Alphonse Royer
Encyclopedia
Alphonse Royer, was a French
author, dramatist and theatre manager, most remembered today for having written (with his regular collaborator, Gustave Vaëz) the libretto
s for Gaetano Donizetti
's opera La favorite
and Giuseppe Verdi
's Jérusalem
. From 1853 to 1856, he was the director of the Odéon Theatre
and from 1856 to 1862 director of the Paris Opéra
, after which he was appointed France's Inspecteur Général des Beaux-Arts (Inspector General for the Fine Arts). In his later years, he wrote a six volume history of the theatre and a history of the Paris Opéra. He also translated the theatrical works of the Italian dramatist Carlo Gozzi
, as well those of the Spanish writers, Cervantes
, Tirso de Molina
, and Juan Ruiz de Alarcón
. A Chevalier and later Officier of the Légion d'honneur
, Royer died in Paris
, the city of his birth, at the age of 71.
to a prosperous family with various commercial interests. His father was a commissaire-priseur (auctioneer) and lawyer. As a young man, Royer belonged to a literary circle inspired by Romanticism
and Liberalism
, movements for which he maintained a sympathy throughout his life. He initially trained to be a lawyer, but was more interested in poetry and the theatre and longed to travel. His father sent him abroad where for several years he travelled in Italy and the Middle East, and carried out several minor diplomatic and business missions. Royer was in Constantinople
during the 1826 revolt of the Janissaries against Mahmud II
and later wrote an account of it in his 1844 novel, Les janissaires. His experiences during those years also served as the inspirations for several other works, including his novels Venezia la bella (1834) and Robert Macaire en Orient (1840) and a collection of novellas, Un Divan (1834). On his return to Paris, Royer made his literary debut with a novel set in the Middle Ages
, Les Mauvais Garçons, which he co-authored with Henri Auguste Barbier
. It was published in 1830, the same year as his first venture into drama, Henry V et ses compagnons, co-authored with Auguste Romieu. The play premiered to great success at the Théâtre des Nouveautés
on 27 February 1830 with incidental music by Giacomo Meyerbeer
, Carl Maria von Weber
, and Louis Spohr
.
playwright and poet, Gustave Vaëz. Their first major collaboration was the translation and adaptation of Donizetti's opera, Lucia di Lammermoor
for the French stage. The successful premiere of Lucie de Lammermoor, at the Théâtre de la Renaissance
in 1839 led to several similar commissions, as well as commissions for original librettos, most notably Donizetti's La favorite
(1840), and Verdi's Jérusalem
(1847). During the period of the July Monarchy
, Royer and Vaëz became a major force in the adaptation of Italian operas for French audiences and had a virtual monopoly of the Italian repertore at the Académie Royale de Musique
. They always worked closely with the composers and were praised for the way their writing respected the movement and rhythm of the music. In the case of translated librettos, this was made all the more difficult by having to adapt their poetry to a pre-existing score intended to be sung in another language. An anonymous critic in L'Illustration
wrote of their translation for Rossini's Otello
:
Although their collaboration on the Italian operatic repertoire ended in 1847 with Jérusalem, they later wrote the original libretto for François-Auguste Gevaert
's 1853 opéra comique
, Georgette ou Le moulin de Fontenoy. In addition to their work on opera librettos, Royer and Vaëz co-wrote many plays, ranging from serious drama to comédie en vaudeville
, several of which premiered at the Théâtre de l'Odéon
.
During this period, Royer had also achieved a minor reputation as an orientalist
, partly though his novels and travel writing which were widely read at the time, but also through his biography of Mahmud II
and his articles on Mahmud's legislative reforms for the legal journal, Gazette des tribunaux. He held salon
s at his apartment in the Rue de Navarin, attended by literary figures, artists, composers and journalists, all of whom were close friends. According to Xavier Eyma, who attended the salons at that time, they resembled a "miniature divan
in Constantinople", with Turkish tobacco
smoked on traditional Turkish pipes and Turkish coffee
consumed in tiny cups. Amongst Royer's circle of friends at this time, in addition to Barbier and Vaëz, were Alphonse Karr, Camille Rogier (who travelled with Royer to Constantinople in 1840), Joseph Méry
, Balzac, Gérard de Nerval
, Théophile Gautier
and Heinrich Heine
. Heine, Gautier and Royer had a particularly close friendship. At several points they all lived near each other on the Rue de Navarin, at times sharing the same lodging. Royer and Gautier and their mistresses were also frequent visitors to Heine's summer house in Montmorency
. In 1841, Gautier and Royer were Heine's seconds in his duel
with Salomon Strauss which had involved them in lengthy negotiations with Strauss over the time, place and weapons. They were also the witnesses at Heine's marriage to his long-time mistress, Mathilde, which took place a week before the duel.
In the end, Vedel was succeeded by François Buloz
. However, in 1853 Royer was appointed director of the Théâtre de l'Odéon
, where several of his plays had premiered in the 1840s. Vaëz joined him at the Odéon as a stage and artistic director and then went with him to the Paris Opéra in 1856 when Royer became the director there. During Royer's tenure, the Opéra produced the world premieres of operas by Giuseppe Verdi
(Le trouvère, the French version of Il trovatore
), Fromental Halévy
(La Magicienne), Félicien David (Herculanum), Prince Poniatowski
(Pierre de Médicis), and Charles Gounod
(La reine de Saba
) as well as ballets by Ernest Reyer
(Sacountalâ), Daniel Auber
(Marco Spada), and Jacques Offenbach
(Le papillon
).
Managing an opera house in Paris during the Second French Empire
often meant managing the audience as well. On one notable occasion, Royer did not succeed. Napoleon III had ordered a performance of Wagner's Tannhäuser
at the Opéra which was to be its French premiere. Royer told the composer that for the opera to have any success with Parisian audiences, it required the customary ballet
, specifically at the beginning of the second act. Royer explained that the influential members of the Jockey-Club de Paris
(all of whom held season tickets) were primarily interested in watching their favourites in the corps de ballet
. They usually dined during the first act of operas, only entered their boxes when the second act began to watch the ballet, and departed immediately afterwards. Wagner adamantly refused to add a ballet to the second act, but compromised by adding one to the first act. The result was the famous fiasco of the "Paris Tannhäuser". On its opening night in 1861, the Jockey Club members duly arrived at the beginning of Act 2 and caused an uproar of shouts, whistles and laughter. Wagner recalled that when the whistling began, Royer turned to him in complete resignation and said, "Ce sont les Jockeys; nous sommes perdus." ("It's the Jockeys; we're lost.") The two successive performances were even more seriously disrupted. Wagner never permitted another production in Paris. In his autobiography, Wagner described Royer in one of their early encounters:
, as well those of the Spanish writers, Cervantes, Tirso de Molina
, and Juan Ruiz de Alarcón
. Royer's 1865 Théâtre d'Alarcón was the first time any of Alarcón's plays had been published in French translation. He had been made a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur
in 1844, and in 1867 was promoted to Officier.
Alphonse Royer died of pneumonia
in Paris on 11 April 1875 at the age of 71. His funeral took place at the Église de la Sainte-Trinité, followed by burial in Père Lachaise Cemetery
. Jean-Baptiste Faure
sang the Pie Jesu
during the Requiem Mass, and there were spoken tributes by Olivier Halanzier, director of the Paris Opéra, Ferdinand Dugne of the Société des auteurs dramatiques, and Emmanuel Gonzalès of the Société des gens de lettres
. Halanzier's address at the graveside emphasized Royer's personal modesty and kindness and his contribution to opera and to the Paris Opéra in particular, concluding with:
Little has been written about Royer's personal life, although Fritz H. Eisner in his analysis of four letters by Heinrich Heine
, describes one of them (circa 1843) as "written to Dolores Royer, the wife of Heine's friend Alphonse Royer". Royer's death was announced by his executor
, Charles Narrey, and his nephew, Edmond Turquet, who led the mourners at his funeral.
) to several French periodicals, including L'Europe littéraire, Revue de Paris
, Le Figaro
, Le Ménestrel, Revue des Deux Mondes
, and L'Artiste
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
author, dramatist and theatre manager, most remembered today for having written (with his regular collaborator, Gustave Vaëz) the libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
s for Gaetano Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
's opera La favorite
La favorite
La favorite is an opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, based on the play Le comte de Comminges by Baculard d'Arnaud...
and Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's Jérusalem
Jérusalem
Jérusalem is a grand opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, set to a French libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz which was partly translated and adapted from Verdi's original 1843 Italian opera, I Lombardi alla prima crociata...
. From 1853 to 1856, he was the director of the Odéon Theatre
Odeon Theatre
The Odeon Theatre is a theatre in Bucharest, Romania, located on Calea Victoriei, and is one of the best-known performing arts venues in Bucharest. As an institution, it descends from the Teatrul Muncitoresc CFR Giuleşti, founded 1946; it moved to its current location, the Sala Majestic, in 1974...
and from 1856 to 1862 director of the Paris Opéra
Paris Opera
The Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...
, after which he was appointed France's Inspecteur Général des Beaux-Arts (Inspector General for the Fine Arts). In his later years, he wrote a six volume history of the theatre and a history of the Paris Opéra. He also translated the theatrical works of the Italian dramatist Carlo Gozzi
Carlo Gozzi
Carlo, Count Gozzi was an Italian playwright.Born in Venice, he came from an old Venetian family from the Republic of Ragusa...
, as well those of the Spanish writers, Cervantes
Cervantes
-People:*Alfonso J. Cervantes , mayor of St. Louis, Missouri*Francisco Cervantes de Salazar, 16th-century man of letters*Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban composer*Jorge Cervantes, a world-renowned expert on indoor, outdoor, and greenhouse cannabis cultivation...
, Tirso de Molina
Tirso de Molina
Tirso de Molina was a Spanish Baroque dramatist, poet and a Roman Catholic monk.Originally Gabriel Téllez, he was born in Madrid. He studied at Alcalá de Henares, joined the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy on November 4, 1600, and entered the Monastery of San Antolín at Guadalajara,...
, and Juan Ruiz de Alarcón
Juan Ruiz de Alarcón
Juan Ruiz de Alarcón y Mendoza , one of the greatest Novohispanic dramatists of the Golden Age, was born in New Spain .-Genealogy:...
. A Chevalier and later Officier of the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, Royer died in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, the city of his birth, at the age of 71.
Early years and first success
Alphonse Royer was born in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to a prosperous family with various commercial interests. His father was a commissaire-priseur (auctioneer) and lawyer. As a young man, Royer belonged to a literary circle inspired by Romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
and Liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
, movements for which he maintained a sympathy throughout his life. He initially trained to be a lawyer, but was more interested in poetry and the theatre and longed to travel. His father sent him abroad where for several years he travelled in Italy and the Middle East, and carried out several minor diplomatic and business missions. Royer was in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
during the 1826 revolt of the Janissaries against Mahmud II
Mahmud II
Mahmud II was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. He was born in the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, the son of Sultan Abdulhamid I...
and later wrote an account of it in his 1844 novel, Les janissaires. His experiences during those years also served as the inspirations for several other works, including his novels Venezia la bella (1834) and Robert Macaire en Orient (1840) and a collection of novellas, Un Divan (1834). On his return to Paris, Royer made his literary debut with a novel set in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, Les Mauvais Garçons, which he co-authored with Henri Auguste Barbier
Henri Auguste Barbier
Henri Auguste Barbier was a French dramatist and poet.Born in Paris, France, Barbier was inspired by the July Revolution and poured forth a series of eager, vigorous poems, denouncing the evils of the time. They are spoken of collectively as the Iambes , though the designation is not strictly...
. It was published in 1830, the same year as his first venture into drama, Henry V et ses compagnons, co-authored with Auguste Romieu. The play premiered to great success at the Théâtre des Nouveautés
Théâtre des Nouveautés
The name Théâtre des Nouveautés has been used successively to refer to several different Parisian theatre companies and their buildings, beginning in 1827...
on 27 February 1830 with incidental music by Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer was a noted German opera composer, and the first great exponent of "grand opera." At his peak in the 1830s and 1840s, he was the most famous and successful composer of opera in Europe, yet he is rarely performed today.-Early years:He was born to a Jewish family in Tasdorf , near...
, Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school....
, and Louis Spohr
Louis Spohr
Louis Spohr was a German composer, violinist and conductor. Born Ludewig Spohr, he is usually known by the French form of his name. Described by Dorothy Mayer as "The Forgotten Master", Spohr was once as famous as Beethoven. As a violinist, his virtuoso playing was admired by Queen Victoria...
.
Librettist and playwright
In the ensuing years, Royer wrote several more novels and plays, contributed articles to a variety of Parisian periodicals, and formed a close friendship and working partnership with the BelgianBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
playwright and poet, Gustave Vaëz. Their first major collaboration was the translation and adaptation of Donizetti's opera, Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
for the French stage. The successful premiere of Lucie de Lammermoor, at the Théâtre de la Renaissance
Théâtre de la Renaissance
The name Théâtre de la Renaissance has been used successively for three distinct Parisian theatre companies. The first two companies, which were short-lived enterprises in the 19th century, used the Salle Ventadour, now an office building on the Rue Méhul in the 2nd arrondissement.The current...
in 1839 led to several similar commissions, as well as commissions for original librettos, most notably Donizetti's La favorite
La favorite
La favorite is an opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, based on the play Le comte de Comminges by Baculard d'Arnaud...
(1840), and Verdi's Jérusalem
Jérusalem
Jérusalem is a grand opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, set to a French libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz which was partly translated and adapted from Verdi's original 1843 Italian opera, I Lombardi alla prima crociata...
(1847). During the period of the July Monarchy
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of France , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...
, Royer and Vaëz became a major force in the adaptation of Italian operas for French audiences and had a virtual monopoly of the Italian repertore at the Académie Royale de Musique
Académie Royale de Musique
The Salle Le Peletier was the home of the Paris Opera from 1821 until the building was destroyed by fire in 1873. The theatre was designed and constructed by the architect François Debret on the site of the former Hôtel de Choiseul...
. They always worked closely with the composers and were praised for the way their writing respected the movement and rhythm of the music. In the case of translated librettos, this was made all the more difficult by having to adapt their poetry to a pre-existing score intended to be sung in another language. An anonymous critic in L'Illustration
L'Illustration
L'Illustration was a weekly French newspaper published in Paris. It was founded by Edouard Charton; the first issue was published on March 4, 1843....
wrote of their translation for Rossini's Otello
Otello (Rossini)
Otello is an opera in three acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Berio di Salsi, based on Shakespeare's play Othello....
:
"By virtue of work and skill, MM. Royer and Vaëz have forced our language, so cold and so unmalleable, so constrained by consonants, so loaded with epithets, to enter without too many cuts and bruises into this narrow and flexible mode of Italian poetry."
Although their collaboration on the Italian operatic repertoire ended in 1847 with Jérusalem, they later wrote the original libretto for François-Auguste Gevaert
François-Auguste Gevaert
François-Auguste Gevaert was a Belgian composer.His father was a baker, and he was intended for the same profession, but better counsels prevailed and he was permitted to study music. He was sent in 1841 to the Ghent Conservatory, where he studied under Edouard de Sommere and Martin-Joseph Mengal...
's 1853 opéra comique
Opéra comique
Opéra comique is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged out of the popular opéra comiques en vaudevilles of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent , which combined existing popular tunes with spoken sections...
, Georgette ou Le moulin de Fontenoy. In addition to their work on opera librettos, Royer and Vaëz co-wrote many plays, ranging from serious drama to comédie en vaudeville
Comédie en vaudeville
The Comédie en vaudeville was a theatrical entertainment which began in Paris towards the end of the 17th century, in which comedy was enlivened though lyrics using the melody of popular vaudeville songs.-Evolution:...
, several of which premiered at the Théâtre de l'Odéon
Odeon Theatre
The Odeon Theatre is a theatre in Bucharest, Romania, located on Calea Victoriei, and is one of the best-known performing arts venues in Bucharest. As an institution, it descends from the Teatrul Muncitoresc CFR Giuleşti, founded 1946; it moved to its current location, the Sala Majestic, in 1974...
.
During this period, Royer had also achieved a minor reputation as an orientalist
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
, partly though his novels and travel writing which were widely read at the time, but also through his biography of Mahmud II
Mahmud II
Mahmud II was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. He was born in the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, the son of Sultan Abdulhamid I...
and his articles on Mahmud's legislative reforms for the legal journal, Gazette des tribunaux. He held salon
Salon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
s at his apartment in the Rue de Navarin, attended by literary figures, artists, composers and journalists, all of whom were close friends. According to Xavier Eyma, who attended the salons at that time, they resembled a "miniature divan
Divan
A divan was a high governmental body in a number of Islamic states, or its chief official .-Etymology:...
in Constantinople", with Turkish tobacco
Turkish tobacco
Turkish tobacco or Oriental tobacco is a highly aromatic, small-leafed variety of tobacco which is sun-cured. Historically, it was cultivated primarily in Thrace and Macedonia, now divided among Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, and Turkey, but it is now also grown on the Black Sea...
smoked on traditional Turkish pipes and Turkish coffee
Turkish coffee
Turkish coffee is a method of preparing coffee where finely powdered roast coffee beans are boiled in a pot , with sugar according to taste, before being served into a cup where the dregs settle...
consumed in tiny cups. Amongst Royer's circle of friends at this time, in addition to Barbier and Vaëz, were Alphonse Karr, Camille Rogier (who travelled with Royer to Constantinople in 1840), Joseph Méry
Joseph Méry
Joseph Méry was a French writer.Méry was born at Marseille. An ardent romanticist, he collaborated with Auguste Barthélemy in many of his satires and wrote a great number of stories, now forgotten...
, Balzac, Gérard de Nerval
Gérard de Nerval
Gérard de Nerval was the nom-de-plume of the French poet, essayist and translator Gérard Labrunie, one of the most essentially Romantic French poets.- Biography :...
, Théophile Gautier
Théophile Gautier
Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, art critic and literary critic....
and Heinrich Heine
Heinrich Heine
Christian Johann Heinrich Heine was one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century. He was also a journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder by composers such as Robert Schumann...
. Heine, Gautier and Royer had a particularly close friendship. At several points they all lived near each other on the Rue de Navarin, at times sharing the same lodging. Royer and Gautier and their mistresses were also frequent visitors to Heine's summer house in Montmorency
Montmorency, Val-d'Oise
Montmorency is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Montmorency was the fief of the Montmorency family, one of the oldest and most distinguished families of the French nobility...
. In 1841, Gautier and Royer were Heine's seconds in his duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
with Salomon Strauss which had involved them in lengthy negotiations with Strauss over the time, place and weapons. They were also the witnesses at Heine's marriage to his long-time mistress, Mathilde, which took place a week before the duel.
Theatre manager
Royer had been spoken of as a possible successor to Vedel, the director of Théâtre-Français, who resigned his post in 1840. In suggesting him for the directorship, La Presse wrote:"... M. Alphonse Royer, a man of taste, tact and charming demeanor. The government would find in him an experienced and skilful supporter and an enlightened defender of our great literary traditions."
In the end, Vedel was succeeded by François Buloz
François Buloz
François Buloz was a French littérateur, magazine editor, and theater administrator.He was born in Vulbens, Haute-Savoie, near Geneva, and died in Paris....
. However, in 1853 Royer was appointed director of the Théâtre de l'Odéon
Odeon Theatre
The Odeon Theatre is a theatre in Bucharest, Romania, located on Calea Victoriei, and is one of the best-known performing arts venues in Bucharest. As an institution, it descends from the Teatrul Muncitoresc CFR Giuleşti, founded 1946; it moved to its current location, the Sala Majestic, in 1974...
, where several of his plays had premiered in the 1840s. Vaëz joined him at the Odéon as a stage and artistic director and then went with him to the Paris Opéra in 1856 when Royer became the director there. During Royer's tenure, the Opéra produced the world premieres of operas by Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
(Le trouvère, the French version of Il trovatore
Il trovatore
Il trovatore is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto...
), Fromental Halévy
Fromental Halévy
Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy , was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera La Juive.-Early career:...
(La Magicienne), Félicien David (Herculanum), Prince Poniatowski
Jozef Michal Poniatowski
Jozef Michal Poniatowski was a Polish szlachcic, a composer and an operatic tenor. He was the nephew of the Polish general Prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski...
(Pierre de Médicis), and Charles Gounod
Charles Gounod
Charles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:...
(La reine de Saba
La reine de Saba
La reine de Saba is a grand opera in four or five acts by Charles Gounod to a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré inspired by Gérard de Nerval's Le voyage en Orient...
) as well as ballets by Ernest Reyer
Ernest Reyer
Ernest Reyer, the adopted name of Louis Étienne Ernest Rey, was a French opera composer and music critic .- Biography :...
(Sacountalâ), Daniel Auber
Daniel Auber
Daniel François Esprit Auber was a French composer.-Biography:The son of a Paris print-seller, Auber was born in Caen in Normandy. Though his father expected him to continue in the print-selling business, he also allowed his son to learn how to play several musical instruments...
(Marco Spada), and Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
(Le papillon
Le Papillon (ballet)
Le papillon is a "fantastic ballet" in 2 acts, with choreography by Marie Taglioni and music by Jacques Offenbach to a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges....
).
Managing an opera house in Paris during the Second French Empire
Second French Empire
The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
often meant managing the audience as well. On one notable occasion, Royer did not succeed. Napoleon III had ordered a performance of Wagner's Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (opera)
Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
at the Opéra which was to be its French premiere. Royer told the composer that for the opera to have any success with Parisian audiences, it required the customary ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
, specifically at the beginning of the second act. Royer explained that the influential members of the Jockey-Club de Paris
Jockey-Club de Paris
The Jockey Club de Paris is best remembered as a gathering of the elite of nineteenth-century French society. The club still exists at 2 rue Rabelais, and hosts the International Federation of Racing Authorities...
(all of whom held season tickets) were primarily interested in watching their favourites in the corps de ballet
Corps de ballet
In ballet, the corps de ballet is the group of dancers who are not soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and often work as a backdrop for the principal dancers. A corps de ballet works as one, with synchronized movements and corresponding positioning on the stage...
. They usually dined during the first act of operas, only entered their boxes when the second act began to watch the ballet, and departed immediately afterwards. Wagner adamantly refused to add a ballet to the second act, but compromised by adding one to the first act. The result was the famous fiasco of the "Paris Tannhäuser". On its opening night in 1861, the Jockey Club members duly arrived at the beginning of Act 2 and caused an uproar of shouts, whistles and laughter. Wagner recalled that when the whistling began, Royer turned to him in complete resignation and said, "Ce sont les Jockeys; nous sommes perdus." ("It's the Jockeys; we're lost.") The two successive performances were even more seriously disrupted. Wagner never permitted another production in Paris. In his autobiography, Wagner described Royer in one of their early encounters:
"On one of these occasions BulowHans von BülowHans Guido Freiherr von Bülow was a German conductor, virtuoso pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. He was one of the most famous conductors of the 19th century, and his activity was critical for establishing the successes of several major composers of the time, including Richard...
accompanied me, and we were both struck by a ridiculous habit peculiar to this singular old man, whom Belloni said he had known in his youth as a box-office clerk at the Scala TheatreLa ScalaLa Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
in Milan. He suffered from involuntary spasmodic movements of the hands, the result of certain not very creditable physical infirmities, and probably to conceal these he continually toyed with a small stick, which he tossed to and fro with seeming affectation."
Later years
Royer remained director of the Paris Opéra until Vaëz's death in 1862, after which he left to become France's Inspecteur Général des Beaux-Arts (Inspector General for the Fine Arts). In his later years, he devoted himself to writing a six volume history of the theatre (the last two volumes of which were published posthumously) and a history of the Paris Opéra. He also translated the collected theatrical works of the Italian dramatist Carlo GozziCarlo Gozzi
Carlo, Count Gozzi was an Italian playwright.Born in Venice, he came from an old Venetian family from the Republic of Ragusa...
, as well those of the Spanish writers, Cervantes, Tirso de Molina
Tirso de Molina
Tirso de Molina was a Spanish Baroque dramatist, poet and a Roman Catholic monk.Originally Gabriel Téllez, he was born in Madrid. He studied at Alcalá de Henares, joined the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy on November 4, 1600, and entered the Monastery of San Antolín at Guadalajara,...
, and Juan Ruiz de Alarcón
Juan Ruiz de Alarcón
Juan Ruiz de Alarcón y Mendoza , one of the greatest Novohispanic dramatists of the Golden Age, was born in New Spain .-Genealogy:...
. Royer's 1865 Théâtre d'Alarcón was the first time any of Alarcón's plays had been published in French translation. He had been made a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
in 1844, and in 1867 was promoted to Officier.
Alphonse Royer died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
in Paris on 11 April 1875 at the age of 71. His funeral took place at the Église de la Sainte-Trinité, followed by burial in Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris, France , though there are larger cemeteries in the city's suburbs.Père Lachaise is in the 20th arrondissement, and is reputed to be the world's most-visited cemetery, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the...
. Jean-Baptiste Faure
Jean-Baptiste Faure
Jean-Baptiste Faure was a celebrated French operatic baritone and an art collector of great significance. He also composed a number of classical songs.-Singing career:Faure was born in Moulins...
sang the Pie Jesu
Pie Jesu
Pie Jesu is a motet derived from the final couplet of the Dies irae and often included in musical settings of the Requiem Mass. The settings of the Requiem Mass by Luigi Cherubini, Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Duruflé, John Rutter, Karl Jenkins and Fredrik Sixten include a Pie Jesu as an independent...
during the Requiem Mass, and there were spoken tributes by Olivier Halanzier, director of the Paris Opéra, Ferdinand Dugne of the Société des auteurs dramatiques, and Emmanuel Gonzalès of the Société des gens de lettres
Société des gens de lettres
The Sociéte des gens de lettres de France is a writers' association founded in 1838 by the notable French authors Honoré de Balzac, Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, and George Sand...
. Halanzier's address at the graveside emphasized Royer's personal modesty and kindness and his contribution to opera and to the Paris Opéra in particular, concluding with:
"This is why his memory will live on with us. This is why his memory will be always dear to the Opéra. Finally, gentlemen, why all of you share my words, my regrets, my tears!"
Little has been written about Royer's personal life, although Fritz H. Eisner in his analysis of four letters by Heinrich Heine
Heinrich Heine
Christian Johann Heinrich Heine was one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century. He was also a journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder by composers such as Robert Schumann...
, describes one of them (circa 1843) as "written to Dolores Royer, the wife of Heine's friend Alphonse Royer". Royer's death was announced by his executor
Executor
An executor, in the broadest sense, is one who carries something out .-Overview:...
, Charles Narrey, and his nephew, Edmond Turquet, who led the mourners at his funeral.
Principal works
In addition to the works listed here, Royer was a regular contributor of articles, literary and music criticism, and serialized fiction (romans feuilletonFeuilleton
Feuilleton was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criticism, a chronicle of the latest fashions, and epigrams, charades and other literary trifles...
) to several French periodicals, including L'Europe littéraire, Revue de Paris
Revue de Paris
Revue de Paris was a French literary magazine founded in 1829 by Louis Desiré Veron....
, Le Figaro
Le Figaro
Le Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
, Le Ménestrel, Revue des Deux Mondes
Revue des deux mondes
The Revue des deux Mondes is a French language monthly literary and cultural affairs magazine that has been published in Paris since 1829....
, and L'Artiste
L'Artiste
L’Artiste was a weekly illustrated review published in Paris from 1831 to 1904, supplying "the richest single source of contemporary commentary on artists, exhibitions and trends from the Romantic era to the end of the nineteenth century."...
.
Opera librettos
The date and theatre given for a translated libretto is the date of the first performance using that translation.- Lucie de Lammermoor (Donizetti) – French translation and adaptation (with Gustave Vaëz), Théâtre de la RenaissanceThéâtre de la RenaissanceThe name Théâtre de la Renaissance has been used successively for three distinct Parisian theatre companies. The first two companies, which were short-lived enterprises in the 19th century, used the Salle Ventadour, now an office building on the Rue Méhul in the 2nd arrondissement.The current...
, Paris 1839 - La favoriteLa favoriteLa favorite is an opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, based on the play Le comte de Comminges by Baculard d'Arnaud...
(Donizetti) – Original libretto (with Gustave Vaëz and Eugène ScribeEugène ScribeAugustin Eugène Scribe , was a French dramatist and librettist. He is best known for the perfection of the so-called "well-made play" . This dramatic formula was a mainstay of popular theater for over 100 years.-Biography:...
), Paris OpéraParis OperaThe Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...
(Salle Le Peletier), 1840 - Don PasqualeDon PasqualeDon Pasquale is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The librettist Giovanni Ruffini wrote the Italian language libretto after Angelo Anelli's libretto for Stefano Pavesi's Ser Marcantonio ....
(Donizetti) – French translation (with Gustave Vaëz), Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
1843 - OtelloOtello (Rossini)Otello is an opera in three acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Berio di Salsi, based on Shakespeare's play Othello....
(Rossini) – French translation (with Gustave Vaëz), Paris Opéra (Salle Le Peletier), 1844 - Robert BruceRobert Bruce (opera)Robert Bruce is an 1846 pastiche opera in three acts, with music by Gioachino Rossini and Louis Niedermeyer to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, after Walter Scott's History of Scotland...
(Rossini and NiedermeyerLouis NiedermeyerAbraham Louis Niedermeyer was a composer chiefly of church music but also of a few operas, and a teacher who took over the Ecole Choron, duly renamed École Niedermeyer, a school for the study and practice of church music, where several eminent French musicians studied including Gabriel Fauré and...
, pastiche opera) – French translation (with Gustave Vaëz), Paris Opéra (Salle Le Peletier), 1846 - Les premiers pas (AdamAdolphe AdamAdolphe Charles Adam was a French composer and music critic. A prolific composer of operas and ballets, he is best known today for his ballets Giselle and Le corsaire , his operas Le postillon de Lonjumeau , Le toréador and Si j'étais roi , and his Christmas...
, Auber, CarafaMichele CarafaMichele Enrico Carafa di Colobrano was an Italian opera composer. He was born in Naples and studied in Paris with Luigi Cherubini. He was Professor of counterpoint at the Paris Conservatoire from 1840 to 1858...
, and HalévyFromental HalévyJacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy , was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera La Juive.-Early career:...
) – Original libretto (with Gustave Vaëz), Cirque Olympique, Paris 1847 - JérusalemJérusalemJérusalem is a grand opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, set to a French libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz which was partly translated and adapted from Verdi's original 1843 Italian opera, I Lombardi alla prima crociata...
(Verdi) – Original libretto (with Gustave Vaëz), Paris Opéra (Salle Le Peletier), 1847 - Georgette ou Le moulin de Fontenoy (GevaertFrançois-Auguste GevaertFrançois-Auguste Gevaert was a Belgian composer.His father was a baker, and he was intended for the same profession, but better counsels prevailed and he was permitted to study music. He was sent in 1841 to the Ghent Conservatory, where he studied under Edouard de Sommere and Martin-Joseph Mengal...
) – Original libretto (with Gustave Vaëz), Théâtre LyriqueThéâtre LyriqueThe Théâtre Lyrique was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century . The company was founded in 1847 as the Opéra-National by the French composer Adolphe Adam and renamed Théâtre Lyrique in 1852...
, Paris 1853 - Alessandro StradellaAlessandro Stradella (opera)Alessandro Stradella is a romantic opera in three acts composed by Friedrich von Flotow to a German libretto by "Wilhelm Friedrich" . Set in Venice and the countryside near Rome, it is loosely based on the colourful life of the 17th century Italian composer and singer Alessandro Stradella...
(FlotowFriedrich von FlotowFriedrich Adolf Ferdinand, Freiherr von Flotow was a German composer. He is chiefly remembered for his opera Martha, which was popular in the 19th century....
) – French translation (with Gustave Oppelt), Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels 1859
Plays
- Henry V et ses compagnons (with Auguste Romieu), Théâtre des NouveautésThéâtre des NouveautésThe name Théâtre des Nouveautés has been used successively to refer to several different Parisian theatre companies and their buildings, beginning in 1827...
, Paris 1830 - Le Voyage à Pontoise (with Gustave Vaëz), Théâtre de l'OdéonOdeon TheatreThe Odeon Theatre is a theatre in Bucharest, Romania, located on Calea Victoriei, and is one of the best-known performing arts venues in Bucharest. As an institution, it descends from the Teatrul Muncitoresc CFR Giuleşti, founded 1946; it moved to its current location, the Sala Majestic, in 1974...
, Paris 1842 - Le Bourgeois grand seigneur (with Gustave Vaëz), Théâtre de l'Odéon, Paris 1842
- Mademoiselle Rose (with Gustave Vaëz), Théâtre de l'Odéon, Paris 1843
- La Comtesse d'Altenberg (with Gustave Vaëz), Théâtre de l'Odéon, Paris 1843
- La Dame de trèfle (with Gustave Vaëz and Charles Narrey) Théâtre du VaudevilleThéâtre du VaudevilleThe Théâtre du Vaudeville was a theatre in Paris. It opened on 12 January 1792 on rue de Chartres. Its directors, Piis and Barré, mainly put on "petites pièces mêlées de couplets sur des airs connus", including vaudevilles....
, Paris 1850 - Les Fantaisies de Milord, (with Gustave Vaëz and Charles Narrey), Théâtre des VariétésThéâtre des VariétésThe Théâtre des Variétés is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1975.-History:...
, Paris 1850 - Le Jour et la nuit, (with Gustave Vaëz), Théâtre des Variétés, Paris 1850
- Un ami malheureux, (with Gustave Vaëz) Théâtre du Vaudeville, Paris 1850
- Chodruc-Duclos, ou l'Homme à la longue barbe, (with Gustave Vaëz and Michel Delaporte), Théâtre de la Gaîté, Paris 1850
- Déménagé d'hier, (with Gustave Vaëz and Charles Narrey), Théâtre des Variétés, Paris 1852
- Grandeur et décadence de M. Joseph Prudhomme, (with Henri Monnier), Théâtre de l'Odéon, Paris 1852
Novels
- Les Mauvais Garçons (with Henri Auguste BarbierHenri Auguste BarbierHenri Auguste Barbier was a French dramatist and poet.Born in Paris, France, Barbier was inspired by the July Revolution and poured forth a series of eager, vigorous poems, denouncing the evils of the time. They are spoken of collectively as the Iambes , though the designation is not strictly...
), Paris: Eugène Renduel, 1830 - Venezia la bella, Paris: Eugène Renduel, 1834
- Un Divan (collection of novellas), Paris: Abel Ledoux, 1834
- Manoël, Paris: Abel Ledoux, 1834
- L'Auberge des trois pins (with Roger de BeauvoirRoger de BeauvoirRoger de Beauvoir was the pen name of French Romantic novelist and playwright Eugène Auguste Roger de Bully . His wit, good-looks and adventurous lifestyle made him well-known in Paris, where he was a friend of Alexandre Dumas, père...
), Paris: Dumont, 1836 - Le Connétable de Bourbon, Paris: Werdet, 1838
- Robert Macaire en Orient, Paris: Dumont, 1840
- Mademoiselle Béata, Paris: Dumont, 1840
- Les Janissaires, Paris: Duval, 1844
Non-fiction
- Aventures de voyage, tableaux, récits et souvenirs du Levant, Paris: Dumont, 1837
- Histoire universelle du théâtre, Paris: A. Franck, 1869
- Histoire de l'Opéra, Paris: Bachelin-Deflorenne, 1875
Literary translations
- Théâtre de Michel CervantesCervantes-People:*Alfonso J. Cervantes , mayor of St. Louis, Missouri*Francisco Cervantes de Salazar, 16th-century man of letters*Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban composer*Jorge Cervantes, a world-renowned expert on indoor, outdoor, and greenhouse cannabis cultivation...
, Paris: Michel Lévy frères, 1862 - Théâtre de Tirso de MolinaTirso de MolinaTirso de Molina was a Spanish Baroque dramatist, poet and a Roman Catholic monk.Originally Gabriel Téllez, he was born in Madrid. He studied at Alcalá de Henares, joined the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy on November 4, 1600, and entered the Monastery of San Antolín at Guadalajara,...
, Paris: Michel Lévy frères, 1863 - Théâtre d' AlarcónJuan Ruiz de AlarcónJuan Ruiz de Alarcón y Mendoza , one of the greatest Novohispanic dramatists of the Golden Age, was born in New Spain .-Genealogy:...
, Paris: Michel Lévy frères, 1865 - Théâtre fiabesque de Carlo GozziCarlo GozziCarlo, Count Gozzi was an Italian playwright.Born in Venice, he came from an old Venetian family from the Republic of Ragusa...
, Paris: Michel Lévy frères, 1865
Sources
- Ashbrook, William, Donizetti and His Operas, Cambridge University Press, 1983, pp. 591-592. ISBN 0521276632
- Casaglia, Gherardo, "Alphonse Royer", Almanacco Amadeus, 2005 (accessed 15 June 2010, in Italian)
- Claveau, Anatole "Chronique littéraire", Revue contemporaine, 1867 (in French)
- Douhair, P. "Revue Critique", Le CorrespondantLe CorrespondantLe Correspondant was a French Catholic review, founded in March 1829 by Louis de Carné, Edmond de Cazalès and Augustin de Meaux, under the motto "Civil and religious liberty throughout the universe" . It ceased publication in 1937....
, Volume 64, 1865 (in French) - Duval, Georges, L'Année théatral, Paris: Tresse, 1876 (in French)
- Eisner, Fritz H., "Four Heine Letters", The Leo Baeck Institute Yearbook, Volume 6, Number 1, January 1961, pp. 280-284
- Everist, Mark, "Partners in Rhyme: Alphonse Royer, Gustave Vaëz, and foreign opera in Paris during the July Monarchy" in Roberta Montemorra Marvin and Hilary Poriss (eds.), Fashions and Legacies of Nineteenth-Century Italian Opera, Cambridge University Press, 2009, pp. 30-52. ISBN 0521889987
- Eyma, Xavier, "Causerie", Le Moniteur de la mode, July 1866, pp. 218-220 (in French)
- Fejtő, FrançoisFerenc FejtoFerenc Fejtő, , was a Hungarian-born French journalist and political scientist, specializing in Eastern Europe....
, Henri Heine, Maréchal, 1946 (in French) - Gautier, Théophile, Correspondance générale, Volume 1 edited by Claudine Lacoste-Veysseyre, Librairie Droz, 1985 (in French)
- Holub, Robert C., "Heinrich Heine" in German Writers in the Age of Goethe, 1789-1832 (Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 90), Gale, 1989, pp. 145-156
- La Presse, "Novelles et faits divers", 2 January 1840, p. 2 (in French)
- La Presse, "Courrier des théâtres", 13 April 1875, p. 2 (in French)
- La Presse, "Courrier des théâtres", 15 April 1875, p. 3 (in French)
- Le Ménestrel, "Semaine théâtrale et musicale", 18 April 1875) pp. 155-156 (in French)
- Norton, Leslie, Léonide Massine and the 20th Century Ballet, McFarland, 2004. ISBN 0786417528
- Royer, Alphonse, Théâtre d'Alarcón, Michel Lévy frères, 1865 (in French)
- Sadie, StanleyStanley SadieStanley Sadie CBE was a leading British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , which was published as the first edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.Sadie was educated at St Paul's School,...
(ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Vol. 4, Oxford University Press, 1992, p. 76. ISBN 9780195221862 - Schreier, Lise, Seul dans l'orient lointain: Les voyages de Nerval et Du Camp, Université de Saint-Etienne, 2006. ISBN 2862724270 (in French)
- Tajan, Catalogue: Nadar et son Panthéon, 3 December 2004, p. 90 (accessed 15 June 2010, in French)
- Théâtre de l'OdéonOdeon TheatreThe Odeon Theatre is a theatre in Bucharest, Romania, located on Calea Victoriei, and is one of the best-known performing arts venues in Bucharest. As an institution, it descends from the Teatrul Muncitoresc CFR Giuleşti, founded 1946; it moved to its current location, the Sala Majestic, in 1974...
, Complete repertoire: 1782-1997 (accessed 15 June 2010) - Vaëz, Gustave, "Alphonse Royer", in Louis Huart and Charles PhiliponCharles PhiliponCharles Philipon . Born in Lyon, he was a French lithographer, caricaturist and journalist. He was the editor of the La Caricature and of Le Charivari, both satirical political journals....
(eds.), Galerie de la presse, de la littérature et des beaux-arts, Volume 2, Au Bureau de la Publication, et Chez Aubert, 1840 (in French) - Vapereau, GustaveLouis Gustave VapereauLouis Gustave Vapereau was a French writer and lexicographer famous primarily for his dictionaries, the Dictionnaire universel des contemporains and the Dictionnaire universel des littérateurs.-Biography:...
(ed.), "Royer, Alphonse", Dictionnaire universel des contemporains: contenant toutes les personnes notables de la France et des pays étrangers, 5th Edition, Hachette, 1880, p. 1588 (in French) - Wagner, Richard, My Life, Volume 2, Dodd, Mead and Company, 1911.