Henri Cain
Encyclopedia
Henri Caïn was a French
dramatist, opera
and ballet
librettist
. He wrote over forty librettos from 1893 to his death, for many of the most prominent composers of the Paris
ian Belle Epoque
.
Caïn was the son of the sculptor Auguste Cain
and brother of the painter Georges Cain. He was married to the soprano Julia Guiraudon.
Close to Edouard de La Gandara, Jean Dara
when he worked with Sarah Bernhardt
, Henri Caïn was an admirer of several major contemporary painters and sculptors such as Antonio de La Gandara
and Jean Carriès.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
dramatist, opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
librettist
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
. He wrote over forty librettos from 1893 to his death, for many of the most prominent composers of the 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...
ian Belle Epoque
Belle Époque
The Belle Époque or La Belle Époque was a period in European social history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I. Occurring during the era of the French Third Republic and the German Empire, it was a period characterised by optimism and new technological and medical...
.
Caïn was the son of the sculptor Auguste Cain
Auguste Cain
Auguste Nicholas Caïn was a noted French sculptor in the Animaliers school, known for his portrayals of wild and domesticated animals....
and brother of the painter Georges Cain. He was married to the soprano Julia Guiraudon.
Close to Edouard de La Gandara, Jean Dara
Jean Dara
Jean Dara , was the stage name of Edouard de La Gandara, brother of painter Antonio de La Gandara.Jean Dara worked with Sarah Bernhardt during several years in Paris, London and in the United States of America...
when he worked with Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage and early film actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress the world has ever known". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France in the 1870s, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas...
, Henri Caïn was an admirer of several major contemporary painters and sculptors such as Antonio de La Gandara
Antonio de La Gandara
Antonio de la Gándara was a French painter, pastellist and draughtsman.-Biography:He was born in Paris, France, but his father was of Spanish ancestry, born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, and his mother was from England. La Gandara's talent was strongly influenced by both cultures...
and Jean Carriès.
Operas (and ballets) to librettos by Henri Caïn
- Benjamin GodardBenjamin GodardBenjamin Louis Paul Godard was a French violinist and Romantic composer.-Biography:Born in Paris, Godard was a student of Henri Vieuxtemps. He entered the Conservatoire de Paris in 1863 where he studied under Vieuxtemps and Napoléon Henri Reber and accompanied Vieuxtemps twice to Germany...
- La vivandière (1893)
- Jules MassenetJules MassenetJules 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...
- La NavarraiseLa NavarraiseLa Navarraise is an opera in one act by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Jules Claretie and Henri Cain, based on Claretie's novel La Cigarette...
(1894), - SaphoSapho (opera)Sapho is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Cain and Arthur Bernède, based on the novel of the same name by Alphonse Daudet. It was first performed at the Opéra Comique in Paris on November 27, 1897 with Emma Calvé as Fanny Legrand.It is a charming and effective...
(1897), - CendrillonCendrillonCendrillon 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...
(1899), - ChérubinChérubinChérubin 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...
(1905), - Don QuichotteDon QuichotteDon Quichotte is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Caïn.Massenet's comédie-héroïque, like so many other dramatized versions of the story of Don Quixote, relates only indirectly to the great novel by Miguel de Cervantes...
(1910), - RomaRoma (opera)Roma is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Cain based on the play Rome vaincue by Alexandre Parodi. It was first performed at the Opéra in Monte Carlo on February 17, 1912....
(1912)
- Camille ErlangerCamille ErlangerCamille Erlanger was a Parisian-born French opera composer. He studied at the Paris Conservatory under Léo Delibes and Émile Durand, and in 1888 won the Prix de Rome for his cantata Velléda...
- Le juif polonais (1900),
- Bacchus triomphant (1909)
- André MessagerAndré MessagerAndré Charles Prosper Messager , was a French composer, organist, pianist, conductor and administrator. His stage compositions included ballets and 30 opéra comiques and operettas, among which Véronique, had lasting success, with Les p'tites Michu and Monsieur Beaucaire also enjoying international...
- Une aventure de la Guimard, ballet in one act (1900)
- Jules MassenetJules MassenetJules 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...
- CigaleCigaleCigale is a divertissement-ballet in two acts by Jules Massenet to a scenario by Henri Cain. It was first performed at the Opéra Comique in Paris on February 4, 1904. The story is a retelling of the fable The Grasshopper and the Ant, in this case the grasshopper being a cicada and the ant...
, ballet (1904)
- Charles-Marie WidorCharles-Marie WidorCharles-Marie Jean Albert Widor was a French organist, composer and teacher.-Life:Widor was born in Lyon, to a family of organ builders, and initially studied music there with his father, François-Charles Widor, titular organist of Saint-François-de-Sales from 1838 to 1889...
- Les pêcheurs de Saint-Jean (1906)
- Umberto GiordanoUmberto GiordanoUmberto Menotti Maria Giordano was an Italian composer, mainly of operas.He was born in Foggia in Puglia, southern Italy, and studied under Paolo Serrao at the Conservatoire of Naples...
- Marcella (1909)
- Henry FévrierHenry FévrierHenry Février was a French composer.-Biography:Henry Février studied at the Paris Conservatoire where his teachers included Jules Massenet and Gabriel Fauré. He also took private lessons with André Messager...
- Agnès dame galante (1912),
- Carmosine (1913),
- Gismonda (1919)
- Franco AlfanoFranco AlfanoFranco Alfano was an Italian composer and pianist. Best known today for his opera Risurrezione and above all for having completed Puccini's opera Turandot in 1926. He had considerable success with several of his own works during his lifetime.- Biography :He was born in Posillipo, Naples...
- Cirano di Bergerac (1936)
- Jean NouguèsJean NouguèsJean-Charles Nouguès was a French composer of operas.Born in Bordeaux, Nouguès was from a wealthy family, and in his youth he received little formal musical training. His first opera, Le Roi de Papagey, was written when he was only sixteen; after further study in Paris, he composed a second,...
- Quo Vadis Vocal score from Sibley Music Library Digital Scores Collection