Henri Meilhac (1830–1897) French playwright, opera librettist André Theuriet (1833–1907) French - Autograph signed letter and one carde de visit - 1890

Henri Meilhac (1830–1897) French playwright, opera librettist
André Theuriet (1833–1907) French poet. novelist

- Autograph signed letter and one autograph carde de visit

- no year, ca 1890-1905


1.) Henri Meilhac (23 February 1830 – 6 July 1897) was a prolific French playwright and opera librettist, known for his collaborations with Ludovic Halévy on comic operas with music by Jacques Offenbach. He also wrote occasionally for serious works including Georges Bizet's Carmen (with Halévy) and Jules Massenet's Manon.

Born in Paris, Meilhac began writing for a humorous magazine in 1852, and four years later he began a career as a playwright. In 1860 he collaborated for the first time with Halévy, an old schoolfriend, on a one-act comedy, presented at the Théâtre des Variétés. Over the next twenty-one years the two co-wrote fifty more stage works.

After Halévy retired in 1882 Meilhac continued to write, sometimes as sole author and sometimes with collaborators. His tally of stage works is more than a hundred, and includes short and full-length comic plays and the libretti of twenty-five operettas. He and Halévy wrote the libretti for Offenbach's La belle Hélène (1864), La vie parisienne (1866), La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein (1867) and La Périchole (1868). In addition Meilhac provided libretti for operettas by Charles Lecocq, Hervé, Gaston Serpette and Robert Planquette.

2.) Claude Adhémar André Theuriet (8 October 1833 in Marly-le-Roi – 23 April 1907 in Bourg-la-Reine) was a 19th-century French poet and novelist.

Theuriet was born at Marly-le-Roi (Seine et Oise), and was educated at Bar-le-Duc in his mother's province of Lorraine.

Theuriet studied law in Paris and joined the public service, attaining the rank of chef de bureau, before his retirement during 1886. He published the Chemin des bois, a volume of poems, many of which had been published already in the Revue des Deux Mondes in 1867; Le bleu et le noir, poèmes de la vie réelle (1874), Nos oiseaux (1886), and other volumes followed.

M. Theuriet gives natural, simple description of rustic and especially of woodland life, and Théophile Gautier compared him to Shakespeare's Jaques of the forest of Arden. The best of his novels are those that deal with provincial and country life. Composer Jeanne Rivet used his text for her song “Ballade Bretonne.”

Theuriet received the prix Vitet from the Académie Française in 1890, of which he became a member during 1896. He died on 23 April 1907, and was succeeded at the academy by Jean Richepin.

He was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur during 1879, and was made an Officier de la Légion d'honneur during 1895.

His grandson André Theuriet became a versatile sportsman mostly known as an international rugby union player and swimmer.

Provenance: untouched privat collection ca. 1900.

mounted on an 19th Cent Album leaf (may be easily to split).
#C213

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