Ludovic Halévy
Ludovic Halévy was a prominent French writer and librettist born in Paris in 1834 into an artistic family, with a poet father and an opera librettist uncle. After spending his early years in civil service, he dedicated himself fully to writing in 1865. Halévy gained recognition for his work with composer Jacques Offenbach, notably contributing to the prologue of the comic opera *Orphée aux enfers*. His successful collaboration with Henri Meilhac resulted in 79 theatrical works, including the well-known comic opera *La Périchole*, showcasing their keen observations of Parisian life. Halévy is also celebrated for his libretto for Georges Bizet's *Carmen*. Later in his career, he shifted focus to novel writing, producing the acclaimed *The Abbé Constantin*, a narrative highlighting human compassion that earned him a place in the French Academy. Despite writing less in his later years, he was known for mentoring younger writers and was remembered fondly for his kindness and sharp wit until his death in 1908.
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Ludovic Halévy
French playwright and novelist
- Born: January 1, 1834
- Died: May 8, 1908
Biography
Ludovic Halévy (ah-lay-vee) was fortunate in his artistic background. His father, Léon Halévy, was a poet and a versatile writer; his uncle was a successful opera librettist; and his grandfather was a noted architect. Born in Paris in 1834, he attended the Lycée Louis-le-Grand and at eighteen, entered the civil service and held various minor governmental posts until 1865, when he retired to devote his entire time to writing.
Halévy had met Jacques Offenbach in 1855, and the latter’s Orphée aux enfers (1858; Orpheus in the Underworld, 1865), for which Halévy did a prologue, made the young writer famous. In 1860, Halévy met Henri Meilhac, with whom he wrote a total of seventy-nine theatrical works. The influence of Halévy’s uncle may have had much to do with his early interest in the stage. Perhaps the most famous comic opera for which the two collaborators wrote a libretto was La Périchole. Both writers did their best work in depicting lighthearted scenes of Paris life, scenes which displayed their wit and penetrating observation. Halévy’s best-known libretto was written on Alexandre-César-Léopold Bizet’s Carmen.
After 1881, Halévy turned his powers of observation to more serious creation in his novels. The most famous of these, and the one work for which he will always be remembered, is The Abbé Constantin, a tale of human benevolence that won him entrance into the French Academy. Halévy did almost no writing in his last years, but he encouraged and aided younger writers. He died in Paris on May 8, 1908, beloved for his kindness and admired for his graceful, penetrating wit.
Bibliography
Gaiffe, Félix. La Rire et la scène française. 1932. Reprint. Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, 1970.
Hansen, Eric C. Ludovic Halévy: A Study of Frivolity and Fatalism in Nineteenth-Century France. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1987.
Offenbach, Jacques. Lettres à Henri Meilhac et Ludovic Halévy. Edited by Philippe Goninet. Paris: Séguier, 1994.