Pierre-Étienne Piestre, known as Eugène Cormon (5 May 1810 – March 1903), was a French

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

and

librettist A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major ...

. He used his mother's name, Cormon, during his career. Cormon wrote dramas, comedies and, from the 1840s, libretti; around 150 of his works were published. He was

stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including overseeing of the rehearsal proce ...

at the

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

from 1859 to 1870, and administrator of the

Théâtre du Vaudeville The Théâtre du Vaudeville () was a theatre company in Paris. It opened on 12 January 1792 on rue de Chartres. Its directors, Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis, Piis and Yves Barré, Barré, mainly put on "petites pièces mêlées de couplets s ...

from 1874. His libretti include '' Les dragons de Villars'' (with Lockroy), ''Gastibelza'' (with d'Ennery) and ''Les pêcheurs de Catane'' (with Carré) for Maillart, ''

Les pêcheurs de perles ' (, ''The Pearl Fishers'') is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was premiered on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and was given 18 performan ...

'' (with Carré) for Bizet, '' Robinson Crusoé'' (with Crémieux) for Offenbach, and ''Les Bleuets'' (with Trianon) for Cohen. The Fontainebleau act as well as the auto-da-fé scene of

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...

's opera ''

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is an 1867 five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the 1787 play '' Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

'' is based in part on Cormon's 1846 play ''Philippe II, Roi d'Espagne'' ("''Philip II, King of Spain''"). At the

Moscow Art Theatre The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; , ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was founded in by the seminal Russian theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski, together with the playwright ...

in 1927 the seminal Russian

theatre practitioner A theatre practitioner is someone who creates theatrical performances and/or produces a theoretical discourse that informs their practical work. A theatre practitioner may be a director, dramatist, actor, designer or a combination of these tradi ...

Constantin Stanislavski staged Cormon's

melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...

''The Gérard Sisters'' ('' The Two Orphans''), which he co-wrote with Adolphe d'Ennery.Benedetti (1999), p. 314 and p. 388).

Plays

*''Les Crochets du père Martin''. Drama in three acts (with Eugène Grangé, 1858) *''Le Château Trompette''. Opera by François-Auguste Gevaert (with Michel Carré, 1860) *'' The Two Orphans''. Drama in five acts (with Adolphe d'Ennery, 20 January 1874) *''Une Cause célèbre''. Drama in six acts (with Adolphe d'Ennery, 1877) *'' Eine Nacht in Venedig''. Operetta by

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (; ; 25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (), was an List of Austrian composers, Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well ...

( F. Zell and Richard Genée, 1883, based on ''Le Château Trompette'')

Filmography

*'' A Celebrated Case'', directed by

George Melford George H. Melford (born George Henry Knauff, February 19, 1877 – April 25, 1961) was an American stage and film actor and director. Often taken for granted as a director today, the stalwart Melford's name by the 1920s was, like Cecil B. DeMil ...

(1914, based on the play ''Une Cause célèbre'') *'' The Two Orphans'', directed by

Herbert Brenon Herbert Brenon (born Alexander Herbert Reginald St. John Brenon; 13 January 1880 – 21 June 1958) was an Irish-born U.S. film director, actor and screenwriter during the era of Silent film, silent films through 1940. Brenon was among the e ...

(1915, based on the play ''The Two Orphans'') *'' Orphans of the Storm'', directed by D. W. Griffith (1921, based on the play ''The Two Orphans'') *'' The Two Orphans'', directed by

Maurice Tourneur Maurice Félix Thomas (; 2 February 1876 – 4 August 1961), known as Maurice Tourneur (), was a French film director and screenwriter. Life Born Maurice Félix Thomas in the Épinettes district (17th arrondissement of Paris), his father was a w ...

(France, 1933, based on the play ''The Two Orphans'') *', directed by

Mario Bonnard Mario Bonnard (24 December 1889 – 22 March 1965) was an Italian actor and film director. Career Bonnard was born and died in Rome. He began his cinematic career as an actor becoming a popular romantic lead in numerous silent films made befo ...

(Italy, 1940, based on the play ''Les Crochets du père Martin'') *'' The Two Orphans'', directed by

Carmine Gallone Carmine Gallone (10 September 1885 – 11 March 1973) was an early Italian film director, screenwriter, and film producer, who was also controversial for his works of pro-Fascist propaganda and historical revisionism. Considered one of Itali ...

(Italy, 1942, based on the play ''The Two Orphans'') *'' The Two Orphans'', directed by José Benavides (Mexico, 1944, based on the play ''The Two Orphans'') *'' The Two Orphans'', directed by Hassan al-Imam (Egypt, 1949, based on the play ''The Two Orphans'') *'' The Two Orphans'', directed by Roberto Rodríguez (Mexico, 1950, based on the play ''The Two Orphans'') *'' A Night in Venice'', directed by Georg Wildhagen (Austria, 1953, based on the operetta ''Eine Nacht in Venedig'') *'' The Two Orphans'', directed by

Giacomo Gentilomo Giacomo Gentilomo (5 April 1909 – 16 April 2001) was an Italian film director and Painting, painter. Early life He was born in Trieste. Gentilomo moved to Rome at a young age. Career At 21 years old he entered the cinema industry, working ...

(Italy, 1954, based on the play ''The Two Orphans'') *'' The Two Orphans'', directed by

Riccardo Freda Riccardo Freda (24 February 1909 – 20 December 1999) was an Italian film director. He worked in a variety of genres, including sword-and-sandal, horror film, horror, ''giallo'' and spy films. Freda began directing ''I Vampiri'' in 1956. The f ...

(France/Italy, 1965, based on the play ''The Two Orphans'') *'' The Two Orphans'', directed by

Leopoldo Savona Leopoldo Savona (1922–2000) was an Italian actor, film director, director, choreographer, and screenwriter. He directed 18 films between 1954 and 1976. He was sometimes credited as Leo Colman or Leo Coleman. Life and career Born in Lenola, La ...

(Spain, 1976, based on the play ''The Two Orphans'')

References

Sources

*Benedetti, Jean (1999), ''Stanislavski: His Life and Art''. Revised edition. Original edition published in 1988. London: Methuen. . * Budden, Julian (1984), ''The Operas of Verdi, Volume 3: From Don Carlos to Falstaff''. London: Cassell. *Kimball, David (2001), in Holden, Amanda (Ed.), ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001. * Walsh, T. J. (1981), ''Second Empire Opera: The Théâtre Lyrique Paris 1851–1870.'' London: John Calder. *Wright, Lesley (1998), "Eugene Cormon" in Stanley Sadie, (Ed.), ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Vol. One. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. 1998 ISzrgbb BN 0-333-73432-7

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cormon, Eugene 1810 births 1903 deaths French opera librettists Writers from Lyon 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights Knights of the Legion of Honour