Editing Léo Delibes (section)

===Composer===

In 1856 Delibes' first stage work was premiered at the Folies-Nouvelles: ''Deux sous de charbon'' (Two [[Sou (coin)|sous-worth]] of coal), a one-act comic piece to a libretto by [[Jules Moinaux]], described as an "asphyxie lyrique".<ref>Curzon, p. 13</ref> Over the next fourteen years he produced more comic operas, at an average rate of about one a year. Many were written for the [[Bouffes-Parisiens]], the theatre run by [[Jacques Offenbach]], including ''Deux vieilles gardes'' ("Two Old Guards"), Delibes's second opera, which enjoyed enormous success, attributable in Macdonald's view to the composer's gift for "witty melody and lightness of touch".<ref name=grove/>
[[File:La-Source-Ballet.jpg|thumb|''[[La source (Saint-Léon)|La Source]]'', 1866]]
In addition to composing, Delibes earned a living as a critic (briefly in 1858); inspector of school music; and accompanist and later chorus master at the Opéra (from 1862 or 1863).{{refn|The obituary in ''Le Figaro'' gives the earlier date; ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', the later.<ref name=f/><ref name=j687/>|group=n}}. His appointment at the Opéra led to a new career as a composer of ballet music. In 1866 he was commissioned to compose two acts of ''[[La source (Saint-Léon)|La Source]]'', the other two being written by [[Ludwig Minkus]].<ref name=f/> In the view of the [[musicologist]] and critic Adolphe Jullien, Delibes "displayed such a wealth of melody as a composer of ballet music" that Minkus was "completely eclipsed".<ref name=j687>Jullien, p. 687</ref> Delibes was immediately invited to compose a waltz-[[divertissement]] called ''Le Pas de Fleurs'' to be introduced into the ballet of his former teacher Adam, ''[[Le Corsaire]]'', for a revival in 1867.<ref name=j687/> The piece was later incorporated into Delibes' music for ''La Source'' when it was revived.<ref>Grymes, James (2015). Notes to Hyperion CD CDA6796 {{oclc|904403063}}</ref>

In 1869 Delibes composed his last opérette, ''La Cour du roi Pétaud'', for the Variétés.<ref>Curzon, p. 88</ref> The following year he came to wider public notice with his score for the ballet ''[[Coppélia]]'', first performed at the Opéra in May 1870. It was an immediate success, and has remained among the most popular works in the classical ballet repertoire.<ref name=grove/> The following year he resigned from the musical staff of the Opéra and devoted himself wholly to composition. In that year he married Léontine Estelle Denain.<ref>Curzon, p. 118</ref>

Not wishing to be typecast as a ballet composer, Delibes next turned to ''[[mélodie]]s''.<ref name=j687/> In 1872 he published a collection including the songs "Myrto", "Les Filles de Cadiz" and "Bonjour Suzon".<ref>Johnson, p. 129; and Curzon, p. 53</ref> In 1873 he produced at the [[Opéra-Comique]] a comic opera in three acts, ''Le Roi l'a dit'' (The King has Said It). ''[[Le Figaro]]'' thought the libretto weak, but praised Delibes' music: "his melodic vein, his impeccable taste, his scenic skill, his beautiful humour saved a work which, without him, would have gone unnoticed".<ref name=f/> The work was a success in Paris and in German opera houses, but did not establish itself in the international repertory. Its first performances in Britain (1894) and the US (2016) were by students of, respectively, the [[Royal College of Music]] and the [[Manhattan School of Music]].<ref>"Le Roi l'a dit", ''The Era'', 15 December 1894, p. 7; and [https://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2016/6/In_Review/NEW_YORK_CITY__Le_Roi_l%E2%80%99a_dit.html "Le Roi l'a dit"], ''Opera News'', June 2016</ref> Delibes returned to the Opéra in 1876, with a grand mythological ballet, ''[[Sylvia (ballet)|Sylvia]]'', which in Jullien's view confirmed Delibes' superiority in dance music. It was well received by the press and public. In 1877 Delibes was made a [[Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur]].<ref name=f/>

Despite the success of his two ballets, Delibes was still anxious to write a serious vocal work, and composed a grand scena, ''La Mort d'Orphée'' (The Death of Orpheus), given at the Trocadéro Concerts in 1878 during the [[Exposition Universelle (1878)|Exposition Universelle]].<ref name=mw>"Leo Delibes", ''The Musical World'', 24 January 1891, pp. 69–70</ref> He followed that with a serious opera, ''[[Jean de Nivelle]]'', a medieval patriotic romance, premiered at the Opéra-Comique in 1880. Reviewers found the piece too episodic but praised the composer for "the rare and precise quality" of his melodies and "the delicate style in his writing" for the public. The Parisian critic for ''[[The Era (newspaper)|The Era]]'' considered it "the best opera, the one most likely to attain a world-wide popularity, since [[Georges Bizet|Bizet]]'s ...''[[Carmen]]''", premiered five years previously.<ref>"The Drama in Paris", ''The Era'', 14 March 1880, p. 7</ref>  The piece ran for more than a hundred performances,<ref name=f/> and was revived in Paris in 1908 but has not (in 2020) been staged there since then.<ref>Pottinger, Mark. [https://muse.jhu.edu/article/254844 "Léo Delibes, Jean de Nivelle: Dossier de presse parisienne"], ''Music and Letters'', August 2008, pp. 434–435 {{subscription required}}</ref>