Jean Galbert de Campistron (3 August 1656 – 11 May 1723) was a French

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Biography

Campistron was born in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

to a noble family. At the age of seventeen he was wounded in a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

and sent to

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Here he became an ardent disciple of

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditio ...

. He secured the patronage of the influential duchesse de Bouillon by dedicating ''Arminius'' to her, and in 1685 he scored his first success with ''Andronic'', which disguised under other names the tragic story of Don Carlos and Elizabeth of France. The piece made a great sensation, but Campistron's treatment is weak, and he failed to avail himself of the possibilities inherent in his subject. Racine was asked by

Louis Joseph, duc de Vendôme Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

, to write the libretto of an opera to be performed at a ''fête'' given in honor of the Dauphin. He handed on the commission to Campistron, who produced ''

Acis et Galatée ''Acis et Galatée'' (''Acis and Galatea'') is an opera by Jean-Baptiste Lully. Unlike most of his operas, which are designated '' tragédies en musique'', Lully called this work a '' pastorale-héroïque'', because it was on a pastoral theme an ...

'' for

Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he ...

's music. Campistron had another success in ''Tiridate'' (1691), in which he treated, again under changed names, the biblical story of

Amnon Amnon ( he, אַמְנוֹן ''’Amnōn'', "faithful") was, in the Hebrew Bible, the oldest son of King David and his second wife, Ahinoam of Jezreel. He was born in Hebron during his father's reign in Judah. He was the heir apparent to the th ...

's passion for his sister Tamar. He wrote many other tragedies and two comedies, one of which, ''Le Jaloux Désabusé'', has been considered by some judges to be his best work. In 1686 he had been made intendant to the duc de Vendôme and followed him to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, accompanying him on all his campaigns.

Works

* ''Virginie'', tragedy (

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

, 12 February 1683) * ''Arminius'', tragedy (Comédie-Française, 19 February 1684) * ''Alcibiade'', tragedy (Comédie-Française, 28 December 1685) * ''Andronic'', tragedy (Comédie-Française, 8 February 1685). La pièce reprend l'histoire de

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Friedri ...

sous des noms d'emprunt. * ''

'',

opéra-ballet ''Opéra-ballet'' (; plural: ''opéras-ballets'') is a genre of French Baroque lyric theatre that was most popular during the 18th century, combining elements of opera and ballet, "that grew out of the '' ballets à entrées'' of the early seven ...

, music by

(

Château d'Anet The Château d'Anet is a château near Dreux, in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France, built by Philibert de l'Orme from 1547 to 1552 for Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of Henry II of France. It was built on the former château at the ...

, 6 September 1686 ;

Académie royale de musique 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 be ...

, 17 September). ''Pastorale héroïque en musique, représentée pour la première fois au château d'Anet devant Mgr le Dauphin par l'Académie royale de musique''. * ''Phraate'', tragedy (Comédie-Française, 26 December 1686). * ''Phocion'', tragedy (Comédie-Française, 16 December 1688). * ''L'Amante amant'', comédie (

, 2 August 1684). * ''Achille et Polixène'', tragedy with music (

, 7 November 1687). * ''Adrien'', tragedy chrétienne tirée de l'Histoire de l'Église (Comédie-Française, 11 January 1690). * ''Tiridate'', tragedy, (Comédie-Française, 12 February 1691) * ''Aétius'', tragedy (Comédie-Française, 28 January 1693). * ''Alcide'', tragedy with music (music by Marin Marais) (

, 31 March 1693). ''Alcide'' fait, par deux fois, l’objet d’une reprise : sous le titre ''La Mort d'Hercule'' (1705), puis sous le titre ''La Mort d'Alcide'' (1716). * ''Le Jaloux désabusé'', comedy (Comédie-Française, 13 December 1709).

Honours

Many honours were conferred on him. The king of Spain bestowed on him the order of St James of the Sword; the duke of Mantua made him marquis of Penango in Montferrat; and in 1701 he was received into the

Academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

. After thirty years of service with Vendôme he retired to his native place, where he died on 11 May 1723.

References

Attribution:

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Campistron, Jean Galbert de 1656 births 1723 deaths Writers from Toulouse French marquesses Occitan people 17th-century French dramatists and playwrights 18th-century French dramatists and playwrights French opera librettists 17th-century French male writers 18th-century French male writers Members of the Académie Française