Alexandre Charles Lecocq

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Charles Lecocq in 1880

Alexandre Charles Lecocq (June 3, 1832, Paris – October 24, 1918, Paris) was a French musical composer. He was admitted into the Conservatoire in 1849, being already an accomplished pianist. He studied under Bazin, Halevy and Benoist, winning the first prize for harmony in 1850, and the second prize for fugue in 1852. He first gained notice by sharing with Bizet the first prize for an operetta in a competition instituted by Offenbach.

His operetta, Le Docteur Miracle, was performed at Les Bouffes Parisiens in 1857. After that he wrote constantly for theatres, but produced nothing worthy of mention until Fleur de the (1868), which ran for more than a hundred nights. Les cent vierges (1872) was also favorably received, but all his previous successes were cast into the shade by La fille de Madame Angot (Brussels, 1872), which in Paris in 1873 was performed for more than 400 nights consecutively, and which has since gained and retained enormous popularity.[1]

After 1873 Lecocq produced a large number of comic operas, though he never equalled his early triumph in La fille de Madame Angot. Among the best of his pieces are Girofle-Girofla (Paris and London, 1874);[2] Les prés Saint-Gervais (Paris and London, 1874); La petite Marife (Paris, 1875; London, 1876, revived as The Scarlet Feather, 1897); Le petit duc (Paris, 1878; London, as The Little Duke, 1878); La petite mademoiselle (Paris, 1879; London, 1880); Le jour et la nuit (Paris, 1881; London, as Manola, 1882); Le canir ci la main (Paris, 1882; London, as Incognita, 1893); La princesse des Canaries (Paris, 1883; London, as Pepita, 1888). In 1899 a ballet by Lecocq, entitled Le cygne, was staged at the Opéra Comique, Paris; and in 1903 Yetta was produced at Brussels.