Jean-Paul-André des Razins, marquis de Saint-Marc, (29 November 1728 – 11 September 1818) was an 18th-century French playwright 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 ...

. A former officer of the French Guards Regiment, Saint-Marc wrote the libretto for '' Adèle de Ponthieu'', a 1772 opera by

Jean-Benjamin de La Borde Jean-Benjamin François de la Borde (5 September 1734 – 22 July 1794) was a French composer, writer on music and '' fermier général'' (farm tax collector). Born into an aristocratic family, he studied violin under Antoine Dauvergne and composi ...

and

Pierre Montan Berton Pierre Montan Berton (7 January 1727 – 14 May 1780) was a French people, French composer and conductor (music), conductor. He resided primarily in Paris and was an opera director. Pierre's son Henri Montan Berton (1767–1844) was also a c ...

, and a 1781 opera by

Niccolò Piccinni Niccolò Piccinni (; 16 January 1728 – 7 May 1800) was an Italian composer of symphonies, sacred music, chamber music, and opera. Although he is somewhat obscure today, Piccinni was one of the most popular composers of opera—particularly the ...

. He wrote several

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 ...

librettos and numerous pieces of fleeting poetry. In 1778, attending in Paris the famous presentation of ''Irène'', after which the bust of

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

was crowned, Saint-Marc improvised this

quatrain A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four Line (poetry), lines. Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India ...

which made him famous: Voltaire, reçois la couronne Que l’on vient de te présenter; II est beau de la mériter, Quand c’est la France qui la donne! Voltaire, receive the crown That one just presented to you; It is beautiful to deserve it, When it is France who gives it! Saint-Marc was a member of the . The mansion in the city where he lived and died was registered as

Monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

23 July 1921., ''

Base Mérimée The ''Base Mérimée'' () is the database of French monumental and architectural heritage, created and maintained by the French Ministry of Culture. It was created in 1978, and placed online in 1995. The database is periodically updated, and conta ...

Sources

* ''Actes de l’Académie nationale des sciences, belles-lettres et arts de Bordeaux'', Paris, E. Dentu, 1880, p. 39.

References

External links

''Adèle de Ponthieu''
on Gallica
List of works
Calendrier électronique des spectacles sous l'ancien régime et sous la révolution (CÉSAR) (archived 24 December 2012) {{DEFAULTSORT:Razins de Saint-Marc, Jean-Paul-Andre 18th-century French dramatists and playwrights French opera librettists 1728 births People from Nouvelle-Aquitaine 1818 deaths