Engraving by Jules Porreau (1849)
Louis-Luc Loiseau de Persuis (4 July 1769 – 20 December 1819) was a French violinist, conductor, choirmaster, teacher, composer, and theatre director.
After commencing his studies of music in his hometown of Metz, Persuis moved to Paris in 1787, and entered the orchestra of the Opéra in 1793. His entire career was within this institution; he became choirmaster in 1803, then conductor in 1810, replacing Jean-Baptiste Rey. He simultaneously worked in administrative rôles, as manager, musical inspector-general (1816), stage manager (1817), then chief director from 3 September 1817 until 13 November 1819, on which date illness forced him to resign.
Persuis composed ballets, operas, and opéras comiques. His greatest success was Le triomphe de Trajan (1807), written in collaboration with Le Sueur. From 1810 to 1815, Persuis was the most performed composer at the Opéra, with 157 performances, largely due to Trajan. His opéras comiques found favour at the Théâtre Favart. He also adapted others' works, for example the oratorio Les Croisés (Die Befreyung von Jerusalem, 1813) by Maximilian Stadler.
Persuis taught singing at the Conservatoire de Paris until 1802. His name was proposed for a singing school at the Opéra, but the school was not established, although he continued to teach choristers informally.
He died in Paris.
Works for the stage
| Title[1] | Genre | Acts | Libretto | Premiere date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La nuit espagnole | opéra-comique | unknown | J. Fiévée | 14 June 1791 | Théâtre Feydeau |
| Estelle | opéra-comique | 3 acts | Villebrune | 17 December 1793 | Théâtre National |
| Phanor et Angéla | opéra-comique | 3 acts | Faur | July 1798 | Théâtre Feydeau |
| Léonidas, ou Les spartiates (with Gresnick) | opera | unknown | Pixérécourt | 15 August 1799 | Opéra, [[Théâtre National de la rue de la Loi|Théâtre des Arts]] |
| Fanny Morna, ou L'écossaise | drame-lyrique | 3 acts | E. Favières | 22 August 1799 | Opéra-Comique, Salle Favart I |
| Le fruit défendu | opera | 1 act | E. Gosse | 7 March 1800 | Opéra-Comique, Salle Favart I |
| Marcel, ou L'héritier supposé | opéra-comique | 1 act | Pixérécourt | 12 February 1801 | Opéra-Comique, Salle Favart I |
| L'inauguration du Temple de la victoire (with Le Sueur) | tragédie-lyrique | 1 act | Baour-Lormain, Gardel[2] (choreography) | 2 January 1807 | Opéra, Théâtre des Arts |
| Le retour d’Ulysse | ballet | 3 acts | Milon (choreography) | 24 February 1807 | Opéra, Théâtre des Arts |
| Le triomphe de Trajan (with Le Sueur) | tragédie-lyrique | 3 acts | J. Esménard, Gardel[2] (choreography) | 23 October 1807 | Opéra, Théâtre des Arts |
| La Jérusalem délivrée | tragédie-lyrique | 5 acts | P.-M. Baour-Lormain after T. Tasso, Gardel[2] (choreography) | 15 September 1812 | Opéra, Théâtre des Arts |
| Nina, ou La folle par amour | ballet | 2 acts | Milon (choreography) | 23 November 1813 | Opéra, Théâtre des Arts |
| L’épreuve villageoise, ou André et Denise | ballet | 2 acts[3] | Milon (choreography) | 4 April 1815 | Opéra, Théâtre des Arts |
| L’heureux retour (with Berton and Kreutzer) | opéra-ballet | 1 act | Milon (choreography) | 25 July 1815 | Opéra, Théâtre des Arts |
| Le carnaval de Venise, ou La constance à l'épreuve (with Kreutzer) | ballet | 2 acts | Milon (choreography) | 22 February 1816 | Opéra, Théâtre des Arts |
| Les dieux rivaux, ou Les fêtes de Cythère (with Berton, Kreutzer, and Spontini) | opéra-ballet | 1 act | M. Dieulafoy and C. Briffaut | 21 June 1816 | Opéra, Théâtre des Arts |
| Der Zauberschlaf (with A. Gyrowetz [Act 2]) | ballet | 2 acts | Aumer[4] (choreography) | 16 January 1818 | Vienna, Hoftheater |
References
- Notes
- Sources
- Chaillou, David (2004). Napoléon et l'Opéra, p. 82–84.
- Fauquet, Joël-Marie (2003). Dictionnaire de la musique en France au XIXe siècle, p. 958.
- Gourret , Jean (1984). Ces hommes qui ont fait l’Opéra, pp. 111–112.
- Mongrédien, Jean; Quetin, Laurine (2001). "Persuis, Louis-Luc Loiseau de" in Sadie 2001.
- Sadie, Stanley, editor; John Tyrell; executive editor (2001). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition. London: Macmillan. ISBN 9781561592395 (hardcover). OCLC 419285866 (eBook).
- Schreyvogel, Joseph; Glossy, Karl, editor (1903). Josef Schreyvogels Tagebücher, 1810-1823, vol. 2 (in German). Berlin: Gesellschaft für Theatergeschichte. View at Google Books.