Paul-Jean-Jacques Lacôme d'Estalenx (4 March 1838 – 12 December 1920) was a French composer. Between 1870 and the turn of the century he produced a series of operettas and operas-bouffes that were popular both in France and abroad. Interest in his works revived briefly during the First World War, when they were successfully revived in Paris.

Biography

Lacôme was born in

Le Houga Le Houga (; oc, Lo Haugar) is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and terri ...

Gers Gers (; oc, Gers or , ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southwestern France. Named after the Gers River, its inhabitants are called the ''Gersois'' and ''Gersoises'' in French. In 2019, it had a population of 191,377.

, in

Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...

, the only child of an artistic and musical family.D'Estalenx, Philippe
"Un Gascon à Paris"
. ''Musique'' (French text) He became a competent player of the piano, flute,

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

, cello and

ophicleide The ophicleide ( ) is a family of conical-bore keyed brass instruments invented in early 19th century France to extend the keyed bugle into the alto, bass and contrabass ranges. Of these, the bass ophicleide in C or B took root over the cours ...

, and studied with the organist José Puig y Absubide in Aire-sur-Adour between 1857 and 1860.Lamb, Andrew
"Lacome, Paul"
Grove Music Online, Oxford University Press, accessed 21 June 2010 (requires subscription) He won a prize, in a magazine competition, with an operetta, ''Le dernier des paladins'', which was to have been presented at the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens, but the policy of the theatre changed and the piece was not staged.Blume, Friedrich
"Lacôme d'Estalenx, Paul Jean Jacques"
''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', Barenreiter Kassel – Basel, 1960, p. 41 (German text) Lacôme settled in Paris, where he wrote music criticism and had more than 20 operettas performed between 1870 and the end of the century. His operetta ''La Dot mal placée'' ("The Misplaced Dowry", 1873) was a hit abroad as well as in Paris. It played 117 times in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, and had similar runs in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Madrid and Austria.Faget-Rozes, Bernadette
"La gloire de Paul Lacome"
''La Depeche'', (French text) accessed 21 June 2010 ''Madame Boniface'' was given in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

in 1885. '' Ma mie Rosette'' (1890) was his biggest success in Britain in 1892, starring

Jessie Bond Jessie Charlotte Bond (10 January 1853 – 17 June 1942) was an English singer and actress best known for creating the mezzo-soprano soubrette roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas. She spent twenty years on the stage, the bulk of th ...

and

Courtice Pounds Charles Courtice Pounds (30 May 1861 Gänzl, Kurt"Pounds of Pyes, or mea culpa No. 2" Kurt Gänzl's blog, 4 May 2018. Note that hibirth registrationis in central London in the third quarter of 1861 – 21 December 1927), better known by the sta ...

, among others, with additional music by

Ivan Caryll Félix Marie Henri Tilkin (12 May 1861 – 29 November 1921), better known by his pen name Ivan Caryll, was a Belgian-born composer of operettas and Edwardian musical comedies in the English language, who made his career in London and later N ...

. In France, the most successful of his shows was ''Jeanne, Jeannette et Jeanneton'' (1876), which ran for more than 200 performances despite having a libretto previously rejected by Offenbach. In addition to his operas, Lacôme composed songs, chamber music and orchestral works, including a ballet, ''Le rêve d'Elias'' (1899), which ran for more than 100 performances in Paris and had a similar run in London. To mark the centenary 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 ...

in 1889, he conceived the idea of reviving the operas of the revolutionary era, reorchestrating them to suit modern tastes. Under his supervision there were revivals of

Paisiello Giovanni Paisiello (or Paesiello; 9 May 1740 – 5 June 1816) was an Italian composer of the Classical era, and was the most popular opera composer of the late 1700s. His operatic style influenced Mozart and Rossini. Life Paisiello was born i ...

's ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...

'' and

Dalayrac 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 mu ...

's ''Raoul, sire de Créqui'' and ''La soirée orageuse'' at the

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 1901 Lacôme retired, returning to live at the family house at Le Houga. He became a local benefactor, endowing the church and founding a music school at

Mont-de-Marsan Mont-de-Marsan (; Occitan: ''Lo Mont de Marçan'') is a commune and capital of the Landes department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Population Military installations The French Air and Space Force operates the ''Constantin Rozan ...

nearby, where he taught until 1912. He was made a Chevalier of the

Legion of Honour 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, ...

. Some of Lacôme's works were revived in Paris during the First World War, when, as one commentator put it, the French craved reminders of a happier era. Between 1914 and 1918 there were revivals of ''Ma mie Rosette'' and ''Jeanne, Jeannette et Jeanneton'', and two revivals of ''Madame Boniface''. Lacôme died at his house in Le Houga at the age of 82. Paul Lacôme has sometimes been confused with his fellow composer Paul Lacombe (1837–1927).Fauser and Everist, p. 321 Some of Lacôme's scores, including ''La fille de l'air'' and ''Les quatre filles Aymon'', were published as composed by "Paul Lacombe".

Works

Lacôme's operettas are listed below, with the names of the librettists and dates of Paris premières: *''L’épicier par amour'', 1 act, 1870 *''J’veux mon peignoir'', 1 act, Georges Mancel, 1872 *''En Espagne'', 1 act, Mancel, 1872 *''La dot mal placée'', 3 acts, Mancel, 1873 *''Le mouton enragé'', 1 act,

Adolphe Jaime Adolphe Jaime, called Jaime fils, (1825 in Paris – 1901 in Asnières-sur-Seine) was a 19th-century French vaudevillist and librettist. He was the son of Ernest Jaime (1804–1884), also a playwright. Works *1845: ''Le Diable à quatre'', va ...

and

Jules Noriac Jules Noriac, real name Claude, Antoine, Jules Cairon, (24 April 1827 – 1 October 1882), was a French journalist, playwright, writer, librettist and theatre director. Biography Cairon was first a journalist and columnist in many newspapers. ...

, 1873 *''Amphytrion'', 1 act, C. Nuitter and Beaumont, 1875 *''Jeanne Jeannette et Jeanneton'', 3 acts, Charles Clairville and

Alfred Delacour Alfred Delacour or Alfred-Charlemagne Delacour, real name Pierre-Alfred Lartigue, (3 September 1817 – 31 March 1883 ) was a 19th-century French playwright and librettist. Biography In addition to his occupation as a physician, which he prac ...

, 1876 (retitled ''The Marquis'' in the United States) *''Pâques fleuries'', 3 acts, Clairville and Delacour, 1879 *''Le beau Nicolas'', 3 acts, Albert Vanloo and Eugène Letterier, 1880 *''La nuit de Saint Jean'', 1 act, M. de Lua-Lusignan and Delacour, after

Erckmann-Chatrian Erckmann-Chatrian was the name used by French authors Émile Erckmann (1822–1899) and Alexandre Chatrian (1826–1890), nearly all of whose works were jointly written.Mary Ellen Snodgrass, ''Encyclopedia of Gothic Literature''. New York, Facts ...

, 1882 *''Madame Boniface'', 3 acts, Clairville and Ernest Depré, 1883 *''Myrtille'', 4 acts, Emile Erckmann, Alexandre Chatrian and Maurice Drack, 1885 *''Les saturnales'', 3 acts, Albin Valabrègue, 1887 *''La gardeuse d’oies'', 3 acts, Letterier and Vanloo, 1888 *''Ma mie Rosette'', 3 acts, Jules Préval and

Armand Liorat Armand Liorat was the pen name of Georges Degas (10 January 1837 – 8 August 1898), a French playwright and librettist. Life and career Liorat was born in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, the son of Pierre André Constant Degas, a lawyer, and his wife Rose ...

, 1890 *''La fille de l’air'', opérette fantastique in 4 acts and 7 tableaux, Coignard brothers, after Liorat, 1890 *''Mademoiselle Asmodée'' (music by Lacôme and Victor Roger), 3 acts, P. Ferrier and Clairville, 1891 *''Le cadeau de noces'', 4 acts, Liorat, Stop and A. Hue, 1893 *''Le bain de Monsieur'', 1 act, J. Pradels and Mancel, 1895 *''La fiancée en loterie'' (music by Lacôme and

André Messager André Charles Prosper Messager (; 30 December 1853 – 24 February 1929) was a French composer, organist, pianist and conductor. His compositions include eight ballets and thirty opéra comique, opéras comiques, opérettes and other stage wo ...

), 3 acts, A. Douane and C. de Roddaz, 1896 *''Le maréchal Chaudron'', 3 acts,

Henri Chivot Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry. People with this given name ; French noblemen :'' See the ' List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.'' * Henri I de Mont ...

and Jean Gascogne, 1898 *''Les quatre filles Aymon'' (music by Lacôme and Victor Roger), 3 acts, Liorat and Albert Fontenay, 1898

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lacome, Paul People from Gers 1838 births 1920 deaths French opera composers Male opera composers French male classical composers French operetta composers