View source for Gustave Charpentier

{{short description|French composer (1860–1956)}}
[[File:Gustave Charpentier (Cautin et Berger).jpg|thumb|Gustave Charpentier]]
'''Gustave Charpentier''' ({{IPA|fr|ɡystav ʃaʁpɑ̃tje|lang}}; 25 June 1860 – 18 February 1956) was a French [[composer]], best known for his [[opera]] ''[[Louise (opera)|Louise]]''.<ref name="Grove">Langham Smith R., "Gustave Charpentier", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997.</ref>

==Life and career==
Charpentier was born in [[Dieuze]], [[Moselle (department)|Moselle]], the son of a baker, and with the assistance of a rich benefactor he studied violin at the conservatoire in [[Lille]] before entering the [[Paris Conservatoire]] in 1881. There he took lessons in composition under [[Jules Massenet]] (from 1885) and had a reputation of wanting to shock his professors. In 1887 he won the [[Prix de Rome]] for his [[cantata]] ''Didon''.<ref name="Grove"/> During the time in Rome that the prize gave him, he wrote the orchestral [[Suite (music)|suite]] ''Impressions d'Italie'' and began work on the [[libretto]] and music for what would become his best-known work, the opera ''[[Louise (opera)|Louise]]''.

Charpentier returned to Paris, settling in [[Montmartre]], and continued to compose, including songs on texts by [[Charles Baudelaire]] and [[Voltaire]]. He eventually completed ''Louise'', and it was accepted for production by the [[Opéra-Comique]]. A realistic portrait of Parisian working-class life, it is sometimes considered a French example of [[verismo]] opera.

The premiere of ''Louise'' on 2 February 1900 under the baton of [[André Messager]] was an immediate success. Soon this work was being performed all over Europe and America, and it brought Charpentier much acclaim. It also launched the career of the Scottish [[soprano]] [[Mary Garden]], who took over the title role during an early performance. In late 1935 the composer supervised the abridged score used in a studio recording of around 70 minutes of the opera, conducted by [[Eugène Bigot]].<ref>Potter T., Notes for the Naxos "Great Opera Recordings" CD re-issue of the 1935 recording, 2003.</ref> A [[Louise (1939 film)|film adaptation]] of the work followed in 1939 with [[Grace Moore]] in the title role. At the revival of ''Louise'' at the Opéra-Comique on 28 February 1950, celebrating the 50th anniversary of its creation and the 90th birthday of its composer, it was hoped that Charpentier himself might conduct the performance, but [[André Cluytens]] did so, with the composer conducting the "Chant de l'apothéose" after the third act.<ref>Baeck E., ''André Cluytens: Itinéraire d'un chef d'orchestre.'' Editions Mardaga, Wavre, 2009.</ref>

''Louise'' is still occasionally performed today, with the soprano [[aria]] "Depuis le jour" a popular recital piece.

[[File:Mimi Pinson00.jpg|thumb|Poster advertising concert by the Conservatoire Populaire de Mimi Pinson at the former [[Palais du Trocadéro]]]]
In 1902, Charpentier founded the Conservatoire Populaire Mimi Pinson, intended to provide a free artistic education to Paris's working girls. However, he became unproductive as a composer. He worked on a sequel to ''Louise'', ''[[Julien (opera)|Julien, ou la vie du poète]]'', but it was quickly forgotten after its tepidly received 1913 premiere. Thereafter, Charpentier wrote very little.

He was, nevertheless, no recluse. During [[World War I]], he started the Œuvre de Mimi Pinson and Cocarde de Mimi Pinson to aid wounded soldiers.<ref>{{Cite EB1922|wstitle=Charpentier, Gustave}}</ref> He was awarded the [[Légion d'honneur]] in 1900, became a Commandeur in 1930, and a Grand Officier in 1950.<ref>Orledge R., "Gustave Charpentier", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 2001.</ref>
In 1934, he conducted a recording of his ''Impressions d'Italie'' with a Paris symphony orchestra.<ref>Re-issued on VAI1075, 1994.</ref> He died, aged 95, in Paris.

Charpentier's brother Victor (also born in [[Dieuze]], on 23 July 1867) was a cellist in the orchestra of the [[Paris Opera]] and later a conductor of popular symphony concerts in Paris.<ref>''Cinquante Ans de Musique Française de 1874 à 1925.'' Les Éditions Musicales de la Librairie de France, Paris, 1925.</ref> In 1931 [[Marc Delmas]] published a biography of Charpentier entitled ''Gustave Charpentier et le Lyrisme Francais''.

==Compositions==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em|rules=yes}}
*''Didon'', Scène dramatique – 1887
*''Impressions d'Italie'' – 1892
*''La vie du poète'' – symphonie-drame – 1892
*''Sérénade à Watteau'' (words by Verlaine) – 1896
*''La couronnement de la muse'' – spectacle – 1897
*''[[Louise (opera)|Louise]]'' – 1900
*Munich – symphonic poem – 1911
*''[[Julien (opera)|Julien, ou La vie du poète]]'' – 1913
*''L'amour au faubourg'' – 1913 (unperformed)
*''Orphée'' – 1931 (unfinished)
*Songs
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Gustave Charpentier}}
*{{IMSLP|id=Charpentier, Gustave}}

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:1860 births]]
[[Category:1956 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century French classical composers]]
[[Category:19th-century French conductors (music)]]
[[Category:20th-century French classical composers]]
[[Category:20th-century French conductors (music)]]
[[Category:20th-century French male musicians]]
[[Category:Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery]]
[[Category:Conservatoire de Paris alumni]]
[[Category:French male conductors (music)]]
[[Category:French opera composers]]
[[Category:French Romantic composers]]
[[Category:Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:French male opera composers]]
[[Category:People from Dieuze]]
[[Category:Prix de Rome for composition]]
[[Category:Pupils of Jules Massenet]]