Hector-Jonathan Crémieux (10 November 1828 – 30 September 1893) was a French

librettist 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. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

and playwright. His best-known work is his collaboration with

Ludovic Halévy Ludovic Halévy (1 January 1834 – 7 May 1908) was a French author and playwright, best known for his collaborations with Henri Meilhac on Georges Bizet's '' Carmen'' and on the works of Jacques Offenbach. Biography Ludovic Halévy was born in ...

for

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ' ...

's ''Orphée aux Enfers'', known in English as ''

Orpheus in the Underworld ''Orpheus in the Underworld'' and ''Orpheus in Hell'' are English names for (), a comic opera with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed as a two-act " opéra bouffon" at the Thé� ...

''.

Life

Crémieux was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

to a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish family - he was related to the lawyer

Adolphe Crémieux Isaac-Jacob Adolphe Crémieux (; 30 April 1796 – 10 February 1880) was a French lawyer and politician who served as Minister of Justice under the Second Republic (1848) and Government of National Defense (1870–1871). He served as presiden ...

. He studied law and then worked in the civil service. His first play, ''Fiesque'' (1852) was a historical drama, but before long he started to write comedies and then, in collaboration, operetta and opéra comique librettos. His collaborations with Halévy were often written under the joint pseudonym Paul d'Arcy. In 1887, Crémieux became secretary-general of the Société des Dépôts Comptes Courants, and ceased writing. Five years later, the Société collapsed and he committed suicide by gunshotIMDb
/ref> in Paris.

Libretti

For Jacques Offenbach

* ''Le savetier et le financier'' (1856) - with E About * '' Une demoiselle en loterie'' (1857) - with Louis-Adolphe Jaime * ''Orphée aux enfers'' (''

'') (1858) - with Ludovic Halévy * ''

Geneviève de Brabant ''Geneviève de Brabant'' is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach, first performed in Paris in 1859. The plot is based on the medieval legend of Genevieve of Brabant. For the 1867 version two additional characters, men-at-arms, ...

'' (1859) - by Louis-Adolphe Jaime and Etienne Tréfeu (revised by Crémieux with Tréfeu) * ''La chanson de Fortunio'' (1861) - with Ludovic Halévy * ''

Le pont des soupirs ''Le pont des soupirs '' ("The Bridge of Sighs") is an opéra bouffe (or operetta) set in Venice, by Jacques Offenbach, first performed in Paris in 1861. The French libretto was written by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. Plays, including ...

'' (1861) - with Ludovic Halévy * '' M. Choufleuri restera chez lui le . . .'' (1861) - with M de Saint Rémy, Ernest L'Épine and

* ''Le roman comique'' (1861) - with Ludovic Halévy * ''Jacqueline'' (1862) - with

, with common pseudonym Pol d’Arcy * ''Les bergers'' (1865) - with

Philippe Gille Philippe Emile François Gille (10 December 1831 – 19 March 1901) was a French dramatist and opera librettist, who was born and died in Paris. He wrote over twenty librettos between 1857 and 1893, the most famous of which are Massenet's '' Mano ...

* '' Robinson Crusoé'' (1867) - with Eugène Cormon * ''

La jolie parfumeuse ''La jolie parfumeuse'' is an opéra comique in three acts of 1873 with music by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was by Hector Crémieux and Ernest Blum. Performance history The opera was premiered at the Théâtre de la Renaissance, Pari ...

'' (1873) - with

Ernest Blum Ernest Blum (15 August 1836 – 18 September 1907) was a French playwright. Biography He made his debut as a writer at the age of sixteen with ''Une femme qui mord''. As a journalist, he was associated with ''Le Charivari'', '' Le Rappel'', '' L ...

* ''

Bagatelle Bagatelle (from the Château de Bagatelle) is a billiards-derived indoor table game, the object of which is to get a number of balls (set at nine in the 19th century) past wooden pins (which act as obstacles) into holes that are guarded by woode ...

'' (1874) - with Ernest Blum * ''La foire Saint-Laurent'' (1877) - with A de Saint-Albin

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

*''Les eaux d’Ems'' (1861) - with Ludovic Halévy

For Hervé

*'' Le petit Faust'' (1869) - with Louis-Adolphe Jaime *''Les Turcs'' (1869) - with Louis-Adolphe Jaime *''Le trône d'Écosse'' (1871) - with Louis-Adolphe Jaime *''La veuve du Malabar'' (1873) - with A. Delacour *''La belle poule'' (1875) - with A de Saint-Albin

For
Léon Vasseur Félix Augustin Joseph Vasseur, known as Léon Vasseur (28 May 1844 – 25 May 1917), was a French composer, organist and conductor. While working as a cathedral organist, he turned to composing operettas and soon had a hit with ''La timbale d'ar ...

*''La famille Trouillat'' (1874) - with Ernest Blum

Plays

Amongst the plays written by Hector-Jonathan Crémieux are: *''Fiesque: drame en cinq actes et huit tableaux, en vers, d'après Schiller'' (1852) - with his brother, Émile Crémieux, and based on Friedrich Schiller's play ''Die Verschwörung des Fiesco zu Genua'' *''Germaine: drame en cinq actes et huit tableaux '' (1858) - with

Adolphe d'Ennery Adolphe Philippe d'Ennery or Dennery (17 June 181125 January 1899) was a French playwright and novelist. Life Born in Paris, his real surname was Philippe. He obtained his first success in collaboration with Charles Desnoyer in ''Émile, ou le ...

and based on

Edmond About Edmond is a given name related to Edmund. Persons named Edmond include: * Edmond Canaple (1797–1876), French politician * Edmond Chehade (born 1993), Lebanese footballer * Edmond Conn (1914–1998), American farmer, businessman, and politician ...

's novel of the same name *''La voie sacrée, ou, Les étapes de la gloire: drame militaire en cinq actes'' (1859) - with Eugène Woestyn and

Ernest Bourget Ernest Alexandre Joseph Bourget (10 March 1814 – 2 October 1864 in Thomery (Seine-et-Oise aged 50 ) was a 19th-century French playwright, lyricist and librettist. In 1847 at the Café des Ambassadeurs, Paul Henrion, Victor Parizot and Ernest ...

*''Le pied de mouton'' (1859) - with Charles-Théodore Cogniard and Jean-Hippolyte Cogniard *''L'Abbe Constantin'' (1882) - with

Pierre Decourcelle Pierre Adrien Decourcelle (25 January 1856 - 10 October 1926) was a French writer and playwright. Life Pierre Adrien Decourcelle was born in Paris on 25 January 1856. His father, Adrien Decourcelle, and his uncle, Adolphe d'Ennery, were both a ...

and based on Ludovic Halévy's novel of the same name *''Autour du mariage'' (1883) - with the Comtesse de Martel and based on her novel of the same name

References

* New Grove Dictionary of Opera, vol 1, p. 1004 .

External links

Jewish Encyclopedia: Crémieux, Hector-Jonathan
written by

Isidore Singer Isidore Singer (10 November 1859 – 20 February 1939) was an American encyclopedist and editor of ''The Jewish Encyclopedia'' and founder of the American League for the Rights of Man. Biography Singer was born in 1859 in Weisskirchen, M ...

and J. Fuchs {{DEFAULTSORT:Cremieux, Hector-Jonathan French opera librettists 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights 1828 births 1892 deaths 19th-century French Jews Writers from Paris Suicides in France 19th-century male writers 1890s suicides