Francis Chassaigne – archive copy from chanson

Francis Chassaigne (also known as Francisque Chassaigne) (30 October 1847 – 21 December 1922) was a Belgian-born French composer of

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

s, songs, and numerous pieces of dance music for piano. The English-language versions of his operettas, ''

Le droit d'aînesse ''Le droit d'aînesse'' ("The Birthright") is an opéra bouffe, a form of operetta, in three acts by Francis Chassaigne with a French libretto by Eugène Leterrier and Albert Vanloo. It premiered in Paris in 1883. An English-language version ti ...

'' (1883) and '' Les noces improvisées'' (1886) became very popular in Britain and the United States. Chassaigne was married to the Swiss-born operetta singer Louise Roland.

Biography

Born Désiré-François Chassaigne in Brussels in 1847, Chassaigne studied music there before settling in Paris. His first compositions were popular songs for the operetta stars of the day such as "Jeanne la Sabotière" for Thérésa and "Peureuse" for

Louise Théo Louise Théo (real name Cécile Piccolo; 1854 – 24 January 1922) was a French singer who gained popularity in operetta in France from the 1870s to the end of the 19th century. She created several leading roles in works by Offenbach and also ...

. By the mid-1870s he had become a prolific composer of one-act '' opéras bouffes'' and ''saynètes'' (short musical plays) for the café-concerts of Paris, most of which premiered at the

Eldorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...

. In 1882, he was given the chance to compose his first full-length operetta by

Jules Brasseur Jules Brasseur was a French actor and singer, born 1829 in Paris and died in the same city in 1890, who achieved considerable popular success in Paris and around France in the second half of the 19th century. Life and career Born Jules-Victor- ...

, the director of the

Théâtre des Nouveautés The Théâtre des Nouveautés ("Theatre of the New") is a Parisian theatre built in 1921 and located at 24 boulevard Poissonnière (Paris, 9th arr.). The name was also used by several earlier Parisian theatre companies and their buildings, begin ...

. Dedicated to Brasseur, Chassaigne's three-act ''

'' with a

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 ...

Eugène Leterrier Eugène Leterrier (1843 – 22 December 1884 in Paris) was a French librettist. Leterrier worked at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris but then turned to the theatre. He mainly collaborated in writing libretti with Albert Vanloo. Their working relatio ...

and

Albert Vanloo Albert Vanloo (; Brussels, 10 September 1846 – 1920, Paris) was a Belgium, Belgian librettist and playwright. Vanloo lived in Paris as a child and was attracted to the theatre. As a young student he began writing plays and opéra comique libret ...

premiered at the Nouveautés on 27 January 1883. It was only a partial success, but its English version '' Falka'', with a libretto translated and adapted by Henry Farnie, was popular in English-speaking countries for many years. His second full-length operetta, '' Les noces improvisées'' premiered at 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 ...

on 13 February 1886. The English version, ''Nadgy'' (or ''Nadjy''), with a libretto translated and adapted by Alfred Murray premiered at the Casino Theatre in New York on May 14, 1888, and again proved very popular. On the strength of these successes the theatrical producer,

Rudolph Aronson Rudolph Aronson (April 8, 1856February 4, 1919) was an American impresario and composer who was most notable for founding the Casino Theatre in New York City. Early life and education Aronson was born on April 8, 1856, in New York City to G ...

, commissioned another opera directly from Chassaigne with the libretto to be written by Henry Farnie. Farnie died in 1889 having completed only an outline of the work, which he had called ''La Mexicana''. In the end, the libretto was written by

Max Pemberton Sir Max Pemberton (19 June 1863 – 22 February 1950) was a popular English novelist, working mainly in the adventure and mystery genres.LeRoy Lad Panek, ''After Sherlock Holmes: The Evolution of British and American Detective Stories, 1891– ...

, Edgar Smith, and

William Lestocq William Lestocq (born Lestock Boileau Wooldridge; 1852 – 16 October 1920) was a British theatre manager, playwright, and actor.(20 October 1920)William Lestocq (obituary) ''New York Tribune''(20 October 1920)William Lestocq is Dead ''The Evening ...

, and called ''The Brazilian''. It premiered at the Theatre Royal in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

on 19 April 1890. Its American premiere followed in October of that year at Aronson's Casino Theatre in New York. However, ''The Brazilian'' did not achieve the same success as ''Falka'' and ''Nadgy''.Gänzl (1994) pp. 253-254 According to Aronson's memoirs, Chaissaigne had planned to compose a further operetta for him, based on

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

, but this was never completed. Chassaigne was married to the Swiss-born operetta and

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

singer Louise Roland who appeared frequently at the

Théâtre des Variétés The Théâtre des Variétés is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7–8, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1974. History It owes its creation to the theatre director Mademoiselle ...

. Both she and Chassaigne were members of '' Les Hydropathes'', a famous Parisian literary club founded by the French writer Émile Goudeau, many of whose members where singers and stage artists. The daughter of a theatre director, Roland was born in 1851 and began performing at the age of five. She created a number of roles in the operettas of the day and was also an accomplished dancer. After her retirement from the stage, she had a successful career touring as a concert singer, often accompanied on the piano by Chassaigne. In 1912, the couple published ''Servatoire'', described as a three-act ''comédie vocale'' (sung comedy). Chassaigne died in

Le Raincy Le Raincy () is a prestigious commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Le Raincy is a subprefecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Le Raincy. Its populat ...

in 1922 at the age of 75. Louise Roland died sometime after 1924.Goudeau (1888/2000) p. 535

Works

;Stage works Le droit d'aînesse piano vocal score

*''Un coq en jupons'' (libretto by Gaston Villemer); premiered at the

Alcazar d'Été The Alcazar d'Été was a Café-concert which opened in 1869, at 8 Avenue Gabriel in Paris, and closed in 1914. The old Café Morel behind the Élysée Palace was acquired in 1869 by Arsène Goubert who at the time was owner of the " Alcazar" a ...

, 1870 *''La bergère de Bougival'' (libretto by Gaston Villemer and Lucien Delormel); premiered at the Eldorado, 1872 *''Les horreurs du carnaval'' (libretto by Auguste Jouhaud); premiered at the Eldorado, 1873 *''Une double clé'' (libretto by Jules de Rieux); premiered at the Eldorado, 1873 *''Monsieur Auguste'' (libretto by Jules de Rieux); premiered at the Eldorado, 1873 *''Le professeur de tyrolienne'' (libretto by Gaston Villemer and Lucien Delormel); premiered at the Eldorado, 1874 *''Un table de café'' (libretto by Jules de Reiux and A. Guyon); premiered at the Eldorado, 1874 *''Deux mauvaises bonnes'' (libretto by

Louis Péricaud Louis Jean Péricaud (10 June 1835, La Rochelle – 12 November 1909, Paris) was a 19th-century French stage actor, chansonnier, playwright, theatre historian and theatre director. He was the father of actress Berthe Jalabert (1858–c.1935) and ...

and Lucien Delormel); premiered at the Eldorado, 1876 *''Les enfants de la balle'' (libretto by Louis Péricaud and Lucien Delormel); premiered at the Eldorado, 1877 *''La famille de Paméla'' (libretto by Louis Péricaud and Lucien Delormel); premiered at the Eldorado, 1877 *''Actéon et le centaure Chiron'' (libretto by

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 G ...

); premiered at the

Théâtre du Palais-Royal The Théâtre du Palais-Royal () is a 750-seat Parisian theatre at 38 rue de Montpensier, located at the northwest corner of the Palais-Royal in the Galerie de Montpensier at its intersection with the Galerie de Beaujolais. Brief history ...

, Paris, 24 January 1878 *''L'américaine'' (libretto by Alphonse Siégel); premiered at the Eldorado, 1878 *''La tache de sang!'' (libretto by Gaston Marot); premiered at the Eldorado, 1878 *''Le conciergicide'' (libretto by Hermil and Numès); premiered at the Eldorado, 1879 *''Zizi'' (libretto by Alphonse Siégel); premiered at the Eldorado, 1881 *''

'' (libretto by

and

); premiered at the Théâtre des Nouveautés, Paris, 27 January 1883. The English version, ''Falka'', with a libretto translated and adapted by Henry Farnie premiered at the

Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

in London on 29 October 1883. *'' Les noces improvisées'' (libretto by

Armand Liorat Armand Liorat was the pen name of Georges Degas (10 January 1837 – 8 August 1898), a French playwright and librettist. Life and career Liorat was born in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, the son of Pierre André Constant Degas, a lawyer, and his wife Rose ...

and Albert Fonteny); premiered at the

, Paris, 13 February 1886. The English version, ''Nadgy'', with a libretto translated and adapted by Alfred Murray premiered at the Casino Theatre in New York on May 14, 1888. *''The Brazilian'' (libretto by Max Pemberton, Edgar Smith, and William Lestocq); premiered at the Theatre Royal,

on 19 April 1890

Notes and references

Sources

*Aronson, Rudolph (1913)
''Theatrical and Musical Memoirs''
New York: McBride, Nast and Company *Caradec, François and Weill, Alain (2007)
''Le café-concert: 1848-1914''
Paris: Fayard. *Fétis, François-Joseph and Pougin, Arthur (1880)
''Biographie universelle des musiciens et bibliographie générale de la musique''
Paris: Firmin-Didot *Gänzl, Kurt (1994)
''The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre'', Volume 1
New York: Schirmer Books. *Goudeau, Émile (1888/2000)
''Dix ans de bohème''
(edited and annotated by Michel Golfier, Jean-Didier Wagneur, Patrick Ramseyer). Seyssel: Champ Vallon, 2000. *Paulus (Jean-Paul Habans) (circa 1906
''Trente ans de Café-concert''
Paris: Societe d'edition et de publications. *Roland, Louise; Chassaigne, Francis; Dreux, Jane Aymard (1912). ''Servatoire, comédie vocale en 3 actes, en prose rimée et rythmée''. Villemomble: H. Réfaud {{DEFAULTSORT:Chassaigne, Francis Musicians from Brussels 1847 births 1922 deaths 19th-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers French male classical composers French opera composers Male opera composers 19th-century French composers 20th-century French composers 20th-century French male musicians 19th-century French male musicians