Editing Victor Hugo (section)

==Relationship with music==
Although Hugo's many talents did not include exceptional musical ability, he nevertheless had a great impact on the music world through the inspiration that his works provided for composers of the 19th and 20th centuries. Hugo himself particularly enjoyed the music of [[Christoph Willibald Gluck|Gluck]], [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]], [[Carl Maria von Weber|Weber]] and [[Giacomo Meyerbeer|Meyerbeer]]. In {{lang|fr|Les Misérables}}, he calls the huntsman's chorus in Weber's ''[[Euryanthe]]'', "perhaps the most beautiful piece of music ever composed".<ref>Hugo, V., {{lang|fr|Les misérables}}, Volume 2, Penguin Books, 1 December 1980, p. 103.</ref> He also greatly admired [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]] and, rather unusually for his time, appreciated works by composers from earlier centuries such as [[Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina|Palestrina]] and [[Claudio Monteverdi|Monteverdi]].<ref name="autogenerated2002">"{{lang|fr|Hugo à l'Opéra}}", ed. Arnaud Laster, {{lang|fr|L'Avant-Scène Opéra}}, no. 208 (2002).</ref>

Two famous musicians of the 19th century were friends of Hugo: [[Hector Berlioz]] and [[Franz Liszt]]. The latter played Beethoven in Hugo's home, and Hugo joked in a letter to a friend that, thanks to Liszt's piano lessons, he learned how to play a favourite song on the piano – with only one finger. Hugo also worked with composer [[Louise Bertin]], writing the libretto for her 1836 opera ''[[La Esmeralda (opera)|La Esmeralda]]'', which was based on the character in ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame''.<ref name="autogenerated2002" /> Although for various reasons the opera closed soon after its fifth performance and is little known today, it has enjoyed a modern revival, both in a piano/song concert version by Liszt at the {{lang|fr|Festival international Victor Hugo et Égaux|italic=no}} 2007<ref>[http://www.festival-victorhugo-egaux.fr/cadrefrefigur07.htm {{lang|fr|Cette page use des cadres|nocat=y}}] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080508142413/http://www.festival-victorhugo-egaux.fr/cadrefrefigur07.htm |date=8 May 2008 }}. {{lang|fr|Festival international Victor Hugo et Égaux|italic=no}}. Retrieved 19 July 2012.</ref> and in a full orchestral version presented in July 2008 at {{lang|fr|Le Festival de Radio France et Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon|italic=no}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mercredi 23 juillet – 20h – Opéra Berlioz / Le Corum |url=http://www.festivalradiofrancemontpellier.com/2008/23-juillet-opera-laesmeralda-louise-bertin.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509154928/http://www.festivalradiofrancemontpellier.com/2008/23-juillet-opera-laesmeralda-louise-bertin.php |archive-date=9 May 2008 |access-date=13 April 2008}}</ref> He was also on friendly terms with [[Frederic Chopin]]. He introduced him to [[George Sand]] who would be his lover for years. In 1849, Hugo attended Chopin's funeral.

On the other hand, he had low esteem for [[Richard Wagner]], whom he described as "a man of talent coupled with imbecility."<ref>Hugo, Victor, Choses vues, 1870–1885, Gallimard, 1972, p. 353. {{ISBN|2-07-036141-1}}</ref>

Well over one thousand musical compositions have been inspired by Hugo's works from the 19th century until the present day. In particular, Hugo's plays, in which he rejected the rules of classical theatre in favour of romantic drama, attracted the interest of many composers who adapted them into operas. More than one hundred operas are based on Hugo's works and among them are [[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]]'s ''[[Lucrezia Borgia (opera)|Lucrezia Borgia]]'' (1833), [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]]'s {{lang|it|[[Rigoletto]]|nocat=y}} (1851) and ''[[Ernani]]'' (1844), and {{lang|it|[[Amilcare Ponchielli|Ponchielli]]|nocat=y}}<nowiki/>'s {{lang|it|[[La Gioconda (opera)|La Gioconda]]|nocat=y}} (1876).<ref name="autogenerated1981">"{{lang|fr|Hugo et la musique}}" in {{lang|fr|Pleins feux sur Victor Hugo}}, {{lang|fr|Arnaud Laster|italic=no}}, {{lang|fr|[[Comédie-Française]]|italic=no}} (1981)</ref>

Hugo's novels, as well as his plays, have been a great source of inspiration for musicians, stirring them to create not only opera and ballet but musical theatre such as {{lang|fr|[[Notre-Dame de Paris (musical)|Notre-Dame de Paris]]}} and the ever-popular {{lang|fr|[[Les Misérables (musical)|Les Misérables]]}}, London [[West End of London|West End]]'s longest running musical. Additionally, Hugo's poems have attracted an exceptional amount of interest from musicians, and numerous melodies have been based on his poetry by composers such as {{lang|fr|Berlioz|italic=no}}, {{lang|fr|[[Georges Bizet|Bizet]]|italic=no}}, {{lang|fr|[[Gabriel Fauré|Fauré]]|italic=no}}, {{lang|fr|[[César Franck|Franck]]|italic=no}}, {{lang|fr|[[Édouard Lalo|Lalo]]|italic=no}}, {{lang|fr|Liszt|italic=no}}, {{lang|fr|[[Jules Massenet|Massenet]]|italic=no}}, {{lang|fr|[[Camille Saint-Saëns|Saint-Saëns]]|italic=no}}, [[Sergei Rachmaninoff|Rachmaninoff]], and {{lang|de|[[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]|italic=no|nocat=y}}.<ref name="autogenerated1981" />

Today, Hugo's work continues to stimulate musicians to create new compositions. For example, Hugo's novel against capital punishment, ''The Last Day of a Condemned Man'', was adapted into an opera by {{lang|fr|[[David Alagna]]|italic=no}}, with a libretto by {{lang|fr|Frédérico Alagna|italic=no}} and premièred by their brother, tenor {{lang|fr|[[Roberto Alagna]]|italic=no}}, in 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-victorhugo-egaux.fr/Programme2008.htm |title=Festival Victor Hugo & Egaux 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080429182135/http://www.festival-victorhugo-egaux.fr/Programme2008.htm |archive-date=29 April 2008 }}</ref> In Guernsey, every two years, the Victor Hugo International Music Festival attracts a wide range of musicians and the premiere of songs specially commissioned from such composers as {{lang|fr|[[Guillaume Connesson]]|italic=no}}, {{lang|fr|{{ill|Richard Dubugnon|fr}}|italic=no}}, {{lang|fr|[[Olivier Kaspar]]|italic=no}}, and {{lang|fr|[[Thierry Escaich]]|italic=no}} and based on Hugo's poetry.

Remarkably, not only has Hugo's literary production been the source of inspiration for musical works, but also his political writings have received attention from musicians and have been adapted to music. For instance, in 2009, Italian composer Matteo Sommacal was commissioned by Festival "Bagliori d'autore" and wrote a piece for speaker and chamber ensemble entitled ''Actes et paroles'', with a text elaborated by Chiara Piola Caselli after Victor Hugo's last political speech addressed to the Assemblée législative, "Sur la Revision de la Constitution" (18 July 1851),<ref>Hugo, V. ''Actes et paroles: Avant l'exile, 1875'', [https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Discours_%C3%A0_l%E2%80%99Assembl%C3%A9e_l%C3%A9gislative_1849-1851 ''Discours à l’Assemblée législative 1849–1851''.]. J. Hetzel, Maison Quantin, Paris, 1875.</ref> and premiered in Rome on 19 November 2009, in the auditorium of the Institut français, Centre Saint-Louis, French Embassy to the Holy See, by Piccola Accademia degli Specchi featuring the composer {{ill|Matthias Kadar|nl}}.<ref>C. Pulsoni. "L'orazione di Victor Hugo trasformata in musica", ''Il Corriere dell'Umbria'', ''Vivere d'Umbria'', Perugia (IT), 19 November 2009</ref>