Louis-Désiré Véron (1798 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 ...

– September 27, 1867 in Paris) was a French

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

manager and

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Biography

Véron originally made his fortune from patent medicines. In 1829 he founded the literary magazine '' Revue de Paris'', and from 1838 to 1852 was owner and director of '' Le Constitutionnel'', in which he published Eugene Sue's novel based on the legend of the '' Wandering Jew''. It was also during Véron's direction and at his suggestion that Sainte-Beuve contributed the ''Causeries du lundi'', an early example of the regular newspaper column. He is largely known to history for his direction, from 1831-1835, 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 ...

. The new government, after the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Cha ...

of 1830, wished to offload the costs and responsibilities of the Opera, which had been effectively state-controlled since its inception. Véron saw the great potential of adapting the Opera to the bourgeois tastes of new audiences and applied for the franchise, which brought with it limited State subsidy. By bringing together the talents of designers (such as Duponchel), composers (such as Meyerbeer, Auber and Fromental Halévy), and librettists (such as

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 Casimir Delavigne), and developing great singers such as Adolphe Nourrit and Cornélie Falcon, he created the genre of

Grand Opera Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and Orchestra, orchestras. The original productions consisted of spectacular design and stage effects with plots normally based on o ...

. The first new production under Véron's management, Meyerbeer's ''

Robert le diable ''Robert le diable'' (''Robert the Devil'') is an opera in five acts composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer between 1827 and 1831, to a libretto written in French by Eugène Scribe and Germain Delavigne. ''Robert le diable'' is regarded as one of the first ...

'' (21 November 1831) began a new era in opera. When the government decided to further reduce subsidy of the Opera in 1835, Véron prudently withdrew, having made a substantial profit. In 1852 Véron was elected to the '' Corps Législatif'' (the predecessor of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

). His ''Memoires d'un bourgeois de Paris (1853–1855)'' give a lively picture of his life and times. Véron was eccentric in his appearance and behaviour. A contemporary, Philarete Chasles, describes him as follows:

Ruddy, with a pock-marked face, barely any nose, scrofulous, his neck enfolded in cloth that protected and hid his affliction, pot-bellied; ..mouth smiling, lips thick, hair rare, eyebrows absent, dressed like a little lackey aping his master and with the affectations and the mincing airs of the
salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...
(quoted in Kelly, 2004 – see below).

Notes

References

*W. L. Crosten, 'French Grand Opera: an Art and a Business', New York, 1948 *T. F. Kelly, 'First Nights at the Opera', New Haven, 2004 *

Bibliography

* Véron, Louis Désiré. ''Mémoires d'un Bourgeois de Paris'', 5 Vol. in French (, ISBN ?, , , ) * Véron, Louis Désiré. ''L'Opéra de Paris''. ()

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Veron, Louis-Desire 1798 births 1867 deaths Writers from Paris Politicians from Paris Members of the 1st Corps législatif of the Second French Empire Members of the 2nd Corps législatif of the Second French Empire French opera managers Directors of the Paris Opera French magazine founders French male non-fiction writers Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery 19th-century French memoirists