Eugène Scribe
Augustin Eugène Scribe (French: [oɡystɛ̃ øʒɛn skʁib]; 24 December 1791 – 20 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of many of the most successful grand operas and opéras-comiques. Born to a middle-class Parisian family, Scribe was intended for a legal career, but was drawn to the theatre, and began writing plays while still in his teens. His early years as a playwright were unsuccessful, but from 1815 onwards he prospered. Writing, usually with one or more collaborators, he produced several hundred stage works. He wrote to entertain the public rather than educate it. Many of his plays were written in a formulaic manner which aimed at neatness of plot and focus on dramatic incident rather than naturalism, depth of characterisation or intellectual substance. For this he was much criticised by intellectuals, but the "well-made play" remained established in the theatre in France and elsewhere long after his death. In 1813 Scribe wrote his first opera libretto. From 1822 until his death he was closely associated with the composer Daniel Auber for whom he wrote or co-wrote 39 librettos, among them that for the first French grand opera, La Muette de Portici (1828). His second most frequent musical partner was Giacomo Meyerbeer, who took grand opera further and made it a dominant feature of French musical life. Among the other composers with whom Scribe worked were Adolphe Adam, Adrien Boieldieu, Gaetano Donizetti, Fromental Halévy, Jacques Offenbach and Giuseppe Verdi. Scribe's librettos are still performed in opera houses around the world, and although few of his non-musical plays have been revived frequently in the 20th or 21st centuries, his influence on subsequent generations of playwrights in France and elsewhere was profound and lasting. |
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | C-10246 | 12-in. | 5/1/1911 | Gems from Fra Diavolo | Victor Light Opera Company | Vocal chorus and soloists, with orchestra | librettist | |
Victor | C-24464 | 12-in. | 9/15/1920 | Deh ch'io ritorni | Enrico Caruso | Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra | librettist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WLX168 | 12-in. | 1/14/1928 | Cavatine : Si a la rigueur | Élie Cohen ; Raybaud | Bass vocal solo, with orchestra | librettist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WLX1194 | 12-in. | 12/4/1929 | Cavatine du page | Henri Büsser ; Jane Laval | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | librettist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WLX1439 | 12-in. | 12/8/1930 | Romance de Raoul: Plus blanche que la blanche hermine | Étienne Ginot ; Georges Thill | Tenor vocal solo, with viola d'amore | librettist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WLX1443 | 12-in. | 12/12/1930 | Air d'Eléazar: Rachel, quand du Seigneur la grâce tutélaire | Eugène Bigot ; Georges Thill | Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra | librettist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | CLX1727 | 12-in. | 7/8/1933 | Jardins d'Alcazar | Eugène Bigot ; André Girard | Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra | librettist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL1937 | 10-in. | 12/9/1929 | Récit et choral de Luther | Eugène Bigot ; Armand Narçon | Bass vocal solo, with orchestra | librettist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL2025 | 10-in. | 2/5/1930 | Voici donc les débris du monastère antique | Eugène Bigot ; Armand Narçon | Bass vocal solo, with orchestra | librettist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL2100 | 10-in. | 3/6/1930 | L'amour el le tabac | Élie Cohen ; Armand Narçon | Bass vocal solo, with orchestra | librettist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WLBX62 | 12-in. | November 1930 | Plus blanche que la blanche hermine | Andre d'Arkor ; Maurice Bastin ; Orchestre du Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie | Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra | librettist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WLBX70 | 12-in. | June or July 1931 | Ah! quel plaisir d'être soldat | Andre d'Arkor ; Maurice Bastin ; Orchestre du Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie | Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra | librettist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WLBX72 | 12-in. | June or July 1931 | Viens, gentille dame | Andre d'Arkor ; Maurice Bastin ; Orchestre du Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie | Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra | librettist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Scribe, Eugène," accessed November 22, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/102276.
Scribe, Eugène. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 22, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/102276.
"Scribe, Eugène." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 22 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Eugène Scribe
Discogs: Eugène Scribe
Grove: Eugène Scribe
IMSLP: Eugène Scribe
RILM: Eugène Scribe
RISM: Eugène Scribe
IMDb: Eugène Scribe
Britannica: Eugène Scribe
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Scribe, Eugène, 1791-1861 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79004209
Wikidata: Eugène Scribe - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q319261
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/19684263
MusicBrainz: Eugène Scribe - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/b4232e06-9d2e-44fd-913f-67ffcb29507e
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