Léon Battu was a French dramatist, born 1829Walsh T J. ''Second Empire Opera: The Théâtre Lyrique Paris 1851–1870.'' John Calder (Publishers Ltd), London, 1981, Appendix D, p. 342. in Paris, where he died on 22 November 1857.

Life and career

The son of Pantaléon Battu (1799–1870), a violinist and assistant conductor 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 be ...

,Fétis F-J. ''Biographie universelle des musiciens.'' Vol I, 55. Paris, 1878. and brother of the soprano

Marie Battu Marie Battu (30 May 1838 – 12 June 1919) was a French soprano. She created the role of Inès in Meyerbeer's French grand opera '' L'Africaine''. Training and career Marie Battu was the daughter of Pantaléon Battu (1799–1870), violinist, comp ...

(1838-1888) who created Inès in ''

L'Africaine ''L'Africaine'' (''The African Woman'') is an 1865 French ''grand opéra'' in five acts with music by Giacomo Meyerbeer and a libretto by Eugène Scribe. Meyerbeer and Scribe began working on the opera in 1837, using the title ''L'Africaine'', bu ...

'', he wrote many vaudevilles and libretti. In the fields of opéra-comique and opérettes, these were in 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 P ...

Michel Carré Michel Carré (20 October 1821, Besançon – 27 June 1872, Argenteuil) was a prolific French librettist. He went to Paris in 1840 intending to become a painter but took up writing instead. He wrote verse and plays before turning to writing libre ...

Jules Barbier Paul Jules Barbier (8 March 182516 January 1901) was a French poet, writer and opera librettist who often wrote in collaboration with Michel Carré. He was a noted Parisian bon vivant and man of letters.Jules Moinaux Jules Moinaux, real name Joseph-Désiré Moineaux or Moineau"Moinaux or Moineau? The surname appears never to have been finally determined. Joseph-Désiré's father enrolled his son as Moineau but himself signed Moinaux. An uncle, born in 1826, is ...

and

Lockroy Joseph-Philippe Simon, called Lockroy (February 17, 1803 – January 19, 1891)Death notice
in ''

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 '' ...

('' Pépito'', '' Le mariage aux lanternes''),

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 ...

(''Les Pantins de Violette''),

Victor Massé Victor Massé (born ''Félix-Marie Massé''; 7 March 1822 – 5 July 1884) was a French composer. Biography Massé was born in Lorient (Morbihan) and studied at the Paris Conservatoire, winning the Prix de Rome in 1844 for his cantata ''Le Rén� ...

(''La Reine Topaze''),

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...

and

Charles Lecocq Alexandre Charles Lecocq (3 June 183224 October 1918) was a French composer, known for his opérettes and opéra comique, opéras comiques. He became the most prominent successor to Jacques Offenbach in this sphere, and enjoyed considerable succ ...

(''Le Docteur Miracle''). With Halévy he translated Mozart's ''

Der Schauspieldirektor ' (''The Impresario''), K. 486, is a comic ''singspiel'' by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, set to a German libretto by Gottlieb Stephanie, an Austrian ''Schauspieldirektor''. Originally, it was written because of "the imperial command" of the Holy Roma ...

'' for its Mozart centenary production at the

Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens The Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens () is a Parisian theatre founded in 1855 by the composer Jacques Offenbach for the performance of opéra bouffe and operetta. The current theatre is located in the 2nd arrondissement at 4 rue Monsigny with an ...

in 1856. He died at the age of 29 after years of illness and his funeral service on 24 November 1857 was attended by more than 500 people, including much of literary and musical Paris.Gustave Bourdin, obituary
in ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...

'' of 26 November 1857, p. 7, at

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...

Works

Theatre

*''Les extrêmes se touchent'', with

Adrien Decourcelle Adrien Decourcelle (28 October 1821 – 6 August 1892) was a 19th-century French writer and playwright. Pierre-Henri-Adrien Decourcelle wrote about 70 plays between 1845 and 1855, comedies and Comédie en vaudeville written most of the time in ...

, 27 January 1848,

Théâtre des Variétés The Théâtre des Variétés is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7–8, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1974. History It owes its creation to the theatre director Mademoiselle ...

, Paris *''Les Deux font la paire'', with Michel Carré, 25 October 1848, Théâtre des Variétés *''Les Suites d'un feu d'artifice'', with Arthur de Beauplan and Clairville, 1848,

Théâtre du Vaudeville The Théâtre du Vaudeville was a theatre company in Paris. It opened on 12 January 1792 on rue de Chartres. Its directors, Piis and Barré, mainly put on "petites pièces mêlées de couplets sur des airs connus", including vaudevilles. Af ...

, Paris *''Jobin et Nanette'', with

, 1 May 1849, Théâtre des Variétés *''Nisus et Euryale'', with Eugène Bercioux, 1850, Théâtre des Variétés *''Madame Diogène'', with Nérée Desarbres, 1852, Théâtre du Vaudeville *''Les Quatre Coins'', 7 November 1852, Théâtre de l'Odéon, Paris *''L'Honneur de la maison'', with Maurice Desvignes, 6 July 1853, Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin, Paris *''Un Verre de Champagne'', with Adrien Decourcelle, 1855, Théâtre des Variétés *''Lucie Didier'', with Adolphe Jaime fils, 12 January 1856, Théâtre du Vaudeville *''Les Cheveux de ma femme'', with

Eugène Labiche Eugene is a common male given name that comes from the Greek εὐγενής (''eugenēs''), "noble", literally "well-born", from εὖ (''eu''), "well" and γένος (''genos''), "race, stock, kin".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 '' ...

, 7 May 1855, Salle Herz, Paris *''Jacqueline ou la Fille du soldat'', with

Eugène Labiche Eugene is a common male given name that comes from the Greek εὐγενής (''eugenēs''), "noble", literally "well-born", from εὖ (''eu''), "well" and γένος (''genos''), "race, stock, kin".Édouard Fournier Édouard Fournier (15 June 1819, Orléans – 10 May 1880, Paris) was a 19th-century French homme de lettres, playwright, historian, bibliographer and librarian. Biography Born into a locksmiths artist family, he studied at the Collège d'Orlé ...

, music by Jules Costé and the Comte d'Osmond, 8 June 1855,

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

, Paris *''L'Anneau d'argent'', with

Jules Moinaux Jules Moinaux, real name Joseph-Désiré Moineaux or Moineau"Moinaux or Moineau? The surname appears never to have been finally determined. Joseph-Désiré's father enrolled his son as Moineau but himself signed Moinaux. An uncle, born in 1826, is ...

, music by Jacques Offenbach, 28 October 1855, Théâtre des Variétés *''Élodie ou le Forfait nocturne'', with

Hector Crémieux In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

, music by Jacques Offenbach, 19 January 1856, Bouffes-Parisiens, Paris *''Les Pantins de Violette'', with

, music by

, 29 April 1856, Bouffes-Parisiens *''L'Imprésario'', translation, with Ludovic Halévy, music by Mozart, 20 May 1856, Bouffes-Parisiens *''La Reine Topaze'', with

Lockroy Joseph-Philippe Simon, called Lockroy (February 17, 1803 – January 19, 1891)Death notice
in ''

, 27 December 1856, Théâtre-Lyrique *''Le Docteur Miracle'', with Ludovic Halévy, two versions: one by

, the other by

, 9 April 1857, Bouffes-Parisiens *''Le Cousin de Marivaux'', with Ludovic Halévy, music by Victor Massé, 15 August 1957,

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

*''Le Mariage aux lanternes'', with Michel Carré, music by Jacques Offenbach, 10 October 1857, Bouffes-Parisiens

References

External links

Léon battu
on data.bnf.fr {{DEFAULTSORT:Battu, Leon French opera librettists 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights 19th-century French male writers Writers from Paris 1829 births 1857 deaths