William Bertrand Busnach
Encyclopedia
William Bertrand Busnach (7 March 1832, Paris
- 20 January 1907, Paris) was a French dramatist.
Busnach was a nephew of the composer Fromental Halévy
. His father was associated with David Ben Joseph Coen Bakri
, to whom France was indebted to the amount of some twenty-odd million francs for provisions furnished to Napoleon Bonaparte in Egypt. The lawsuit lasted for more than fifty years, and Busnach and his partner were not paid in full at the end. The elder Busnach, an Algerian Jew, became a naturalized Italian in the time of the Dey
s, and was the first interpreter of the French army. He established himself in Paris in 1835. William — an Italian Jew born in France of an Algerian father, with a German (European way of writing the Arabic name Boujnah is a more logic explanation) surname and an English given name — was at first employed in the customs department. He subsequently devoted himself to dramatic work, writing many plays, a number of which have been successful. They include: Les Virtuoses du Pavé, 1864; Première Fraîcheur, Paris-Revue, 1869; Héloïse et Abélard, with music by Henry Litolff, 1872; Forte en Gueule, La Liqueur d'Or, in collaboration with A. Liorat, music by Laurent de Rillé
1873; Kosiki, with Liorat, music by Alexandre Charles Lecocq
, 1876.
In 1867 Busnach assumed the direction of the Athénée theatre, where several of his operettas (Fleur de Thé, etc.) were performed. His greatest successes he achieved, however, with his adaptation of celebrated novels for the stage; for example, L'Assommoir
, 1881; Nana
, 1882; Pot-Bouille, 1883, all by Emile Zola
; Le Petit Jacques, by Jules Claretie, 1885; La Marchande des Quatre Saisons, etc.
Busnach is also the author of the following novels: La Fille de M. Lecoq, 1886; Le Petit Gosse, 1889; Cyprienne Guérard, 1895, etc.
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...
- 20 January 1907, Paris) was a French dramatist.
Busnach was a nephew of the composer 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:...
. His father was associated with David Ben Joseph Coen Bakri
David Ben Joseph Coen Bakri
David ben Joseph Coen Bakri was a financier and chief of the Algerian Jews.His financial abilities placed him early at the head of the important firm "Bakri Brothers", founded by his father. In 1797 David married Aziza, a niece of the powerful Naphtali Busnash, who at that time became a partner in...
, to whom France was indebted to the amount of some twenty-odd million francs for provisions furnished to Napoleon Bonaparte in Egypt. The lawsuit lasted for more than fifty years, and Busnach and his partner were not paid in full at the end. The elder Busnach, an Algerian Jew, became a naturalized Italian in the time of the Dey
Dey
Dey was the title given to the rulers of the Regency of Algiers and Tripoli under the Ottoman Empire from 1671 onwards...
s, and was the first interpreter of the French army. He established himself in Paris in 1835. William — an Italian Jew born in France of an Algerian father, with a German (European way of writing the Arabic name Boujnah is a more logic explanation) surname and an English given name — was at first employed in the customs department. He subsequently devoted himself to dramatic work, writing many plays, a number of which have been successful. They include: Les Virtuoses du Pavé, 1864; Première Fraîcheur, Paris-Revue, 1869; Héloïse et Abélard, with music by Henry Litolff, 1872; Forte en Gueule, La Liqueur d'Or, in collaboration with A. Liorat, music by Laurent de Rillé
François Anatole Laurent de Rillé
François Anatole Laurent de Rillé , was a Frenchcomposer, writer and musical theorist.De Rillé composed a number of operettas and sacred music works, but his name is more frequently associated with the so called "Orphéonist" movement, which had also Hector Berlioz and Charles Gounod among its...
1873; Kosiki, with Liorat, music by Alexandre Charles Lecocq
Alexandre Charles Lecocq
Alexandre Charles Lecocq was a French musical composer. He was admitted into the Conservatoire in 1849, being already an accomplished pianist. He studied under François Bazin, François Benoist, and Fromental Halévy, winning the first prize for harmony in 1850, and the second prize for fugue in 1852...
, 1876.
In 1867 Busnach assumed the direction of the Athénée theatre, where several of his operettas (Fleur de Thé, etc.) were performed. His greatest successes he achieved, however, with his adaptation of celebrated novels for the stage; for example, L'Assommoir
L'Assommoir
L'Assommoir is the seventh novel in Émile Zola's twenty-volume series Les Rougon-Macquart. Usually considered one of Zola's masterpieces, the novel—a harsh and uncompromising study of alcoholism and poverty in the working-class districts of Paris—was a huge commercial success and established...
, 1881; Nana
Nana (novel)
Nana is a novel by the French naturalist author Émile Zola. Completed in 1880, Nana is the ninth installment in the 20-volume Les Rougon-Macquart series, the object of which was to tell "The Natural and Social History of a Family under the Second Empire", the subtitle of the series.-Origins:A year...
, 1882; Pot-Bouille, 1883, all by Emile Zola
Émile Zola
Émile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
; Le Petit Jacques, by Jules Claretie, 1885; La Marchande des Quatre Saisons, etc.
Busnach is also the author of the following novels: La Fille de M. Lecoq, 1886; Le Petit Gosse, 1889; Cyprienne Guérard, 1895, etc.