Omer Letorey (4 May 1873 – 21 March 1938) was a French composer. Born in

Chalon-sur-Saône Chalon-sur-Saône (, literally ''Chalon on Saône'') is a city in the Saône-et-Loire Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefectu ...

, from 1887 Letorey attended the music school of Louis Niedermeyer. From 1891 he studied at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

with

Émile Pessard Émile Louis Fortuné Pessard (29 May 1843 – 10 February 1917) was a French composer. Pessard was born and died in Paris. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he won 1st prize in Harmony. In 1866 he won the Grand Prix de Rome with ...

; at the same time he became organist at the Ste-Elisabeth church. In 1895 he won the first Premier Grand Prix de Rome with the lyrical scene ''Clarisse Harlowe''. After his studies Letorey was musical director at the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

until 1922. Furthermore, he was from 1900 successor of

Edmond Missa Edmond may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Edmond'' (play), a 1982 play by David Mamet ** ''Edmond'' (film), a 2005 film based on the 1982 play * '' E.d.M.O.N.D'', a 2013 EP by Edmond Leung * ''Edmond'', a 2016 play by Alexis Michalik ** ''E ...

, organist at the Église Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin, from 1903 cantor and organist at the St-Pierre-de-Chaillot church and from 1923 to 1925 cantor at the St-Honoré-d'Eylau church. In addition to church music, Letorey composed several drama music and operas. His incidental music for ''Macbeth'', which was premiered in 1914 at the Comédie Française, and the opera ''Le Sicilien'' (after

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

), which was premiered in 1930 at the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...

with the mezzo-soprano Germaine Cernay, had great success. Letorey died in

Issy-les-Moulineaux Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of the river Seine. Its citizens are called in French. It is one of Paris's entrances and is located from Notre Dame Cathedral, whic ...

in 1938.

Works

* Stage music for ''Sophonisbe'' * Stage music for ''Macbeth'' by

Jean Richepin Jean Richepin (; 4 February 1849 – 12 December 1926) was a French poet, novelist and dramatist. Biography Born on 4 February 1849 at Médéa, French Algeria, Jean Richepin was the son of an army doctor. At school and at the École Normale ...

, 1914 * Stage music for ''Riquet à la Houppe'' * Stage music for ''Mangeront-ils?'' by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

* Stage music for ''Juliette et Roméo'' * Stage music for ''Le malade Imaginaire'' by Molière * Stage music for '' Les Fâcheux'' by Molière * ''Le Brand'',

symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ( ...

after

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

* ''Cléopâtre'',

opéra comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular ''opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Théâtre de la foire, Fair Theatres of St Germain and S ...

* ''Le Sicilien ou l’Amour peintre'', opéra comique, 1930 * ''L’Œillet blanc'', opéra comique * ''Valse arabesque'' for piano * ''Fleurs sans neige'' for piano * ''La Vénitienne'' for piano

External links

Omer Letorey
on Musica et memoria {{DEFAULTSORT:Letorey, Omer 1873 births 1938 deaths People from Chalon-sur-Saône Conservatoire de Paris alumni French Romantic composers 20th-century French composers French male classical composers French opera composers French composers of sacred music Prix de Rome for composition 20th-century French male musicians 19th-century French male musicians