Paul Adrien Bastide (6 April 1879 – 18 August 1962) was a French conductor and composer.

Career

Paul Bastide was born at

Quimper Quimper (, ; br, Kemper ; la, Civitas Aquilonia or ) is a commune and prefecture of the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the prefecture (capital) of the Finistère department. Geography The ...

and studied at the University of Aix-en-Provence and the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

(with Pessard and

Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther'' ...

), winning a first prize in harmony.Key P V R. Pierre Key's Musical Who's Who. Pierre Key, Inc, New York, 1931. His first professional work was as chorus master in Marseille from 1898, and gained early conducting experience also in Cairo and the Hague.L. Oster: ''Les Opérettes du Répertoire Courant'' (Paris: Éditions du Conquistador, 1951). He also conducted the premiere of the three-act version of ''Les Armaillis'' by

Gustave Doret Gustave Doret (20 September 1866 – 19 April 1943) was a Swiss composer and conductor. Career Doret was born in 1866 in Aigle, Switzerland. He studied at the Berlin Academy of Music with Joseph Joachim, and then at the Conservatoire de Paris ...

at the Grand Théâtre in Geneva in 1913. From 1919–38 Bastide was the musical director of the opera house in Strasbourg, conducting ''

Samson et Dalila ''Samson and Delilah'' (french: Samson et Dalila, links=no), Op. 47, is a grand opera in three acts and four scenes by Camille Saint-Saëns to a French libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire. It was first performed in Weimar at the (Grand Ducal) Theater (n ...

'' at the reopening on 8 March 1919 after the German occupation of

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

. He returned again after the Second World War, from 1945–48, reopening with ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' on 16 November 1945 and conducting notable productions of ''

Béatrice et Bénédict ''Béatrice et Bénédict'' (''Beatrice and Benedick'') is an '' opéra comique'' in two acts by French composer Hector Berlioz. Berlioz wrote the French libretto himself, based in general outline on a subplot in Shakespeare's ''Much Ado About N ...

'', and ''Martine'' by

Henri Rabaud Henri Benjamin Rabaud (10 November 187311 September 1949) was a French conductor, composer and pedagogue, who held important posts in the French musical establishment and upheld mainly conservative trends in French music in the first half of t ...

(premiere).Pitt C. Strasbourg, in: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' (London & New York: Macmillan, 1997). From 1945 to 1950 he was also music director of the

Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra The Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg (Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra) is a French orchestra based in Strasbourg. It is one of the two permanent orchestras of the Opéra national du Rhin (the other being the Orchestre symphonique de Mulho ...

. Bastide was music director at Vichy from the 1920s, and at the

Opéra de Marseille The Opéra de Marseille, known today as the Opéra Municipal, is an opera company located in Marseille, France. In 1685, the city was the second in France after Bordeaux to have an opera house which was erected on a tennis court. However, the fi ...

from 1941–45. Bastide was Director of Music at the

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 ...

in Paris from 1932–36, making his debut with ''Carmen''. Premieres there conducted by him included ''Tout Ank Amon'' (1934) and ''Gargantua'' (1935), and the French premiere of ''Frasquita'' (1933). He supervised the centennial revival of ''

Le Pré aux clercs ''Le pré aux clercs'' (''The Clerks' Meadow'') is an opéra comique in three acts by Ferdinand Hérold with a libretto by François-Antoine-Eugène de Planard based on Prosper Mérimée's ''Chronique du temps de Charles IX'' of 1829.Pougin A. ...

'' (1932) and new productions of ''Tarass Boulba'', ''

Don Quichotte ''Don Quichotte'' (''Don Quixote'') is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Caïn. It was first performed on 19 February 1910 at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Massenet's ''comédie-héroïque'', like many dramatize ...

'' (with Chaliapin) and ''The Marriage of Figaro''. He returned to the Salle Favart as head of music studies from 1948-52.Stéphane Wolff: ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique 1900–1950'' (Paris: André Bonne, 1953). He conducted ''

Louise Louise or Luise may refer to: * Louise (given name) Arts Songs * "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005 * "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984 * "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013 * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 *"Louise", by Clan of ...

'' in some performances of the 50th anniversary run in 1950 at the Opéra-Comique, and the following year in Marseille.ODB : Opéra Passion. Rencontre avec Géori Boué La Malibran de Sacha Guitry
At the

Opéra This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...

he conducted ''

la Flûte enchantée LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on Figure 8 ( ...

'' in 1949 and ''

Pénélope ''Pénélope'' is an opera in three acts by the French composer Gabriel Fauré. The libretto, by René Fauchois is based on Homer's ''Odyssey''. It was first performed at the Salle Garnier, Monte Carlo on 4 March 1913. The piece is dedicated to ...

'' in 1951. Bastide became a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur in 1928. He died in Paris.

Compositions

Several operas by Bastide were staged in France: ''Idylle à l'Etoile'' (Marseille, 11 January 1899), ''L'Amour magicien'' (opéra-comique in one act, words and music by Bastide, premiered in Toulouse February 1903), ''Médée'' (The Hague, 1911), ''Le Gentil Bernard'' (Vichy, 22 July 1919), ''Monsieur de Pourceaugnac'' (opéra-bouffe in three acts, words by Pajol after

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

, premiere Strasbourg 5 February 1921), ''La Vannina'' (Rouen, 29 January 1926), ''Oedipe-Roi de Sophocle'' (Rouen, 21 February 1936), ''La Divine épopée'' (poème lyrique in five acts, premiere at the

on 25 March 1943), and ''Jeanne d’Arc'' (1949).Page about Paul Bastide on French Art-Lyrique website
accessed 17 November 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bastide, Paul 1879 births 1962 deaths 20th-century classical composers Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur French classical composers French conductors (music) French male classical composers French male conductors (music) Music directors (opera) 20th-century French male musicians