les Absents''. With

Lina Dachary Lina Dachary was a French soprano born in 1922 and died in 1999. She was particularly noted for her prolific radio appearances in operetta.

, Janine Capderou, Gérard Friedmann, Bernard Plantey, orchestra conducted by

Pierre-Michel Le Conte Pierre-Michel Le Conte (6 March 1921 – 16 October 2000) was a French Conducting, conductor. Biography Born in Rouen, at age 5 Le Conte entered the . Then he began piano and violin studies at the École normale de musique de Paris. He finishe ...

: Musidisc 202102 (1CD) (with ''Joli Gilles''). * ''Joli-Gilles''. With Lina Dachary, Monique Stiot, Raymond Amade, Aimé Doniat, orchestra conducted by Pierre-Michel Le Conte: Musidisc 202102 (1CD) (with ''Les Absents''). * ''La Surprise de l'amour''. With Monique Stiot, Linda Felder, Gérard Friedmann, Aimé Doniat, orchestra conducted by

Jean-Claude Hartemann Jean-Claude Hartemann (18 December 1929 – 27 November 1993) was a 20th-century French conductor. Biography Born in Vezet (Haute-Saône), a student of Jean Fournet at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, Hartemann took part to the 1956 Besa ...

: Musidisc 201832 (1CD) (with '' Les rendez-vous bourgeois'' by

Nicolas Isouard Nicolas Isouard (also known as ''Nicolò'', ''Nicolò Isoiar'' or ''Nicolò de Malte''; 18 May 1773 – 23 March 1818) was a Maltese-born French composer. Biography Born in Porto Salvo, Valletta, Malta, Isouard studied in Rabat or Mdina with Fran ...

)

References

External links

Works
*

(in French)

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Poise, Ferdinand 1828 births 1892 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century French composers 19th-century male musicians Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Conservatoire de Paris alumni French opera composers French Romantic composers People from Nîmes