Jean-Jacques-Joseph Debillemont (12 December 1824,

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

– 14 February 1879, Paris), was a 19th-century French musician, both a composer, music critic, and conductor who devoted himself mainly to incidental music ( operettas and

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

s).

Biography

Having learned the violin at age nine in his hometown, he moved to the capital aged fifteen to join 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 ...

. He then continued his training by joining the orchestra of the Opéra-comique and followed lessons of musical composition with Leborne Carafa and thanks to a grant from the General Council of the Côte d'Or. He founded a chamber music quartet with violinist Jules Mercier (died 1868) and played his first compositions in Dijon (''le Renégat'', 1849, ''le Bandolero'', 1850, ''Feu mon oncle'',

opéra bouffe Opéra bouffe (, plural: ''opéras bouffes'') is a genre of late 19th-century French operetta, closely associated with Jacques Offenbach, who produced many of them at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, inspiring the genre's name. Opéras bouff ...

, 1851, ''le Joujou'') before giving his first works in Paris. His many works include ''C'était moi'', operetta in 1860, ''Astaroth'' opéra comique in 1861, ''la Vipérine'' operetta in 1866, '' Napoléon devant les peuples'', cantata in 1867, ''Grand Duc de Matapa'' opéra bouffe in 1868, ''le Pantalon de Casimir'', one-act operetta in 1873, ''Le Miroir magique'', féerie-ballet in 3 acts, in 1876. His works, especially his opéras comiques, had some success.

François-Joseph Fétis François-Joseph Fétis (; 25 March 1784 – 26 March 1871) was a Belgian musicologist, composer, teacher, and one of the most influential music critics of the 19th century. His enormous compilation of biographical data in the ''Biographie univer ...

said about the premiere of the ''Grand-duc de Matapa'', 16 November 1868 at the Théâtre des Menus-plaisirs: "the music of Mr. Debillemont pleasantly caresses the ear. It is cheerful, as befits an opéra comique score, but never stops being fine and distinguished". But his compositions sometimes encounter reluctance as that of Felix Clement in his ''Dictionnaire des opéras, supplément, 1872'' à propos ''La Revanche de Candaule'', opéra comique in one act presented in 1869: "Everything is grotesque in this little work. ..The music offered nothing salient." Alongside his composing activity, around 1865, Debillemont headed the orchestra of the Société des Beaux-Arts, before directing the orchestra of the Opéra Comique at the

Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin The Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin is a venerable theatre and opera house at 18, Boulevard Saint-Martin in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. History It was first built very rapidly in 1781 under the direction of (1726–1810) to house th ...

. He was also responsible for music critic columns in various newspapers such as ''L'élu du peuple'' in Dijon or ''la Revue et gazette des théâtres'' in Paris. Jean-Jacques Debillemont also participated in various theater projects such as stage adaptations of works by Jules Verne like '' Le Tour du monde en 80 jours'', play in 5 acts and one prologue (15 tableaux) premiered in Paris at the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin, 7 November 1874, text by MM.

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 Jules Verne, or '' Les Enfants du capitaine Grant'' in 1879.Partition ''Quadrille brillant''
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References

External links

Jean-Jacques Debillemont
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IMSLP

Jean-Jacques Debillement
on data.bnf.fr {{DEFAULTSORT:Debillemont, Jean-Jacques French operetta composers French conductors (music) French male conductors (music) Musicians from Dijon 1824 births 1879 deaths 19th-century French male musicians