Albert Carré
Encyclopedia
Albert Carré was a French theatre director, opera
director, actor
and librettist
. He was the nephew of librettist Michel Carré
(1821–1872) and cousin of cinema director Michel Antoine Carré (1865–1945). His wife was the French soprano
Marguerite Carré (1880–1947).
For over 50 years Albert Carré was a central personality in the theatrical and musical life of Paris.
, winning a 2nd prize in comedy, and was engaged at the Théâtre du Vaudeville
, leading to a successful career as an actor, before becoming co-director of the Vaudeville in Paris and later the Théâtre-Libre and the Comédie-Française
.
He left the Vaudeville to become director of the Opéra
in Nancy, where he also helped institute a regular season of symphony concerts in the Salle Poirel from 1889.
Carré’s main contribution to operatic history was made as director of the Opéra-Comique
, a post he held from 1898 to 1914 and then again from 1919–1925 (co-director with Émile
and Vincent Isola
). He worked to raise the musical standards of the Opéra-Comique and was responsible for the premieres of major operas by French composers, commissioning Debussy
's Pelléas et Mélisande
, Gustave Charpentier
's Louise
and Dukas
's Ariane et Barbe-bleue
, and works by Reynaldo Hahn
, Alfred Bruneau
and Georges Hüe
.
Carré was more progressive musically than his predecessor Carvalho, from whom he took over in 1898. He had written a report for government on the management of opera houses in Germany and approached his position at the Opéra-Comique with reforming zeal, introducing many modern practices. André Messager
, (a life-long friend and collaborator on his most important projects) became the 'directeur de la musique' with expanded responsibilities, allowing him an important role in deciding the works to be performed and singers to be hired. He instituted a more rigorous rehearsal schedule and absentee policy. Carré also created subscription series
in which subscribers were guaranteed that works would not be repeated in the same season. In 1899 he inaugurated a 'family series', at a lower cost and concentrating on older works from the repertory. His contract stipulated that he keep in the repertory works of composers who had created the opéra-comique genre
, and also that he could not foist the older repertory on secondary artists.
He produced the first French performances of several Italian operas, including Tosca
(13 October 1903) and Madama Butterfly
(28 December 1906), and mounted many other important new productions, including Carmen
(8 December 1898). He was responsible for a new production of Le roi malgré lui
in 1929 which helped to bring the piece back to the stage.
He wrote vaudevilles, comedies, and opéra-comique libretti, sometimes with Alexandre Bisson (1848–1912).
He retired in 1936 and wrote his memoirs.
Before and during the First World War, Carré also worked for the 'Deuxième Bureau'. This was part of the intelligence service
of the French army and was involved in recruiting Alsatians
to the French army when the region was still part of Germany.
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...
director, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and 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 was the nephew of librettist Michel Carré
Michel Carré
Michel Carré was a prolific French librettist.He went to Paris in 1840 intending to become a painter but took up writing instead. He wrote verse and plays before turning to writing libretti. His libretto for Mirette was never performed in France but was later performed in English adaptation in...
(1821–1872) and cousin of cinema director Michel Antoine Carré (1865–1945). His wife was the French soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
Marguerite Carré (1880–1947).
For over 50 years Albert Carré was a central personality in the theatrical and musical life of Paris.
Life and work
Leaving Alsace for Paris in 1870, Carré studied drama at the Paris ConservatoireCNSAD
The Conservatoire National Supérieur d'Art Dramatique is France's national drama academy in Paris...
, winning a 2nd prize in comedy, and was engaged at the Théâtre du Vaudeville
Théâtre du Vaudeville
The Théâtre du Vaudeville was a theatre in Paris. It opened on 12 January 1792 on rue de Chartres. Its directors, Piis and Barré, mainly put on "petites pièces mêlées de couplets sur des airs connus", including vaudevilles....
, leading to a successful career as an actor, before becoming co-director of the Vaudeville in Paris and later the Théâtre-Libre and the Comédie-Française
Comédie-Française
The Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few state theaters in France. It is the only state theater to have its own troupe of actors. It is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris....
.
He left the Vaudeville to become director of the Opéra
Opéra national de Lorraine
Opéra national de Lorraine is an opera company and opera house located in the city of Nancy in the French province of Lorraine. Formerly named the Opéra de Nancy et de Lorraine, it was given the status of "national opera" in 2006....
in Nancy, where he also helped institute a regular season of symphony concerts in the Salle Poirel from 1889.
Carré’s main contribution to operatic history was made as director 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...
, a post he held from 1898 to 1914 and then again from 1919–1925 (co-director with Émile
Émile Isola
Émile Isola was born on 4 September 1860 in Blida, Algeria and died in Paris on 17 May 1945. Along with his younger brother Vincent Isola with whose life and career he was closely involved, he was a conjurer and theatre director in Paris; they were known as the Frères Isola – the Isola...
and Vincent Isola
Vincent Isola
Vincent Isola was born on 24 July 1862 in Blida, Algeria and died in Paris on 31 August 1947. Along with his older brother Émile Isola with whose life and career he was closely involved, he was a conjurer and theatre director in Paris; they were known as the Frères Isola – the Isola...
). He worked to raise the musical standards of the Opéra-Comique and was responsible for the premieres of major operas by French composers, commissioning Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
's Pelléas et Mélisande
Pelléas et Mélisande (opera)
Pelléas et Mélisande is an opera in five acts with music by Claude Debussy. The French libretto was adapted from Maurice Maeterlinck's Symbolist play Pelléas et Mélisande...
, Gustave Charpentier
Gustave Charpentier
Gustave Charpentier, , born in Dieuze, Moselle on 25 June 1860, died Paris, 18 February 1956) was a French composer, best known for his opera Louise.-Life and career:...
's Louise
Louise (opera)
Louise is an opera in four acts by Gustave Charpentier to an original French libretto by the composer, with some contributions by Saint-Pol-Roux, a symbolist poet and inspiration of the surrealists....
and Dukas
Paul Dukas
Paul Abraham Dukas was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man, of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, and he abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions...
's Ariane et Barbe-bleue
Ariane et Barbe-bleue
Ariane et Barbe-bleue is an opera in three acts by Paul Dukas. The French libretto is adapted from the symbolist play by Maurice Maeterlinck....
, and works by Reynaldo Hahn
Reynaldo Hahn
Reynaldo Hahn was a Venezuelan, naturalised French, composer, conductor, music critic and diarist. Best known as a composer of songs, he wrote in the French classical tradition of the mélodie....
, Alfred Bruneau
Alfred Bruneau
Louis-Charles-Bonaventure-Alfred Bruneau was a French composer who played a key role in the introduction of realism in French opera....
and Georges Hüe
Georges Hüe
Georges Adolphe Hüe was a French composer of classical music.-Biography:Hüe was born in Versailles into a noted family of architects. His musical education included studies with Charles Gounod and César Franck. In 1879, he won the Prix de Rome with his cantata Médée...
.
Carré was more progressive musically than his predecessor Carvalho, from whom he took over in 1898. He had written a report for government on the management of opera houses in Germany and approached his position at the Opéra-Comique with reforming zeal, introducing many modern practices. André Messager
André Messager
André 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...
, (a life-long friend and collaborator on his most important projects) became the 'directeur de la musique' with expanded responsibilities, allowing him an important role in deciding the works to be performed and singers to be hired. He instituted a more rigorous rehearsal schedule and absentee policy. Carré also created subscription series
Subscription business model
The subscription business model is a business model where a customer must pay a subscription price to have access to the product/service. The model was pioneered by magazines and newspapers, but is now used by many businesses and websites....
in which subscribers were guaranteed that works would not be repeated in the same season. In 1899 he inaugurated a 'family series', at a lower cost and concentrating on older works from the repertory. His contract stipulated that he keep in the repertory works of composers who had created the opéra-comique genre
Opéra comique
Opéra comique is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged out of the popular opéra comiques en vaudevilles of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent , which combined existing popular tunes with spoken sections...
, and also that he could not foist the older repertory on secondary artists.
He produced the first French performances of several Italian operas, including Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
(13 October 1903) and Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
(28 December 1906), and mounted many other important new productions, including Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
(8 December 1898). He was responsible for a new production of Le roi malgré lui
Le roi malgré lui
Le roi malgré lui is an opéra-comique in three acts by Emmanuel Chabrier with an original libretto by Emile de Najac and Paul Burani. The opera is revived occasionally, but has not found a place in the repertory, mainly because of the poor libretto...
in 1929 which helped to bring the piece back to the stage.
He wrote vaudevilles, comedies, and opéra-comique libretti, sometimes with Alexandre Bisson (1848–1912).
He retired in 1936 and wrote his memoirs.
Before and during the First World War, Carré also worked for the 'Deuxième Bureau'. This was part of the intelligence service
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
of the French army and was involved in recruiting Alsatians
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
to the French army when the region was still part of Germany.
Works
- La BasocheLa BasocheLa Basoche is an opéra comique in three acts of 1890, with music by André Messager and a French libretto by Albert Carré.-History:Messager's 1889 opérette Le mari de la reine at Bouffes-Parisiens was a disappointment, and the composer and his wife were struggling to afford even basic necessities...
, opéra-comique in 3 acts, music by 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...
, (Opéra-comique, 30 May 1890). - Faust en ménage, fantaisie lyrique in one act, music by Claude Terrasse, (Théâtre de la Potinière, 5 January 1924).
- La montagne enchantée, pièce fantastique by Emile MoreauÉmile MoreauÉmile Moreau was a French playwright and screenwriter. In co-operation with Victorien Sardou, he wrote the plays Madame Sans-Gêne and Cleopatre . He also wrote the play Les Amours de la reine Élisabeth, and the script for its film adaptation, and was one of the co-founders of the Indian...
and Carré, music by André Messager and Xavier Leroux, 1897. - Frétillon, opéra-comique in 3 acts and 4 tableaux with songs by Béranger and book by Albert Carré. (Théâtre municipal de Strasbourg, 5 March 1927).
- Le roi bossu, opéra-comique in one act 17 March 1932. Music by Elsa Barraine.
Non-theatre works
- Les théâtres en Allemagne et en Autriche, 1889
- Les engagés volontaires alsaciens-lorrains pendant la guerre, Flammarion, 1923
- L'Opéra-Comique connu et inconnu, 1925
- Souvenirs de théâtre, Plon, 1950
- Les théâtres en Alsace-Lorraine, de leur rôle dans la propagation de la langue française en Alsace-Lorraine et dans le perfectionnement de sa prononciation.