Jean-Nicolas-Gustave Van Nieuwen-Huysen (known as Gustave Vaëz) (6 December 1812 – 12 March 1862) was a Belgian playwright,

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 ...

, translator of opera libretti., and opera director. He wrote many stage plays and opera libretti in collaboration with

Alphonse Royer Alphonse Royer, (10 September 1803 – 11 April 1875) was a French author, dramatist and theatre director, theatre manager, most remembered today for having written (with his regular collaborator, Gustave Vaëz) the librettos for Gaetano Donizet ...

]; including the libretti to

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''be ...

's ''

La favorite ''La favorite'' (''The Favourite'', frequently referred to by its Italian title: ''La favorita'') is a grand opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, based on the play ''Le com ...

'' (1843) and

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

's ''

Jérusalem ''Jérusalem'' is a grand opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was to be an adaptation and partial translation of the composer's original 1843 Italian opera, '' I Lombardi alla prima crociata''. It was the one opera which he regarde ...

'' (1847). Vaëz and Royer also translated several Italian-language operas by other writers into French. Vaëz also collaborated on opera libretti with the writers

Eugène Scribe Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of man ...

and

Victorien Sardou Victorien Sardou ( , ; 5 September 1831 – 8 November 1908) was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-c ...

. Alone, Vaëz wrote the libretto to Donizetti's '' Rita, ou Le mari battu''. He served as director of the

Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe The Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe (; "European Music Hall"; formerly the Théâtre de l'Odéon ; "Music Hall") is one of France's six national theatres. It is located at 2 Rue Corneille in the 6th arrondissement of Paris on the left bank of the ...

from 1853-1856, and as deputy director of the

Paris Opera 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 1856-1860. He was awarded the

Order of Leopold Order of Leopold may refer to: * Order of Leopold (Austria), founded in 1808 by emperor Francis I of Austria and discontinued in 1918 * Order of Leopold (Belgium), founded in 1832 by king Leopold I of Belgium * Order of Leopold II, founded in Congo ...

in 1846, and the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in 1856. He died in 1862.

Life and career

Gustave Vaëz was born in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

on 6 December 1812. He studied law and earned a doctorate at the

State University of Leuven The State University of Leuven () was a university founded in 1817 in Leuven in Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was distinct from the Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) and from the Catholic University of L ...

. Since he had no desire to work as a lawyer, he devoted himself to a career as a playwright. Vaëz published a large number of plays. His first plays were staged from 1829 to 1834 in Brussels, and were a success. He left for Paris to work with fellow dramatist

. Together they co-authored 30 stage works that mainly consisted of opera libretti and a type of play known as comédies-vaudevilles. Their most successful work was the libretto for

's ''

'' (1843). They also co-authored the libretto to

's ''

'' (1847). Vaëz and Royer also translated several libretti written in the Italian-langugage by other authors into the French-language. Operas which Vaëz and Royer co-translated included Donizetti's ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoor''. ...

'' (1839);

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...

: ''

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the La Scala, Teatro alla Scala, M ...

'' (1844); and Verdi's '' I Lombardi'' (1847). Alone, Vaëz wrote the French language libretto for Donizetti's '' Rita, ou Le mari battu''. With

he co-authored two libretti for the composer D. F. X. Boisselot: ''Ne touchez pas à la reine'' (1847) and ''Mosquita la sorcière'' (1851). He also co-wrote the libretto for

François-Auguste Gevaert François-Auguste Gevaert (31 July 1828 – 24 December 1908) was a Belgian musicologist and composer. Nicolas Slonimsky, ed., '' Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', 8th ed., Schirmer Books, New York Life Gevaert was born in Huise ...

's ''Le capitaine Henriot'' (1864) with

. Vaëz was awarded the

in 1846, and the

in 1856. In 1853 he was appointed director of the

. He held that post until he was appointed deputy director of the

in 1856; a post he held through 1860. Gustave Vaëz died in Paris on 12 March 1862.

Selected works

*''Mon parrain de Pontoise: comédie-vaudeville en un acte'' (1842) *''Mademoiselle Rose: comédie en trois actes'' (1943) *''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

: opéra en trois actes'' (1844) *''

Robert Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against England. He fought successfully dur ...

: opéra en trois actes'' (1847) *''

Ne touchez pas à la reine NE, Ne or ne may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Neutral Evil, an alignment in the American role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' * New Edition, an American vocal group * Nicomachean Ethics, a collection of ten books by Greek philosopher Ar ...

: opéra en trois actes'' (1847) *''Les fantaisies de milord: comédie-vaudeville en un acte'' (1850) *''La dame de trèfle: vaudeville en un acte'' (1850)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaez, Gustave 1812 births 1862 deaths French librettists Writers from Brussels French male writers Belgian opera directors