William Bertrand Busnach (7 March 1832, Paris – 20 January 1907, Paris) was a French dramatist.

Biography

Busnach was a nephew of the composer

Fromental Halévy Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy (; 27 May 179917 March 1862), was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera '' La Juive''. Early career Halévy was born in Paris, son of the cantor ...

. His father was associated with David Ben Joseph Coen Bakri, to whom France was indebted to the amount of some twenty-odd million francs for provisions furnished to

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

in Egypt. The lawsuit lasted for more than fifty years, and Busnach and his partner were not paid in full at the end. The elder Busnach, an Algerian Jew, became a naturalised Italian in the time of the

Dey Dey (Arabic: داي), from the Turkish honorific title ''dayı'', literally meaning uncle, was the title given to the rulers of the Ottoman Algeria, Regency of Algiers (Algeria), Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli,Bertarelli (1929), p. 203. and Ottoman Tu ...

s, and was the first interpreter of the French army. He established himself in Paris in 1835. William – an Italian Jew born in France of an Algerian father, with a German surname and an English given name – was at first employed in the customs department. He subsequently devoted himself to dramatic work, writing many plays, a number of which have been successful. They include: ''Les Virtuoses du Pavé'', 1864; ''Première Fraîcheur, Paris-Revue'', 1869; ''Héloïse et Abélard'', with music by

Henry Litolff Henry Charles Litolff (7 August 1818 – 5 August 1891) was a British virtuoso pianist, composer of Romantic music, and music publisher. A prolific composer, he is today known mainly for a single brief work – the scherzo from his Concerto S ...

, 1872; ''Forte en Gueule'', ''La Liqueur d'Or'', in collaboration with

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 ...

, music by Laurent de Rillé 1873; ''

Kosiki ''Kosiki'' is an opéra comique in three acts, with music by Charles Lecocq and words by William Bertrand Busnach, William Busnach and Armand Liorat. It was first produced at the Théâtre de la Renaissance, Paris, on 18 October 1876, with a cast ...

'', with Liorat, music by

Alexandre Charles Lecocq Alexandre Charles Lecocq (3 June 183224 October 1918) was a French composer, known for his opérettes and opéras comiques. He became the most prominent successor to Jacques Offenbach in this sphere, and enjoyed considerable success in the 1870 ...

, 1876 and with Albert Vanloo '' Ali-Baba'', 1887. In 1867 Busnach assumed the direction of the

Théâtre de l'Athénée The Théâtre de l'Athénée is a theatre at 7 rue Boudreau, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Renovated in 1996 and classified a historical monument, the Athénée inherits an artistic tradition marked by the figure of Louis Jouvet who dire ...

, where several of his operettas (''

Fleur-de-Thé ''Fleur-de-Thé'' (Teaflower) is a three-act opéra bouffe with music by Charles Lecocq and words by Alfred Duru and Henri Chivot. The story centres on a French bar-keeper, who is saved from a bigamous marriage to an aristocratic young local by t ...

'', etc.) were performed. His greatest successes he achieved, however, with his adaptation of celebrated novels for the stage; for example, ''

L'Assommoir ''L'Assommoir'' , published as a serial in 1876, and in book form in 1877, is the seventh novel in Émile Zola's twenty-volume series ''Les Rougon-Macquart''. Usually considered one of Zola's masterpieces, the novel — a study of alcoholism ...

'', 1881; ''

Nana Nana, Nanna, Na Na or NANA may refer to: People and fictional characters * Nana (given name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Nana (surname), including a list of people and characters with the surname * Nana ( ...

'', 1882; ''Pot-Bouille'', 1883, all by

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

; ''Le Petit Jacques'', by

Jules Claretie Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name *Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer *Jules Abadie (1876–195 ...

, 1885; ''La Marchande des Quatre Saisons'', etc. Busnach is also the author of the following novels: ''La Fille de M. Lecoq'', 1886; ''Le Petit Gosse'', 1889; ''Cyprienne Guérard'', 1895, etc. A chapter of Vanloo's memoirs ''Sur le plateau, Souvenirs d'un librettiste'' is about Busnach, where Vanloo described his colleague as a jovial, lively man, on close terms with all Paris, and who took delight in using strong language.Quoted in 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 ...

Dossier Pédagogique: ALI-BABA (Anne Le Nabour (2013)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Busnach, William Bertrand 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights French theatre managers and producers French opera librettists Writers from Paris 1832 births 1907 deaths Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery