imported>Jevansen: Moving from Category:19th-century male musicians to Category:19th-century French male musicians using Cat-a-lot

2024-11-06T08:51:13Z

Moving from Category:19th-century male musicians to Category:19th-century French male musicians using Cat-a-lot

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{{Short description|French violinist and conductor}}
'''Louis Michel Adolphe Deloffre''' (28 July 1817 – 8 January 1876) was a French [[violin]]ist and [[Conducting|conductor]] active in London and Paris, who conducted several important operatic premieres in the latter city, particularly by [[Charles Gounod]] and [[Georges Bizet]].<ref name="Walsh">[[Walsh TJ]]. ''Second Empire Opera – The Théâtre-Lyrique Paris 1851-1870.'' John Calder Ltd, London, 1981.</ref>

== Career ==
[[File:Quartet Party at the Musical Union, 1846.jpg|thumb|Quartet Party at the Musical Union, 1846. Deloffre, second from the left]]
Born in Paris, Deloffre's initial musical training was from his father, a violinist and guitarist. His violin teachers later included Bellon, de Lafont and [[Pierre Baillot|Baillot]], and he became recognised for his fine playing. He then set out from Paris for London with the French conductor [[Louis Antoine Jullien|Jullien]] and later became principal violinist at [[Her Majesty's Theatre]] under [[Michael William Balfe|Balfe]];<ref name="Walsh"/> he also played with the [[Royal Philharmonic Society|Philharmonic Society]], the Sacred Harmony Society and the [[Musical Union]]. He would return each year to give concerts in Paris with his wife, a distinguished pianist, and a cellist from the Opéra, Pilet. He returned permanently to Paris to settle in 1851.<ref name="Fetis">[[François-Joseph Fétis|Fétis F-J.]] ''Biographie universelle des musiciens'', supplement, vol. 1, pp. 254–255. Paris, 1878. [https://books.google.com/books?id=QwYVAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA254 View] at [[Google Books]].</ref>

In 1852, [[Alphonse Varney]], conductor of the [[Théâtre Lyrique]], was replaced by August Francis Placet whose place was in turn taken by Deloffre, just returned from London. For the 1853-54 season Deloffre was promoted from principal violinist and assistant conductor to principal conductor. [[Hector Berlioz]] had criticisms of Deloffre's conducting style: he conducted with his [[Bow (music)|bow]] while stamping his foot at the same time and sometimes tapping his bow on the [[prompter's box]]. However, Berlioz later praised Deloffre's conducting of the first performance of ''[[Les Troyens|Les Troyens à Carthage]]'' in 1863.<ref name="Walsh"/>

As principal conductor at the Théâtre-Lyrique he conducted an important series of revivals of [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] operas, starting with ''[[The Marriage of Figaro]]'' (as ''Les noces de Figaro'') in May 1858 (he also conducted the premiere at the [[Opéra-Comique]] in 1872), then in May 1859 ''[[Die Entführung aus dem Serail]]'' (as ''L’Enlèvement au Sérail''), ''[[Così fan tutte]]'' (as ''Peines d’Amours perdues'') in March 1863, ''[[The Magic Flute]]'' (as ''La flûte enchantée'') in February 1865, and ''[[Don Giovanni]]'' (as ''Don Juan'' in a translation by [[Henri Trianon]]) in 1866.<ref name="Wolff">Wolff, Stéphane. ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique 1900–1950.'' André Bonne, Paris, 1953.</ref>

In addition Deloffre conducted other important operas: ''[[Oberon (Weber)|Oberon]]'' (in French) in February 1857 at the Théâtre-Lyrique,<ref>Deloffre transcribed a score at the Conservatoire for use in this run; see Walsh.</ref> ''[[Fidelio]]'' (in French) in May 1860, ''[[Don Pasquale]]'' (in French) in September 1864, and ''[[La traviata]]'' (in French) in October 1864.<ref name="Wolff"/>

In 1858 Deloffre went to give concerts in [[Madrid]] with other artists from the Théâtre-Lyrique and Opéra-Comique following the French victory in the [[Battle of Solferino]]. On 18 November 1859 he conducted Berlioz’s arrangement of [[Christoph Willibald Gluck|Gluck's]] ''[[Orfeo ed Euridice|Orphée et Eurydice]]''. Deloffre was put in musical charge of a venture in 1868 to present opera at the [[Salle Ventadour]] under the name of the [[Théâtre de la Renaissance]]. He then moved to be principal conductor of the Opéra-Comique until his death.<ref name="Walsh"/>

He composed fantasies for violin and piano on themes from operas for his wife and himself to play, as well as [[string quartets]]. He left manuscripts of two [[Symphony|symphonies]], some [[piano trios]], and other pieces for violin and piano.<ref name="Fetis"/>

Deloffre was a member of the [[Paris Conservatoire]] examination committees for strings, and for wind instruments, from 1871 until his death.

== Premieres conducted by Deloffre ==
* ''Le muletier de Tolède'', 16 December 1854, Théâtre-Lyrique
* ''[[Les dragons de Villars]]'', 19 September 1856, Théâtre-Lyrique (and 100th at Opéra-Comique on 17 May 1874)
* ''[[Le médecin malgré lui (opera)|Le médecin malgré lui]]'', 15 January 1858, Théâtre-Lyrique (also premiere at Opéra-Comique on 22 May 1872)
* ''[[Faust (opera)|Faust]]'', 19 March 1859, Théâtre-Lyrique
* ''[[Philémon et Baucis]]'', 18 February 1860, Théâtre-Lyrique (French premiere)
* ''[[Les pêcheurs de perles]]'', 30 September 1863, Théâtre-Lyrique
* ''[[Les Troyens|Les Troyens à Carthage]]'', 4 November 1863, Théâtre-Lyrique
* ''[[Mireille (opera)|Mireille]]'', 19 March 1864, Théâtre-Lyrique (also revised 3-act version at Opéra-Comique on 10 November 1874)
* ''L'alcade'' (Uzepy), 9 September 1864, Théâtre-Lyrique.
* ''[[Roméo et Juliette]]'', 27 April 1867, Théâtre-Lyrique (also Opéra-Comique premiere in January 1873)
* ''[[La jolie fille de Perth]]'', 26 December 1867, Théâtre-Lyrique
* ''[[Djamileh]]'', 22 May 1872, Opéra-Comique
* ''[[La princesse jaune]]'', 12 June 1872, Opéra-Comique
* ''[[Le roi l’a dit]]'', 24 May 1873, Opéra-Comique
* ''[[Carmen]]'', 3 March 1875, Opéra-Comique

Deloffre was on the podium for several anniversary performances in Paris: the 500th performance of ''[[La fille du régiment]]'' at the Opéra-Comique on 4 December 1871, the 1,000th performance ''[[Le Pré aux clercs]]'' by Hérold at the Opéra-Comique on 7 December 1871, the 1,000th performance of ''Le Chalet'' by [[Adolphe Adam]] at the Opéra-Comique on 18 January 1873, and the 500th ('travesty') performance of ''Les Rendez-Vous Bourgeois'' by Nicolas Isouard on 20 March 1873.
<ref name="Wolff"/>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Opéra-Comique music directors}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deloffre, Adolphe}}
[[Category:1817 births]]
[[Category:1876 deaths]]
[[Category:French conductors (music)]]
[[Category:French male conductors (music)]]
[[Category:Music directors (opera)]]
[[Category:19th-century French violinists]]
[[Category:19th-century French male musicians]]
[[Category:French male classical violinists]]
[[Category:19th-century conductors (music)]]
[[Category:Musicians from Paris]]

Adolphe Deloffre - Revision history

imported>Jevansen: Moving from Category:19th-century male musicians to Category:19th-century French male musicians using Cat-a-lot