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Michel Carré (20 October 1821,
Michel Carré (20 October 1821, Besançon
Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerl ...
– 27 June 1872, Argenteuil
Argenteuil () is a Communes of France, commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Argenteuil is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise Departments of France, ...
) was a prolific 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 ...
.
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 libretti. He wrote the text for 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 ...
's ''Mireille
Mireille () is a French given name, derived from the Provençal Occitan name ''Mirèio'' (or ''Mirèlha'' in the classical norm of Occitan, ). It could be related to the Occitan verb ''mirar'' "to look, to admire" or to the given names ''Miriam'' ...
'' (1864) on his own, and collaborated with Eugène Cormon
Pierre-Étienne Piestre, known as Eugène Cormon (5 May 1810 – March 1903), was a French dramatist and librettist. He used his mother's name, Cormon, during his career.
Cormon wrote dramas, comedies and, from the 1840s, libretti; around 15 ...
on Bizet
Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the 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'', which has become o ...
's ''Les pêcheurs de perles
' (''The Pearl Fishers'') is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was premiered on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and was given 18 performances in ...
''. However, the majority of his libretti were completed in tandem with 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.Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...
's ''Le timbre d'argent
''Le timbre d'argent'' (''The Silver Bell'') is an in four acts by composer Camille Saint-Saëns to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. Although completed in 1865, the opera did not receive its premiere performance until 23 Febr ...
'' (libretto written in 1864, first performed in 1877), Gounod's ''Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540).
The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...
'' (1859), '' Roméo et Juliette'' (1867), and Offenbach's ''Les contes d'Hoffmann
''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died ...
'' (1881). As with the other libretti by Barbier and himself, these were adaptations of existing literary masterworks.
His son, Michel-Antoine (1865–1945), followed in his father's footsteps, also writing libretti, and later directing silent films. His nephew Albert Carré
Albert Carré (born Strasbourg 22 June 1852, died Paris 12 December 1938) was a French theatre director, opera director, actor and librettist. He was the nephew of librettist Michel Carré (1821–1872) and cousin of cinema director Michel Carré ( ...
(1852–1938) also wrote libretti.
List of works with libretti by Michel Carré
Sources
* Christopher Smith: "Carré, Michel", ''Grove Music Online
''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...
'' ed. L. Macy (Accessed 4 December 2005)
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carre, Michel 1821 births 1872 deaths French opera librettists Writers from Besançon 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights