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Scan 87
A Biographical Dictionary Of Musicians, 1900
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1serious study. At 18 yrs. of age, he prod. with success an opera to his father's libretto, La fille coupable (Rouen, 1793), followed, in 1795, by Rosalie et Myrza. His local reputation encouraged him to extend his sphere, and again he walked to Paris, but his reception was chilling, and he was glad to earn a living by teaching and piano-tuning, Erard employing him. He made the acquaintance of Méhul, Rode, Cherubini, and Gavat the tenor, who sang the young man's songs in public, and thus procured him recognition and a publisher. "Le Ménestrel," "S'il est vrai que d'être deux," "O toi que j'aime," are still found on concert-programs. Fievée the novelist wrote him a libretto, and La Dot de Suzette, in one act, was prod. with success (Opéra-Com., 1796), followed in 1797 by La Famille suisse (Th.-Feydeau). 1798 saw the production of pf.-sonatas, pf.- and harp-duets, and a pf.-concerto; their success obtained for him, 2 years later, the appointment of professor of piano at the Paris Conservatory. Zoraine et Zulnare (1798), Beniowski, and Le Calife de Bagdad (1800), added to his reputation. Cherubini good-naturedly twitted him on his "undeserved success," and B. took a strict course of contrapuntal study, benefiting much by the advice of Cherubini and Méhul. Three years elapsed, and Ma tante Aurore (Th.-Feydeau, 1803), showed marked improvement, and was greeted with great applause. In 1802 he had married Clotilde-Auguste Masleuroy, a ballet-dancer, and the conjugal misery that resulted caused his self-expatriation in 1803. He went to St. Petersburg, and was app. cond. of the Imperial Opera, with a handsome salary. He stayed in Russia 8 yrs.; his contract included 3 operas per annum, and a number of military marches, but of this period little was worthy of preservation. Trouble between Russia and France brought B. back to Paris in 1811. A revival of Ma tante Aurore, the production of a revised version of Rien de trop (comp. in Russia), followed in 1812 by Jean de Paris, created the wildest enthusiasm, opera having been at a low ebb for some time. In 1817 he succeeded Méhul as prof. of comp. at the Cons., and was elected a Member of the Institut. In 1818 Le petit chaperon rouge was another triumph. In 1821 he was created Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. Precarious health caused a silence of 7 yrs., but in 1825 La Dame blanche met with unparalleled success, and remains his chef d'œuvre. He was well remunerated for his last opera, Les deux nuits (1829), but it was a failure. In delicate health, with pulmonary trouble contracted in Russia, mortification and disappointment aggravated the complaint. His first wife had died in 1825, and in 1827 he married Mlle. I'hillis, a singer, and the mother of his only son Adrien V. (below). This union was most happy, and in his last days of illness and pecuniary difficulties, he was much consoled by her kindly care and unswerving fidelity. He had retired from the Conservatory in 1829, with a pension, but in 1830 the new government revoked the pension. He applied for reinstatement at the Cons., was reappointed, but did not teach again; for Thiers, minister of Louis l'philippe, recognized the master's work, and relieved his anxieties by an annual grant of 6000 francs. A journey to Pisa in search of health was of no benefit; he returned to Paris, but again had to seek the mild Southern climate, and died at his country-house at Jarcy. Among his pupils were Zimmerman, Fétis, Adam, and Labarre.—Boieldieu ranks as the foremost composer of his generation, of French opéra-comique. Despite the carelessness of his early education, his masterpieces exhibit evidences of painstaking and conscientious labor, resulting in a high degree of finish and perfection. Besides the operas mentioned, he collaborated with Cherubini in La Prisonnière (1799); with Méhul, Kreutzer, et al. in Le Baiser et la Quittance (1802); w. Cherubini, Catel, and Niccold Isouard—his former rivals—in Bayard à Mésières; w. Kreutzer in Henri IV en Voyage (1814); w. Mme. Gail, pupil of Fétis, in Angèle, ou l'Atelier de Jean Cousin (1814); w. Hérold in Charles de France; w. Cherubini, Berton et al. in La Cour des Fées (1821); w. Auber in Les trois Genres; w. Cherubini, Berton, et al., in l'Harmonie; w. Berton et al. in La Marquise de Brinvilliers.—Biographical: "Il., sa vie et ses œuvres" (1875), by A. Pougin.
3Boieldieu, Adrien-L.-V., son of the preceding; b. Paris, Nov. 3, 1816; d. n. Paris, July, 1883. Wrote several attractive operas and operettas; also masses, cantatas, etc.
5Boisdeffre, Charles-Henri-René, b. Vesoul (Haute-Savoie), 1838. Composer of numerous songs, church-music, chamber-music, etc. Chev. of the Legion of Honor, 1894.
7Boise, Otis Bardwell, b. Oberlin, Ohio, Aug. 13, 1845. Organist at 14. In 1861 studied under Hauptmann, Richter, Moscheles, etc., at Leipzig; 1864 under Kullak at Berlin. 1864-70, organist and teacher in Cleveland; 1870-76, in New York; 1876-78, spent in Europe. Now (1899) living in Berlin as a teacher.—Works: Symphonies and overtures for orch.; pf.-concertos, and minor pieces.
9Boisselot, Jean-Louis, b. Montpellier about 1785; d. Marseilles, 1847. A maker of stringed instr.s at Montpellier, he removed to Marseilles, and soon set up a successful piano-factory, of which his eldest son, Louis (1809-50), was the manager; François, the present proprietor, is the founder's grandson.
11Boisselot, Xavier, second son of J.-L. B.; dramatic composer; b. Montpellier, Dec. 3, 1811; d. Marseilles, Apr. 10, 1893.—Works: The operas Ne touches pas à la reine (Paris, 1847); Mosquita la sorcière (Paris, 1851); l'Ange déchu (Marseilles, 1869); and a cantata, Velleda (1836).
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