Antoine-César Gautier de Montdorge (or Mondorge) (17 January 1701 or 1707 – 24 October 1768) was a French man of letters, best known for writing the libretto for

Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera and ...

's ''

opéra-ballet ''Opéra-ballet'' (; plural: ''opéras-ballets'') is a genre of French Baroque lyric theatre that was most popular during the 18th century, combining elements of opera and ballet, "that grew out of the '' ballets à entrées'' of the early sevente ...

'' ''

Les fêtes d'Hébé ''Les fêtes d'Hébé, ou Les talens lyriques '' (''The Festivities of Hebe, or The Lyric Talents'') is an ''opéra-ballet'' in a prologue and three ''entrées'' (acts) by the French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau. The libretto was written by Anto ...

'' (1739). Born in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

, he moved to Paris, where he worked as a financier (with the title "maître à la Chambre aux deniers du Roi"). He was a friend and neighbour of Rameau's patron Alexandre Le Riche de La Pouplinière and probably met the composer at La Pouplinière's salon. Montdorge was not identified as the author of ''Les fêtes d'Hébé'' on any of its printed editions. It was first attributed to him by

Antoine de Léris Antoine de Léris ( Mont-Louis, Roussillon, 28 February 1723 — 1795) was a French journalist and drama critic of the 18th century and a historian of the French theatre, author of the ''Dictionnaire portatif historique et littéraire des théâtr ...

in the 1763 edition of his ''Dictionnaire portatif des théâtres''. Reviewers severely criticised the literary weakness of the work. The only other opera libretto Montdorge wrote was the one-act comédie-ballet ''L'opéra de société'' for Jean-François Giraud in 1762. He described his experience working as a librettist for Rameau in the anonymously published ''Réflections d'un peintre sur l'opéra'' (1743). Montdorge was also interested in the fine arts. He wrote three articles for the ''

Encyclopédie ''Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers'' (English: ''Encyclopedia, or a Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Crafts''), better known as ''Encyclopédie'', was a general encyclopedia publis ...

'' on engraving and published a work on colour printing, ''L'art d'imprimer les tableaux en trois couleurs'', in 1755.Girdlestone, p.352

Works

* ''Les Fêtes d'Hébé, ou les talents lyriques'', opéra-ballet in three acts (music by

) presented in

1739 Events January–March * January 1 – Bouvet Island is discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier, in the South Atlantic Ocean. * January 3: A 7.6 earthquake shakes the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region ...

, revived in

1747 Events January–March * January 31 – The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital. * February 11 – King George's War: A combined French and Indian force, commanded by Captain Nicolas Antoine II Co ...

and

1766 Events January–March * January 1 – Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") becomes the new Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain, as King Charles III, and figurehead for Jacobitism. * January 14 – C ...

and printed in-4° ; * ''Réflexions d'un peintre sur l'opéra'',

1741 Events January–March * January 13 – Lanesborough, Massachusetts is created as a township. *February 13 – Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, popularizes the term "the balance of power" in a speech ...

, in-12 ; * e Blon ''L'Art d'imprimer les tableaux en trois couleurs'',

1756 Events January–March * January 16 – The Treaty of Westminster is signed between Great Britain and Prussia, guaranteeing the neutrality of the Kingdom of Hanover, controlled by King George II of Great Britain. *February 7 ...

, in-8° ; * ''L'Opéra de société'', in one act ; music by Giraud, performed in 1762 ; * ''Conte oriental'', Paris,

1767 Events January–March * January 1 – The first annual volume of ''The Nautical Almanac and Astronomical Ephemeris'', produced by British Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, gives navigators the ...

References

Sources

*Bouissou, Sylvie ''Jean-Philippe Rameau'' (Fayard, 2014) *Girdlestone, Cuthbert, ''Jean-Philippe Rameau: His Life and Work'' (Cassell & Company Ltd, 1962; Dover paperback) *Sadler, Graham ''The Rameau Compendium'' (Boydell, 2014)

External links

Antoine Gautier de Montdorge
on Data.bnf.fr {{DEFAULTSORT:Gautier De Montdorge, Antoine 1768 deaths Writers from Lyon French opera librettists 18th-century French dramatists and playwrights Contributors to the Encyclopédie (1751–1772)