Gustave Cloëz (3 August 1890 – 15 March 1970)''Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014''. Social Security Administration. was a French conductor who was particularly active at the Paris Opéra-Comique in the mid-20th century, and made a significant number of recordings, often accompanying major singers of the time.CHARM - The house conductor: Gustave Cloez
accessed 22 November 2013.

Life and career

Cloëz was born in Cuincy to Henri Cloëz and Nellie Lecomte. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, with Charles-Wilfrid de Bériot and Lazare Lévy (piano). Cloëz made his conducting debut at the Paris Opéra-Comique with ''

Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was first ...

'' on 1 August 1922 and continued at the theatre for 25 years. Premieres at the Salle Favart conducted by him include ''le Fou de la Dame'' (1930 world premiere, music by

Delannoy De Lannoy or Delannoy is a surname, and may refer to; ;Noble Belgian House of Lannoy: * Jean de Lannoy * Baldwin of Lannoy * Hugo van Lannoy * Guillebert de Lannoy, soldier, traveller and diplomat * Charles de Lannoy, 1st Prince of Sulmona: soldier ...

), ''Rayon de Soieries'' (1930 world premiere,

Rosenthal Rosenthal is a German and Jewish surname meaning "rose valley". Notable people with the name include: A * Abe M. Rosenthal (1922–2006), ''New York Times'' editor and columnist *Albert Rosenthal (1863–1939), American portrait artist * Albert ...

), ''Mon Ami Pierrot'' (1935 world premiere, Barlow), '' Le Couronnement de Poppée'', ''Zadig'' (1938 world premiere, Jean Dupérier), '' Mesdames de la Halle'', ''Mon oncle Benjamin'' (1942 world premiere, Francis Bousquet), and '' le Directeur de Théâtre''. He was also in charge of revivals of ''Angélique'', ''La Basoche'', ''Le Roi Dagobert'', '' Djamileh'', ''Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame'', ''La Lépreuse'', ''Pelléas et Mélisande'' (1932), ''Quand la cloche sonnera'' and ''Résurrection''. His first appearance conducting an opera at the

Palais Garnier The Palais Garnier (, Garnier Palace), also known as Opéra Garnier (, Garnier Opera), is a 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from ...

was in '' Faust'' on 1 July 1939. He was an experienced ballet conductor, and among those which he conducted at the Opéra-Comique, some of which were world premieres, were ''Deuxième Rhapsodie'' (Liszt, 1937), ''La Précaution Inutile'' (1946), ''La Bourrée Fantasque'' (1946), ''Danse du Marin'' (music from

Félicien David Félicien-César David (13 April 1810 – 29 August 1876) was a French composer. Biography Félicien David was born in Cadenet, and began to study music at the age of five under his father, whose death when the boy was six left him an impoverish ...

, 1946), ''

Casse-Noisette ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikov ...

'' (2nd Act, 1947), ''Concerto de Prokofiev'' (based on his third piano concerto, 1947), ''

La Belle au Bois Dormant ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...

'' (divertisement, 1947), ''Khamma'' (1947), ''Roméo et Juliette'' (music by Tchaikovsky, 1947) and ''La Rose Rouge'' (1947).Wolff S. ''Un demi-siecle d'Opéra-Comique.'' André Bonne, Paris, 1953. He conducted the orchestra for the Compagnie d' Ida Rubinstein seasons at the

Opéra de Paris The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to b ...

from the late 1920s, leading the premieres of ''Les Enchantements d'Alcine'' (music by Auric, choreography by Massine), ''La Valse'' ( Ravel,

Nijinska Bronislava Nijinska (; pl, Bronisława Niżyńska ; russian: Бронисла́ва Фоми́нична Нижи́нская, Bronisláva Fomínična Nižínskaja; be, Браніслава Ніжынская, Branislava Nižynskaja; – Febr ...

) in 1929, ''Amphion'' (

Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably '' Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 ...

, Massine) in 1931, and ''Diane de Poitiers'' (

Ibert Jacques François Antoine Marie Ibert (15 August 1890 – 5 February 1962) was a French composer of classical music. Having studied music from an early age, he studied at the Paris Conservatoire and won its top prize, the Prix de Rome at his first ...

Fokine Fokin (russian: Фокин), sometimes spelled Fokine, or Fokina (; feminine) is a common Russian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (born 1999), Spanish professional tennis player *Anton Fokin (born 19 ...

), and ''Sémiramis'' (Honegger, Fokine) in 1934. Having conducted for them in Brussels in 1947 and 1948, Cloëz worked for the International Ballet of the Marquis de Cuevas from 1955 to 1957. During 1941 to 1945 he conducted several concerts of the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra, a notable event being one in aid of the war-ravaged villages of Alsace on 22 May 1945 at the

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées () is an entertainment venue standing at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. It is situated near Avenue des Champs-Élysées, from which it takes its name. Its eponymous main hall may seat up to 1,905 people, while th ...

(Bach, Beethoven, Respighi). He is credited with arrangements of Debussy's '' Petite Suite'', and of three movements of ''

Suite bergamasque ''Suite bergamasque'' ( L. 75) () is a piano suite by Claude Debussy. He began composing it around 1890, at the age of 28, but significantly revised it just before its 1905 publication. The popularity of the 3rd movement, "Clair de lune", has m ...

'' for the ballet ''L'ange gris''.

Recordings

Cloëz worked extensively for the Odéon company in the 1930s, providing accompaniments to famous singers of the time: Emma Luart,

Ninon Vallin Eugénie "Ninon" Vallin (8 September 1886 22 November 1961) was a French soprano who achieved considerable popularity in opera, operetta and classical song recitals during an international career that lasted for more than four decades. Career ...

Germaine Cernay Germaine Cernay, born Germaine Pointu (28 April 1900, Le Havre – 19 September 1943, Paris) was a French mezzo-soprano who was active both in the opera house and on the concert platform.Kutsch KJ, Riemens L. ''Unvergängliche Stimmen: Sängerlexi ...

Charles Friant Auguste Charles Paul Friant (12 January 1890 – 22 April 1947) was a French tenor. Friant was born in the Montmartre district of Paris. His father was a principal ballet dancer, and his grandfather a professor of ballet at the Paris Opéra. ...

, David Devriès,

Arthur Endrèze Arthur Endrèze (28 November 1893, in Chicago – 15 April 1975, in Chicago) was an American opera singer who enjoyed a popular career in Paris and sang in many premieres.Alain Pâris. ''Dictionnaire des interprètes et de l'interprétation mus ...

and André Pernet. He also conducted excerpts from ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' with Conchita Supervia in the title role, some Spanish popular song recordings with her, and excerpts from ''Tosca'' in French with Vallin, Di Mazzei and Endrèze. He also released some early records of rare baroque music by Destouches and Mouret, with the Orchestre de la société des Concerts de Versailles and the soprano

Martha Angelici Martha Angelici (22 May 1907 – 11 September 1973), was a French operatic soprano of Corsican origin, particularly associated with the French lyric repertoire. Angelici was born in Cargèse. While still very young she moved with her family ...

(''Callirhoé'' and ''Les Fêtes de Thalie''). Radio recordings transferred to CD include André Messager's ''

Béatrice Béatrice is a French feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Béatrice Bonifassi (born c. 1971), French-born vocalist * Béatrice Dalle (born 1964), French actress * Béatrice de Camondo (1894–1944), French socialite and a H ...

'' from 1957 and the Strauss arrangement of Mozart's '' Idomeneo'' from 1960. Purely orchestral records by Cloëz include 'Intermezzo' by Georges Hugon (Orchestre des Concerts Symphoniques), Liszt Piano Concerto No. 2 and Hungarian Fantasy (Orchestre national de la Radiodiffusion Française,

Raymond Trouard Raymond Trouard (9 August 1916 – 17 December 2008) was a French classical pianist. Life Born in Étampes, Trouard had André Bloch, Joseph Morpain, Victor Staub, Emil von Sauer, Marcel Dupré, Paul Dukas, Philippe Gaubert and Bruno Walter ...

), Schobert's Concerto in G for harpsichord and orchestra (

Ruggero Gerlin Ruggero Gerlin (5 January 1899 – 17 June 1983) was an Italian harpsichordist. Life Born in Venice, Gerlin studied the piano at the Milan Conservatory then moved to Paris in 1920 to study harpsichord with Wanda Landowska. He continued to w ...

), Mozart's Concerto for Flute and Harp (with

Gaston Crunelle Gaston Crunelle (18 August 1898 in Douai – 13 January 1990) was a French classical flautist and teacher. From 1941 to 1969 Crunelle trained more than 135 first prizes of flute at the Conservatoire de Paris. Jean-Pierre Rampal (premier prix 19 ...

Pierre Jamet Pierre Jamet (21 April 1893 in Orléans – 17 June 1991 in Gargilesse-Dampierre) was a French harpist and pedagogue. A pupil of Alphonse Hasselmans at the Conservatoire de Paris, he became professor of harp there from 1948 to 1963, succeedi ...

), the Hebrides Overture and Danse Macabre. Orchestral extracts from operas with the Opéra-Comique Orchestra covered Borodin '' Prince Igor'' Polovtsian Dances, Debussy L'Enfant Prodigue and Massenet ''Manon'' ballet music, as well as music by Bruneau and Wagner.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cloez, Gustave 1890 births 1970 deaths People from Nord (French department) French male conductors (music) 20th-century French conductors (music) 20th-century French male musicians