Henri Meilhac facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Henri Meilhac
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| Born | 23 February 1830 1st arrondissement of Paris, France
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| Died | 6 June 1897 (aged 66) 8th arrondissement of Paris, France
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| Occupation | Playwright |
Henri Meilhac (born February 23, 1830, died July 6, 1897) was a famous French writer. He wrote plays and also librettos for operas. A libretto is like the script for an opera, containing all the words the singers perform.
Meilhac is best known for working with another writer named Ludovic Halévy. Together, they created the story for Georges Bizet's very famous opera, Carmen. They also wrote many works for the composer Jacques Offenbach. Meilhac also wrote the libretto for Jules Massenet's opera Manon.
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Life and Work of Henri Meilhac
Henri Meilhac was born in Paris, France, in 1830. When he was young, he started writing fun articles for newspapers in Paris. He also wrote short, lively plays called comédies en vaudevilles. These plays were very popular and helped him become well-known.
Around 1860, Meilhac met Ludovic Halévy. They became a great writing team and worked together for twenty years!
Famous Collaborations
Their most famous work together is the libretto for Georges Bizet's opera Carmen. This opera is about a fiery gypsy woman and is still one of the most performed operas in the world.
Meilhac also worked a lot with the composer Jacques Offenbach. They created more than a dozen librettos together, most of them with Halévy. Some of their most successful works include:
- La belle Hélène (1864)
- Barbe-bleue (1866)
- La Vie parisienne (1866)
- La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein (1867)
- La Périchole (1868)
These works are often called operettas, which are like lighter, funnier operas with spoken dialogue.
Other Important Works
Besides his work with Halévy and Offenbach, Meilhac wrote other important librettos. He wrote Manon (1884) for the composer Jules Massenet, working with another writer named Philippe Gille. He also wrote Mam'zelle Nitouche (1883) for Hervé.
One of his plays, Le réveillon, was later used as the basis for a very famous operetta called Die Fledermaus (meaning "The Bat"). This shows how his ideas could inspire other popular works.
Later Life
In 1888, Henri Meilhac was chosen to be a member of the Académie française. This is a very important group in France that protects the French language and its literature. It was a great honor for him.
He passed away in Paris in 1897. His plays and librettos continue to be enjoyed by audiences around the world.
Images for kids
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A portrait of Henri Meilhac.
See also
In Spanish: Henri Meilhac para niños
