CLEMENT PHILIBERT

See also:

• LEO
• LEO (THE LION)
• LEO, BROTHER (d. c. 1270)
• LEO, HEINRICH (1799-1878)
• LEO, JOHANNES (c. 1494-1552)
• LEO, LEONARDO (1694–1744)

LEO

See also:

• CLEMENT PHILIBERT LEO DELIBES (1836–1891)

DELIBES (1836–1891)  , French composer, was born at Saint Germain du Val on the 21st of February 1836 . He studied at the Paris Conservatoire under Adolphe Charles Adam, through whose influence he became accompanist at the Theatre Lyrique . His first essay in dramatic composition was his Deux sous de charbon (1853), and during several years he produced a number of operettas . His cantata Alger was heard at the Paris opera in 1865 . Having become second chorus master at the Grand Opera, he wrote the music of a ballet entitled La Source for this theatre, in collaboration with Minkous, a Polish composer . La Source was produced with great success in 1866 . The composer returned to the operetta style with Malbrouk s'en va-t-en guerre,—written in collaboration with Georges Bizet, Emile Jonas and Legouix, and given at the Theatre de 1'Athenee in 1867 . Two years later came L'Ecossais de Chatou, a one-act piece, and La Cour du roi Petaud, a three-act opera-bouffe . The ballet Coppelia was produced at the Grand Opera on the 25th of May 187o with enormous success . Delibes gave up his post as second chorus master at the Grand Opera in 1872 when he married the daughter of Mademoiselle Denain, formerly an actress at the Comedie Francaise . In this year he published a collection of graceful melodies including Myrto, Les Filles de Cadiz, Bonjour, Suzan and others . His first important dramatic work was Le Roi l'a dit, a charming comic opera, produced on the 24th of May 1873 at' the Opera Comique .

Three years later, on the 14th of

June 1876, Sylvia, a ballet in three acts, DELILLE one of the composer's most delightful works, was produced at the Grand Opera . This was followed by La Mort d'Orphee, a grand scena produced at the Trocadero concerts in 1878 ; by Jean de Nivelle, a three-act opera brought out at the Opera Comique on the 8th of March 188o; and by Lakme, an opera in three acts produced at the same theatre on the 14th of April 1883 . Lakme has remained his most popular opera . The composer died in Paris on the 16th of January 1891, leaving Kassya, a four-act opera, in an unfinished state . This work was completed by E . Guiraud, and produced at the Opera Comique on the 21st of March 1893 . In 1877 Delibes became a chevalier of the Legion of Honour; in 1881 he became a professor of advanced composition at the Conservatoire; in 1884 he took the place of Victor Masse at the Institut de France . Leo Delibes was a typically French composer . His music is light, graceful and refined . He excelled in ballet music, and Sylvia may well be considered a masterpiece . His operas are constructed on a conventional pattern . The harmonic texture, however, is modern, and the melodic invention abundant, while the orchestral treatment is invariably excellent .