Maurice Étienne Legrand, who published under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Franc-Nohain (; 25 October 187218 October 1934), was a French librettist and poet. He is best known for his libretti for

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

's opera ''

L'heure espagnole ''L'heure espagnole'' is a French one-act opera from 1911, described as a ''comédie musicale'', with music by Maurice Ravel to a French libretto by Franc-Nohain, based on Franc-Nohain's 1904 play ('comédie-bouffe') of the same nameStoullig E. '' ...

'' and for numerous operettas by Claude Terrasse.

Life

Maurice Étienne Legrand was born in 1872 in

Corbigny Corbigny () is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France. Geography Corbigny is located at the western end of the Morvan hills and is one of the five entry points of Parc naturel régional du Morvan. The river Anguison, a tributary ...

; his father was an overseer-agent. He attended the

Lycée Janson de Sailly In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

. In the late 1880s he contributed poems to the literary magazine ''Potache-Revue'' (''potache'' being slang for 'schoolkid'), along with

André Gide André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (in 1947). Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the Symbolism (arts), symbolist movement, to the advent o ...

Léon Blum André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of French Socialist le ...

Pierre Louÿs Pierre Louÿs (; 10 December 1870 – 4 June 1925) was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who sought to "express pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection". ...

, Maurice Quillot and others. Later, he published in the journal ''Le Chat noir''. He also founded ''Le Canard sauvage'' and became the editor of ''

L'Écho de Paris ''L'Écho de Paris'' was a daily newspaper in Paris from 1884 to 1944. The paper's editorial stance was initially conservative and nationalistic, but it later became close to the French Social Party. Its writers included Octave Mirbeau, Henri de ...

''. He also became a lawyer and deputy prefect. His literary pseudonym ''Franc-Nohain'' was derived from the Nohain river, where he had spent many happy hours as a child. With

Alfred Jarry Alfred Jarry (; 8 September 1873 – 1 November 1907) was a French symbolist writer who is best known for his play ''Ubu Roi'' (1896). He also coined the term and philosophical concept of 'pataphysics. Jarry was born in Laval, Mayenne, France, ...

and Claude Terrasse he co-founded the Théatre des Pantins, which in 1898 was the site of marionette performances of Jarry's ''

Ubu Roi ''Ubu Roi'' (; "Ubu the King" or "King Ubu") is a play by French writer Alfred Jarry, then 23 years old. It was first performed in Paris in 1896, by Aurélien Lugné-Poe's Théâtre de l'Œuvre at the Nouveau-Théâtre (today, the Théâtre de P ...

''. He is best remembered now as the librettist for some operettas by Terrasse, and for the opera ''

'' by

, adapted from his own comedy. He had two sons: the actor Claude Dauphin, and the songwriter and television producer/director

Jean Nohain Jean Nohain (1900–1981) was a French playwright, lyricist, and screenwriter, and a radio and television producer and presenter. He was the son of the librettist Franc-Nohain and the brother of the actor Claude Dauphin.Oscherwitz & Higgins p.118 ...

(aka

Jaboune Jean Nohain (1900–1981) was a French playwright, lyricist, and screenwriter, and a radio and television producer and presenter. He was the son of the librettist Franc-Nohain and the brother of the actor Claude Dauphin.Oscherwitz & Higgins p.11 ...

).Musique en ligne
/ref> He died in Paris in October 1934, aged 61.

Works

Libretti

* ''

L'Heure espagnole ''L'heure espagnole'' is a French one-act opera from 1911, described as a ''comédie musicale'', with music by Maurice Ravel to a French libretto by Franc-Nohain, based on Franc-Nohain's 1904 play ('comédie-bouffe') of the same nameStoullig E. '' ...

'', 1904 * ''

Un jardin sur l'Oronte ''Un jardin sur l'Oronte'' (''A Garden on the Orontes'') is a novel by Maurice Barrès, which was first published in 1922 by Plon-Nourrit. Barrès purportedly transcribed in it a story which an Irish archaeologist had translated to him from a man ...

'', 1922, adapted from a novel of the same name by

Maurice Barrès Auguste-Maurice Barrès (; 19 August 1862 – 4 December 1923) was a French novelist, journalist and politician. Spending some time in Italy, he became a figure in French literature with the release of his work ''The Cult of the Self'' in 1888. ...

* ''Le Chapeau chinois'', 1931

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1872 births 1934 deaths French poets French opera librettists Pseudonymous writers Lycée Janson-de-Sailly alumni Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery French male poets French male dramatists and playwrights