Emmanuel Bondeville
Emmanuel Bondeville was a French composer and music administrator, born 29 October 1898 in Rouen, and died 26 November 1987 in Paris.
Biography
As a young man he was organist at the church of Saint-Nicaise in Rouen and Notre-Dame in Caen. Bondeville lost both his parents when he was 16, and took on various jobs – organist, bank clerk, translator - to get by.[1] He made his beginnings in music around 1923 writing works for piano, symphonic poems, opéras-comiques and opéras. During this time he also travelled around Europe and worked as an assistant in a music shop. He eventually had lessons in harmony and counterpoint from Jean Déré.[1] In 1935 he became musical director of the radio stations Radio Tour Eiffel, Radio Paris, Radiodiffusion française then artistic director of Radio Monte-Carlo.
From 1949 to 1951 Bondeville was director of the Opéra-Comique,[2] followed by a similar position at the Opéra de Paris from 1952 to 1969.
He was married twice: to mezzo-soprano Viorica Cortez, to whom he dedicated his opera Antoine et Cléopâtre, and later to Dominique Plessis (with whom he broadcast programmes entitled ‘Une saison d'opéra’ on France-Inter)
Works
- Les Illustrations, symphonic triptych comprising :
- Le Bal des pendus (first performed 6 December 1930 by the Lamoureux Orchestra)
- Ophélie (1931)
- Marine (1933)
- L'École des maris (opéra-comique after Molière), premiered at the Opéra-Comique on 19 June 1935 conducted by Albert Wolff
- Madame Bovary, drame lyrique after Flaubert, premiered at the Opéra-Comique on 1 June 1951 in a production by Louis Musy, conducted by Albert Wolff, with Jacqueline Brumaire in the title role[2]
- Illustrations pour Faust, (1942)
- Gaultier-Garguille, symphonic poem, (1951)
- Symphonie lyrique, (1956)
- Symphonie chorégraphique (1961)
- Antoine et Cléopatre, opera (1972) premiered at the Opéra de Rouen in 1974
Titles, honours
- Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur
- Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
- Grand Officier de l'Ordre national du Mérite
- Croix de guerre 1914-1918
External links
References
- 1 2 Landormy P. La Musique Française après Debussy. Gallimard, Paris, 1943.
- 1 2 Wolff S. Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique (1900-1950). André Bonne, Paris, 1953.