Eugène Ortolan (1 April 1824 – 11 May 1891) was a 19th-century French jurist, diplomat and composer.

Biography

Born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Eugene Ortolan came from a family of lawyers. His grandfather was a magistrate in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

, his father Joseph Louis Elzéar Ortolan, a prosecutor and professor at the

Paris Law Faculty The Faculty of Law of Paris (), called from the late 1950s to 1970 the Faculty of Law and Economics of Paris, is the second-oldest faculty of law in the world and one of the four and eventually five faculties of the University of Paris ("the S ...

. His uncle Jean-Félicité-Théodore Ortolan was an expert in maritime law. By family tradition, Eugène Ortolan began a legal career, although his tastes leaned especially towards music. He led both his studies in law in Paris, where he obtained his doctorate and studied music at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or 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 Jean Ja ...

. A student of Jacques Fromental Halévy for

counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

, and Berton for

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

, he presented in 1845 the competition of musical composition of the

Institut de France The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately ...

and won first Second Grand

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

, the only prize awarded that year. The chosen poem was ''Imogine'' by Pierre-Ange Vieillard (scene with three voices). In 1849, after his doctorate in international law, he was employed at the Foreign Ministry. He made many trips abroad in the diplomatic service, primarily in Belgium and Russia. He ended his career as consul-general in Australia. He returned to France in 1881, retired in 1884 and died in Paris aged 67.

Works

Music

Due to his diplomatic career, Eugène Ortolan did not compose much. * some ''mélodies'', described by

François-Joseph Fétis François-Joseph Fétis (; 25 March 1784 – 26 March 1871) was a Belgian musicologist, critic, teacher and composer. He was among the most influential music intellectuals in continental Europe. His enormous compilation of biographical data in the ...

as having "A nice tour and a happy character" * symphonic pieces * an

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

, ''Tobie'', written on a poem by Léon Halévy (Versailles, 16 April 1867) * the two-act

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 Théâtre de la foire, Fair Theatres of St Germain and S ...

''Lisette'' (Théâtre-Lyrique du boulevard du Temple, 10 April 1855) * the one-act

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

''La Momie de Roscoco'' (

Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens The Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens () is a Parisian theatre founded in 1855 by the composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers ...

, 27 July 1857)

Law

* ''Des moyens d'acquérir le domaine international ou propriété d'état entre les nations, d'après le droit des gens public, comparés aux moyens d'acquérir la propriété entre particuliers, d'après le droit privé, et suivis de l'examen des principes de l'équilibre politique'' (Paris: Amyot, 1851).

External links

Eugène Ortolan
on data.bnf.fr * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ortolan, Eugene 1824 births 1891 deaths 19th-century French jurists 19th-century French classical composers 19th-century French diplomats French operetta composers French Romantic composers Musicians from Paris Officers of the Legion of Honour