Nicolas Isouard

Nicolas Isouard (also known as Nicolò, Nicolò Isoiar or Nicolò de Malte;^[1] 18 May 1773 – 23 March 1818) was a Franco-Maltese composer.

Biography

Born in Valletta, Malta, Isouard studied in Rabat or Mdina with Francesco Azopardi, in Palermo with Giuseppe Amendola, and in Naples with Nicola Sala and Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi. From 1795 he was organist at Saint John's Co-Cathedral - the Conventual Church of the Order of Saint John in Valletta

He moved to Paris, where he worked as a free composer and became friends with Rodolphe Kreutzer. The pair worked together on several operas, including Le Petit page, ou La Prison d'état (1800) and Flaminius à Corinthe (1801). Isouard adopted the pseudonym Nicolò (or Nicolò de Malte) and found rapid success in the field of opéra comique with Michel-Ange (1802) and L'Intrigue aux fenêtres (1805). He composed regularly for the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique, writing some thirty works for it.

He composed masses, motets, cantatas, romances, and duos, along with over 45 operas.

Family and legacy

Nicolò Isouard bust in Mosta

Isouard had two daughters, Sophie-Nicole (1809–1885), a composer of romances, and Annette-Julie (1814–1876), a pianist and composer. His brother Joseph (1794–1863) had a career as a singer and opera director before being named inspector of historic monuments in Rouen. Nicolas Isouard died in Paris and was buried in Notre-Dame-des-Victoires. A bust of the composer was placed on one of the facades of both the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique and the Palais Garnier, and one of the main squares in Paris was given his name.

Works

Casaciello, perseguitato da un Mago, Opera buffa - Two-act comedy 1793, Malta
L'avviso a Maritati, Opera, Florence June 1794
Artaserse, re di Persia, Opera seria, Livorno August 1794. Two excerpts only survive. Edited by Richard Divall
Il barbiere di Siviglia, Opera buffa after Pierre Beaumarchais, Malta Teatro Manoel 1796
Rinaldo d'Asti, Dramma giocoso, Malta 1796
L'improvvisata in campagna, Opera buffa, Malta 1796-7
I due avari, Commedia per musica, Malta 1797
Il bottaio, Opera comique, 1798
Il barone d'Alba chiara, Commedia per musica, Carnevale, Malta 1798
Ginevra di Scozia, Dramma serio eroico, 1798
Le Petit page, ou La Prison d'état, Opera, Paris, February 1801
Flaminius à Corinthe, Opera, Paris February 1801
Le Tonellier Opera-comique, Paris May 1801
L'Impromptu de campagne, Opera-comique, Paris June 1801
La Statue, ou La Femme avare, Opera comique, 1802
Michel-Ange, Opera, 1802
Les Confidences, Opera, 1803
Le Baiser et la quittance, ou Une Aventure de garnison, Opera comique, 1803
Le Médecin turc, Opéra bouffon, 1803
L'Intrigue aux fenêtres, Opera, 1805
La Ruse inutile, ou Les Rivaux par convention, Opera, 1805
Léonce, ou Le Fils adoptif, Opera, 1805
La Prise de Passaw, Opera comique, 1806
Le Déjeuner de garçons, Comédie mêlée de musique, 1806
Idala, ou La Sultane, Opera comique, 1806
Les Rendez-vous bourgeois, Opéra bouffon, 1807
Les Créanciers, ou Le Remède à la goutte, Opera comique, 1807
Un Jour à Paris, ou La Leçon singulière, Opera comique, 1808
Cimarosa, Opera comique, 1808
Zélomir, ou L'Intrigue au sérail, Opera comique, 1809
Cendrillon, Opéra féerie after Charles Perrault, 1810
La Victime des arts, ou La Fête de famille, Opera comique, 1811
La Fête de village, ou L'Heureux militaire, Opera comique, 1811
Le Billet de loterie, Opera comique, 1811
Le Magicien sans magie, Opera comique, 1811
Lulli et Quinault, ou Le Déjeuner impossible, Opera comique, 1812
Le Prince de Catane, ou Alamon, Opera, 1813
Le Français à Venise, Opera comique, 1813
Bayard à Mézières, ou Le Siège de Mézières, Opera comique, 1814
Joconde, ou Les Coureurs d'aventures, Opera comique, 1814
Jeannot et Colin, Opera comique, 1814
Les Deux maris, Opera comique, 1816
L'Une pour l'autre, ou L'Enlèvement, Opera comique, 1816
Les Deux capitaines de hussards Opera comique, Paris, March 1817
Aladin, ou La Lampe merveilleuse, Opéra féerie, 1822
Une Nuit de Gustave Wasa, Opera, 1825

Sacred works - all with orchestra and voices (In alphabetical order). Original Manuscripts - Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris

Angelus Domini
Credo Leg a 4 Voci 1795
De torrente in A flat major
De torrente in B flat major
Diffusa est Gratia
Dixit Dominus a 4
Dixit Dominus Leg
Dominus Deus a Terzetto
Gloria in D
Gratia agimus tibi in E flat
Gloria Patri in E flat
Kyrie in E flat
Kyrie in C minor
Kyrie Messa no 2 in E flat - fragment
Juravit Dominus
Lauda Jerusalem
Laetatus sum
Magnificat
Missa a Quattro Voci 1790 ( attr. to another composer) Cospicua Archives
Missa Pro Defunctorum - Jommelli, orchestrated by Isouard (Brussels Conservatoire Library)
Nisi Dominus
Panis Angelicus
Qui Tollis
Quoniam Tu Solus
Salve Regina
Sinfonia in C minor
Stabat Mater (5 fragments) Suscepimus Deus
Te Deum 1791
Vexilla Regis
Virgam Virtutis for tenor and bass duet
Virgam Virtutis for solo tenor
Virtute Magna

All of the above have been edited by Richard Divall and are available from the University of Divinity, Australia. Richard Divall is currently preparing a publication of a monograph and complete thematic catalogue, and an edition of the opera Cendrillon.

References

^ Charlton, David & Briquet, Marie (2001). "Isouard, Nicolas". In Sadie, Stanley & Tyrrell, John (eds.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 978-1-56159-239-5.‎

External links

Free scores by Nicolas Isouard at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)

[1] Charlton, David & Briquet, Marie (2001). "Isouard, Nicolas". In Sadie, Stanley & Tyrrell, John (eds.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 978-1-56159-239-5.‎

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