Louis-Luc Loiseau de Persuis

Louis-Luc Loiseau de Persuis (4 July 1769 – 20 December 1819) was a French violinist, conductor, choirmaster, teacher, composer, and theatre director.

Louis-Luc Loiseau de Persuis
Engraving by Jules Porreau (1849)

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.

Grave at père Lachaise Cemetery

Works for the stage

Title[1]GenreActsLibrettoPremiere dateVenue
La nuit espagnoleopéra-comiqueunknown J. Fiévée 14 June 1791 Théâtre Feydeau
Estelleopéra-comique3 actsVillebrune 17 December 1793 Théâtre National
Phanor et Angélaopéra-comique3 actsFaur July 1798 Théâtre Feydeau
Léonidas, ou Les spartiates (with Gresnick)operaunknownPixérécourt 15 August 1799Opéra, [[Théâtre National de la rue de la Loi|Théâtre des Arts]]
Fanny Morna, ou L'écossaisedrame-lyrique3 acts E. Favières 22 August 1799Opéra-Comique, Salle Favart I
Le fruit défenduopera1 act E. Gosse 7 March 1800Opéra-Comique, Salle Favart I
Marcel, ou L'héritier supposéopéra-comique1 actPixérécourt 12 February 1801Opéra-Comique, Salle Favart I
L'inauguration du Temple de la victoire (with Le Sueur)tragédie-lyrique1 actBaour-Lormain, Gardel[2] (choreography) 2 January 1807Opéra, Théâtre des Arts
Le retour d’Ulysseballet3 actsMilon (choreography) 24 February 1807Opéra, Théâtre des Arts
Le triomphe de Trajan (with Le Sueur)tragédie-lyrique3 acts J. Esménard, Gardel[2] (choreography) 23 October 1807Opéra, Théâtre des Arts
La Jérusalem délivréetragédie-lyrique5 acts P.-M. Baour-Lormain after T. Tasso, Gardel[2] (choreography) 15 September 1812Opéra, Théâtre des Arts
Nina, ou La folle par amourballet2 actsMilon (choreography) 23 November 1813Opéra, Théâtre des Arts
L’épreuve villageoise, ou André et Deniseballet2 acts[3]Milon (choreography) 4 April 1815Opéra, Théâtre des Arts
L’heureux retour (with Berton and Kreutzer)opéra-ballet1 actMilon (choreography) 25 July 1815Opéra, Théâtre des Arts
Le carnaval de Venise, ou La constance à l'épreuve (with Kreutzer)ballet2 actsMilon (choreography) 22 February 1816Opéra, Théâtre des Arts
Les dieux rivaux, ou Les fêtes de Cythère (with Berton, Kreutzer, and Spontini)opéra-ballet1 act M. Dieulafoy and C. Briffaut 21 June 1816Opéra, Théâtre des Arts
Der Zauberschlaf (with A. Gyrowetz [Act 2])ballet2 actsAumer[4] (choreography) 16 January 1818Vienna, Hoftheater

References

Notes
  1. The information in the list of stage works is from Mongrédien and Quetin 2001, unless otherwise noted.
  2. Pitou 1985, vol. 2, p. 572.
  3. Pitou 1985, vol. 2, p. 573.
  4. Schreyvogel & Glossy 1903, p. 476, no. 16.
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.
Preceded by
Alexandre-Étienne Choron
director of the Académie royale de musique
1817-1819
Succeeded by
Giovanni Battista Viotti
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