Nicolas-Marie d'Alayrac (; bapt. 13 June 175326 November 1809), nicknamed the Musician poet, more commonly Nicolas Dalayrac, was a French composer of the Classical period. Intended for a military career, he made the acquaintance of many musicians in the Parisian salons, which convinced him of his true vocation. Among his most popular works, '' Nina, or The Woman Crazed with Love'' (1786), which tackles the theme of madness and arouses real enthusiasm during its creation, premiered on 23 November at the

Stroganov Palace The Stroganov Palace ( Russian: Строгановский дворец) is a Late Baroque palace at the intersection of the Moika River and Nevsky Prospect in St. Petersburg, Russia. The palace was built to Bartolomeo Rastrelli's designs for B ...

. '' The Two Little Savoyards'' (1789), which deals with the rapprochement of social classes, a theme bearing the ideals of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, Camille ou le Souterrain (1791), judged as his best production or even Léon ou le Château de Monténéro (1798) who by his

leitmotif A leitmotif or leitmotiv () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is an anglici ...

s announces a new genre. If he forges an international reputation, he remains nevertheless less known in the lyrical field than

André Grétry André Ernest Modeste Grétry (; baptised 11 February 1741; died 24 September 1813) was a composer from the Prince-Bishopric of Liège (present-day Belgium), who worked from 1767 onwards in France and took French nationality. He is most famous ...

. His first compositions were violin duos, string trios and quartets. He published them under a pseudonym with Italian consonance. The quartets were very successful, and the true identity of their author was eventually discovered. According to

René-Charles Guilbert de Pixérécourt René-Charles Guilbert de PixerécourtOften written as Pixérécourt, although the self-edited ''Théâtre choisi'' omits the first accent. The X was pronounced S. (22 January 1773 – 27 July 1844) was a French theatre director and playwright ...

, he was initiated into

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and was a member of the

Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

of «

The Nine Sisters ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

». In 1778 he composed the music for the reception of

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

, and of the party in honor of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

at the home of Anne-Catherine de Ligniville Helvétius. Dalayrac actively participated in the development of

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

Biography

Childhood and youth

Nicolas Dalayrac Signature sans pseudonyme

Nicolas-Marie d'Alayrac was born in

Muret Muret (; in Gascon Occitan ''Murèth'') is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the Occitanie region of southwestern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Muretains''. It is an outer suburb of the city o ...

on 8 April 1753, into a

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...

family of Sir Jean d'Alayrac, adviser to the king in the election of

Comminges The Comminges (; Occitan/ Gascon: ''Comenge'') is an ancient region of southern France in the foothills of the Pyrenees, corresponding closely to the arrondissement of Saint-Gaudens in the department of Haute-Garonne. This natural region is norma ...

and his wife Marie Cluzel. Baptized five days later, Nicolas Alayrac is the oldest of five children. He was the first of four children, including two sisters who died at a young age, he was sent to the bar, and went to study in Toulouse. Although trained as a lawyer, he was encouraged by his father to abandon his career and follow his passion for music. He married the actress Gilberte Pétronille Sallarde. After the

he changed his name from the aristocratic d'Alayrac to Dalayrac. In 1804, he received the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. He died in

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 ...

, aged 56.

Opéras-comiques

1780–1789

* ''Le chevalier à la mode'' (1781) * ''Le petit souper'' (1781) * ''L'éclipse totale'' (1782) * '' L'amant statue'' (1785) * ''La dot'' (1785) * '' Nina, ou La folle par amour'' (1786) * ''Azémia'' (2 parties, 1786) * ''Renaud d'Ast'' (1787) * ''Sargines'' (1788) * ''Fanchette'' (1788) * ''

Les deux petits Savoyards ''Les deux petits savoyards'' (''The Two Little Savoyards'') is a comic opera in one act by the French composer Nicolas Dalayrac. It was first performed by the Comédie-Italienne at the first Salle Favart in Paris on 14 January 1789. The libretto ...

'' (1789), libretto by Benoît-Joseph Marsollier des Vivetières, first performance by Les Comédiens ordinaires du Roi, 14 January 1789. * ''Raoul, sire de Créqui'' (1789)

1790–1799

* ''La soirée orageuse'' (1790) * ''Le chêne patriotique'' (1790) * ''Vert-Vert'' (1790) * ''Camille ou Le souterrain'' (1791) * ''Agnès et Olivier'' (1791) * ''Philippe et Georgette'' (1791) * ''Tout pour l'amour'' (1792) * ''Ambroise'' (1793) * ''Asgill'' (2 parties, 1793) * ''La prise de Toulon'' (1794) * '' Le congrès des rois'' (1794) * ''L'enfance de

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

'' (1794) * ''Les détenus'' (1794) * ''Adèle et Dorsan'' (1795) * ''Marianne'' (1796) * ''La maison isolée'' (1797) * ''La leçon'' (1797) * ''Gulnare'' (1797) * ''Alexis'' (1798) * ''Léon'' (1798) * ''Primerose'' (1798) * ''Adolphe et Clara, ou Les deux prisonniers'' (1799)

1800–1809

* ''Aire de Maison à vendre'' (1800) * ''Léhéman'' (1801) * ''L'antichambre'' (1802) * ''La boucle de cheveux'' (1803) * ''La jeune prude'' (1804) * ''Une heure de mariage'' (1804)
''Le Pavillon du Calife, ou Almanzor et Zobéïde''
opera in two acts and in free verse, in collaboration with Jean-Baptiste-Denis Despré and Étienne Morel de Chédeville (1805) * ''Le pavillon des fleurs'' (1805) * ''Gulistan ou Le hulla de Samarcande'' (1805) * ''Deux mots'' (1806) * ''Koulouf ou Les chinois'' (1806) * ''Lina'' (1807) * ''Élise-Hortense'' (1808) * ''Les trois sultanes'' (1809) * ''Le poète et le musicien'' (1809, op. post., f.p. 1811)

References

Notes

;Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * * . *

External links

Azémia, ou Les Sauvages, opéra comique, 3 acts
by Nicolas-Marie Dalayrac, digitized by

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

on archive.org
List of Works
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalayrac, Nicolas 1753 births 1809 deaths French male classical composers French opera composers Male opera composers People from Muret Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur French Freemasons