Jules-Henri Brésil (8 May 1818 – 22 October 1899) was a French writer who collaborated 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 ...

on the librettos of at least two operas.

Life

Brésil was born in Paris and died in

Bois-Colombes Bois-Colombes () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2017, it had a population of 28,239. International companies such as Colgate-Palmolive, IBM and Aviva have their French hea ...

. He married

mezzo soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

Lucile Henriette Mondutaigny Lucile Henriette Mondutaigny (12 February 1826 – 24 February 1901) was a French singer. Life Born in Lyon, she attained first prize in singing and second prize in opera at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1844. She married Jules Brésil 20 June ...

on 20 June 1848.

Works

*1839: ''Une mauvaise plaisanterie'',

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 ...

in 1 act), with

Adolphe Guénée Adolphe Guénée (14 December 1818 in Paris – 16 July 1877 in Paris) was a 19th-century French playwright. The son of a conductor of the Théâtre du Palais-Royal, he studied in College Bourbon and made his debut in 1838 at the Théâtre de la ...

*1842: ''La Dernière Heure d'un condamné'',

monologue In theatre, a monologue (from el, μονόλογος, from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes a ...

in verses *1845: ''Constant-la-Girouette'', comédie-vaudeville in 1 act, music by

Adolphe Adam Adolphe Charles Adam (; 24 July 1803 – 3 May 1856) was a French composer, teacher and music critic. A prolific composer for the theatre, he is best known today for his ballets ''Giselle'' (1841) and '' Le corsaire'' (1856), his operas ''Le pos ...

, with

Eugène Grangé Eugène Grangé (16 December 1810 – 1 March 1887) was a French playwright, librettist, chansonnier and goguettier. Biography The son of Pierre-Joseph Basté and Louise-Thérèse Grangé, Pierre-Eugène Basté was born in rue Beautreillis ...

*1852: ''

Si j'étais roi ''Si j'étais roi'' (English: ''If I Were King'') is an opéra comique in three acts by Adolphe Adam. The libretto was written by Adolphe d'Ennery and Jules-Henri Brésil. It was first performed in Paris at the Théâtre Lyrique (Théâtre-Hist ...

'',

opéra comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular '' opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...

in 3 acts, with Adolphe d'Ennery *1853: ''Les Œuvres du démon'',

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

in 5 acts *1856: ''Vénus au moulin d'Ampiphros'', tableau bouffon et mythologique in 1 act, music by Paul Destribaud *1856: ''La Parade'' (opérette), music by

Émile Jonas Émile Jonas (5 March 1827 – 21 May 1905) was a 19th-century French composer. Works *1855: ''Le Duel de Benjamin'', libretto by Eugène Mestépès *1856: ''La Parade'', libretto by Jules Barbier and Jules Brésil) *1857: ''Le roi boit'', lib ...

*1857: ''Les Orphelines de la charité'', drama in 5 acts, with Adolphe d'Ennery *1859: ''Le Martyre du cœur'', drama in 5 acts in prose, with

Victor Séjour Juan Victor Séjour Marcou et Ferrand (June 2, 1817 – September 20, 1874) was an American Creole of color and expatriate writer. Born in New Orleans, he spent most of his career in Paris. His fiction and plays were written and published in Fr ...

*1860: ''Quittons Nuremberg'',

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 ...

in 1 act *1860: ''L'Escamoteur'', drama in 5 acts, with Adolphe d'Ennery *1860: ''L'Ondine'' *1861: ''Silvio-Silvia'', opéra comique in 1 act, music by Paul Destribaud * ''Les Orléanais'' (drame), music by Eugène Prévost *1876: ''La Mandragore'', music by Henry Litolff *1880: ''Diana'', drama in 5 acts *1881:''

Le tribut de Zamora is a grand opera in four acts by Charles Gounod, his last work for the stage. The libretto by Adolphe d'Ennery was offered to Gounod after negotiations with Giuseppe Verdi stalled. The premiere at the Paris Opera's Palais Garnier on 1 April 1881 ...

'', music by

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

*1885: ''La Couronne des reines !'' (Mélodie, lyrics by d'Ennery and Brésil), music by Gounod *1888: ''L'Escadron volant de la reine'', avec Adolphe d'Ennery, music by Litolff *1889: ''Aubade à la fiancée'' (poetry by A. Dennery and J. Brésil), music by Charles Gounod

Bibliography

Ferdinand-Camille Dreyfus Ferdinand-Camille Dreyfus (Paris, 19 August 1851 – 1905) was a French journalist and politician, unrelated to his contemporary Captain Alfred Dreyfus. After a classical and commercial education he prepared himself for the École Polytechnique, ...

André Berthelot André Marcel Berthelot (20 May 1862 – 6 June 1938) was the son of the chemist and politician Marcellin Berthelot and Sophie Berthelot and a député of the Seine. He was secretary-general of the Grande Encyclopédie starting with the fourth ...

, ''La Grande Encyclopédie : inventaire raisonné des sciences, des lettres et des arts'', vol.7, 1885, p. 1127 * Jules Martin, ''Nos auteurs et compositeurs dramatiques'', 1897, (p. 80) *

Jules Claretie Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name *Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer *Jules Abadie (1876–195 ...

, ''La Vie à Paris'', 1900, (p. 281–289) (obituary) *

Henry Lyonnet Henry Lyonnet, real name Alfred Copin, (1853 - 4 February 1933) was a French writer. He is mostly known for his studies on the history of theatre, and specifically for his ''Dictionnaire des comédiens français''. Main works under the name Alf ...

, ''Dictionnaire des comédiens français (ceux d'hier)'', 1910 * Joann Elart, ''Catalogue des fonds musicaux conservés en Haute-Normandie'', 2004, (p. 744–830)

External links

Portrait of Jules Brésil
1818 births 1899 deaths 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights 19th-century French male writers French male stage actors French opera librettists Writers from Paris {{Opera-bio-stub