Alexandre Luigini
Encyclopedia
Alexandre Clément Léon Joseph Luigini (9 March 185029 July 1906) was a French composer and conductor, especially active in the opera house. As as composer, he is now remembered almost solely for his Ballet égyptien
.
in 1850. His grandparents had moved to Lyon from Modena
, Italy
, when his grandfather took up the post of trumpeter with the orchestra of the Grand Théâtre. Alexandre Luigini was brought up with music, his father Joseph also playing with, and later conducting, the orchestra of the Grand Théâtre. He was the nephew of César and (another) Alexandre Luigini, both noted instrumentalists.
After studying at the Conservatoire in Paris
where he gained a second prize for violin, Luigini returned to Lyon and and from 1872 played as a violinist in the theatre orchestra, which he went on to lead, becoming conductor in 1877. As resident conductor he was also expected to meet the compositional demands of the theatre, leading to a number of ballets, operas and orchestral suites.
In 1897 he left Lyon to take up the conductorship of the Opéra-Comique
in Paris, and led a busy life until his sudden death there in 1906. At the Opéra-Comique he notably conducted the world premiere of Jules Massenet
's Cendrillon
on 24 May 1899. The other premieres he conducted were Aphrodite 1906, Enfant roi 1905, Le Juif polonais 1900, Miarka 1905, Muguette 1903, and L'Ouragan 1901. He also supervised revivals of Alceste
, Falstaff
, Fidelio
, Le Roi d’Ys
and The Flying Dutchman
, among others. Paris premieres conducted by Luigini included Chérubin
, Hélène
, Le jongleur de Notre-Dame
and the first staging of Marie-Madeleine
.
As a theatre conductor he followed the old practice of having his conductor’s stand directly against the prompt box.
Luigini's Ballet égyptien
(1875) is his best known work, gaining great popularity in the early 20th century as a concert suite. It originally gained prominence when it was included in the second act of Verdi's
Aida
for a performance in Lyon
in 1886.
His compositions reflect his stage-orchestra background, being mostly light music for ballet and operas: Ange et démon, Le Rêve de Nicette, Les Caprices de Margot (one-act opéra comique, Lyon, 1877), Reine des fleurs, Fleurs et papillons, Les Écharpes, Le Meunier, Arlequin écolier, Faublas (three-act operetta, Théâtre Cluny, Paris, 1881). He also composed a number of songs and works for string quartet and other chamber groups.
Ballet égyptien
Ballet égyptien, Op. 12 , is Alexandre Luigini's best-known composition, and is the only one of his works in the standard repertoire....
.
Life and career
Luigini was born in LyonLyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
in 1850. His grandparents had moved to Lyon from Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, when his grandfather took up the post of trumpeter with the orchestra of the Grand Théâtre. Alexandre Luigini was brought up with music, his father Joseph also playing with, and later conducting, the orchestra of the Grand Théâtre. He was the nephew of César and (another) Alexandre Luigini, both noted instrumentalists.
After studying at the Conservatoire in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
where he gained a second prize for violin, Luigini returned to Lyon and and from 1872 played as a violinist in the theatre orchestra, which he went on to lead, becoming conductor in 1877. As resident conductor he was also expected to meet the compositional demands of the theatre, leading to a number of ballets, operas and orchestral suites.
In 1897 he left Lyon to take up the conductorship of the Opéra-Comique
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian opera company, which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with, and for a time took the name of its chief rival the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...
in Paris, and led a busy life until his sudden death there in 1906. At the Opéra-Comique he notably conducted the world premiere of Jules Massenet
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, Massenet's style went out of fashion, and many of his operas...
's Cendrillon
Cendrillon
Cendrillon is an opera—described as a "fairy tale"—in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Cain based on Perrault's 1698 version of the Cinderella fairy tale. The scenario was conceived by Massenet and Cain at the Cavendish Hotel while they were in London for the...
on 24 May 1899. The other premieres he conducted were Aphrodite 1906, Enfant roi 1905, Le Juif polonais 1900, Miarka 1905, Muguette 1903, and L'Ouragan 1901. He also supervised revivals of Alceste
Alceste (Gluck)
Alceste is an opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck from 1767. The libretto was written by Ranieri de' Calzabigi and based on the play Alcestis by Euripides. The premiere took place in Vienna.-Preface and reforms:...
, Falstaff
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
, Fidelio
Fidelio
Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
, Le Roi d’Ys
Le roi d'Ys
is an opera in three acts and five tableaux by the French composer Édouard Lalo, to a libretto by Édouard Blau, based on the old Breton legend of the drowned city of Ys, which was, according to the legend, the capital of the kingdom of Cornouaille. It premiered at the Opéra Comique in Paris on 7...
and The Flying Dutchman
The Flying Dutchman
The legend of the Flying Dutchman concerns a ghost ship that can never make port, doomed to sail the oceans forever. It probably originates from 17th-century nautical folklore. The oldest extant version dates to the late 18th century....
, among others. Paris premieres conducted by Luigini included Chérubin
Chérubin
Chérubin is an opera in three acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Francis de Croisset and Henri Cain after de Croisset's play of the same name...
, Hélène
Hélène (opera)
Hélène is a poème lyrique or opera in one act by composer Camille Saint-Saëns. It is the first opera for which Saint-Saëns wrote his own French libretto which is based on the classic story of Helen of Troy and Paris from Greek mythology. The opera premiered at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo in Monaco on...
, Le jongleur de Notre-Dame
Le jongleur de Notre-Dame
Le jongleur de Notre-Dame is an opera in three acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Maurice Léna. It was first performed in Monte Carlo on 18 February 1902.-History:...
and the first staging of Marie-Madeleine
Marie-Magdeleine
Marie-Magdeleine is an oratorio in three acts and four parts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Louis Gallet, based on La vie de Jésus by Ernest Renan. It was first performed at the Théâtre de l'Odéon in Paris on April 11, 1873. The first staged performance took place in Nice on February...
.
As a theatre conductor he followed the old practice of having his conductor’s stand directly against the prompt box.
Luigini's Ballet égyptien
Ballet égyptien
Ballet égyptien, Op. 12 , is Alexandre Luigini's best-known composition, and is the only one of his works in the standard repertoire....
(1875) is his best known work, gaining great popularity in the early 20th century as a concert suite. It originally gained prominence when it was included in the second act of Verdi's
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
for a performance in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
in 1886.
His compositions reflect his stage-orchestra background, being mostly light music for ballet and operas: Ange et démon, Le Rêve de Nicette, Les Caprices de Margot (one-act opéra comique, Lyon, 1877), Reine des fleurs, Fleurs et papillons, Les Écharpes, Le Meunier, Arlequin écolier, Faublas (three-act operetta, Théâtre Cluny, Paris, 1881). He also composed a number of songs and works for string quartet and other chamber groups.