Alain Boublil (born 5 March 1941) is a French musical theatre

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

and

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, 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 litu ...

, best known for his collaborations with the composer

Claude-Michel Schönberg Claude-Michel Schönberg (born 6 July 1944, in Vannes) is a French record producer, actor, singer, songwriter, and musical theatre composer, best known for his collaborations with lyricist Alain Boublil. Major works include '' La Révolution Fran ...

for musicals on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

and London's West End. These include ''

La Révolution Française ''La Révolution Française'' is a French rock opera by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Raymond Jeannot, book by Alain Boublil and Jean-Max Rivière, created in 1973. The show premiered at the Palais des Sports de Paris. Synopsis With the Frenc ...

'' (1973), ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

'' (1980), ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed roma ...

'' (1989), ''

Martin Guerre Martin Guerre, a French peasant of the 16th century, was at the centre of a famous case of imposture. Several years after Martin Guerre had left his wife, child and village, a man claiming to be him appeared. He lived with Guerre's wife and so ...

'' (1996), '' The Pirate Queen'' (2006), and '' Marguerite'' (2008).

Life and career

Boublil was born in Tunisia, to a Sephardic Jewish family. Boublil's first musical, ''

'', was the first-ever staged French

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

. It was conceived by Boublil in 1973 after he watched the premiere of '' Jesus Christ Superstar'' in New York. The composer was

, with whom Boublil has since collaborated on a number of successful projects, including ''Les Misérables'' and ''Miss Saigon''. ''Les Misérables'' first opened in Paris in 1980. On 8 October 1985, an English-language production of ''

'' produced by

Cameron Mackintosh Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "th ...

and directed by

Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas ...

and John Caird premiered in London at

The Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

's Barbican Theatre. The show transferred to the West End's Palace Theatre on 4 December 1985. It is the longest-running musical in West End history.

''Les Misérables''

Productions based on the Nunn/Mackintosh staging of ''

'' have been staged all over the world, including a second French production which opened in Paris in 1991. Worldwide, ''Les Misérables'' has been seen by over 50 million people, with a total box office gross of over $1.8 billion.

''Miss Saigon''

'' opened in London on 20 September 1989 where it played for 10 consecutive successful years at the Drury Lane Theatre. It spawned two US touring companies, a Toronto production and has been seen by more than 13.2 million people in North America for a gross of $612 million.

Other works

With

Javier Arroyuelo Javier Arroyuelo (born in Argentina) is an author and journalist. Born in Avellaneda, Buenos Aires, in 1949. He has lived in Paris (1969-2006) then in Buenos Aires since 2006. Career Journalism His first contribution to ''Vogue Paris'' in colla ...

and

Rafael Lopez Sanchez Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California * Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israeli manufacturer of weapons and military technology * Hurricane Rafael, a 2012 hurricane Fiction * ''R ...

, Boublil worked on the French translation of ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the ...

'' for its French premiere in 1975. Alain and Daniel Boublil created ''

Abbacadabra ''ABBAcadabra'' is a French children's musical based on songs from the pop group ABBA. It was originally produced for French television in 1983 by Alain and Daniel Boublil, but which was later also transferred to an English stage version and tw ...

,'' a French children's musical based on songs from the pop group ABBA, for French television in 1983. ''

'' reached the West End in 1996 and won the 1997 Olivier Award for Best Musical. Productions on tour in the UK and the US, and Europe followed, but the show failed to repeat the success of its two predecessors. Boublil has also written the play ''Le Journal d'Adam et Eve'', based on two short stories by Mark Twain. It premiered in Paris in 1994 at Le Petit Montparnasse. He has worked on the stage adaptation of Jacques Demy's ''Les Demoiselles de Rochefort'', together with composer

Michel Legrand Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz pianist. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to many son ...

, that opened at Le Palais des Congrès in 2003. Boublil and Schönberg's '' The Pirate Queen''—a musical about the 16th century

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

pirate, chieftain and adventuress

Grace O'Malley Grace O'Malley ( – c. 1603), also known as Gráinne O'Malley ( ga, Gráinne Ní Mháille, ), was the head of the Ó Máille dynasty in the west of Ireland, and the daughter of Eóghan Dubhdara Ó Máille. In Irish folklore she is commonly k ...

—debuted at

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

's Cadillac Palace Theatre in fall 2006. It then moved to Broadway, where it closed in 2007. The musical starred Stephanie J. Block as Grace, and

Hadley Fraser Robert Hugh "Hadley" Fraser (born 21 April 1980) is an English actor and singer. He made his West End debut as Marius in ''Les Misérables''. He also originated the role of Tiernan in the Broadway show '' The Pirate Queen''. Life and career ...

as Tiernan. The musical '' Marguerite'' is by Alain Boublil and

, and includes music by

and lyrics by

Herbert Kretzmer Herbert Kretzmer (5 October 192514 October 2020) was a South African-born English journalist and lyricist. He was best known as the lyricist for the English-language musical adaptation of ''Les Misérables'' and for his long-time collaboration ...

. Set during World War II in occupied Paris, and inspired by the romantic novel ''

The Lady of the Camellias ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (by

Alexandre Dumas, fils Alexandre Dumas (; 27 July 1824 – 27 November 1895) was a French author and playwright, best known for the romantic novel ''La Dame aux Camélias'' (''The Lady of the Camellias''), published in 1848, which was adapted into Giuseppe Verdi's 1 ...

), ''Marguerite'' is about the mistress of a high-ranking German officer who attracts the love of a pianist half her age. The musical premiered on 6 May 2008 at the Royal Haymarket Theatre in London. Marguerite received its London revival at the

Tabard Theatre The Tabard Theatre is a small 96-seat theatre in Chiswick in the London Borough of Hounslow. Close to Turnham Green Underground station, it is situated above the Tabard public house on Bath Road. The Tabard Theatre was licensed and opened for t ...

, Chiswick in October 2012. Staged by Alex Parker Productions, the revised show had a new book by Boublil and Guy Unsworth, and a reworked score (adaptation, orchestration and arrangement) by Jude Obermüller. He was nominated for

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

70th Golden Globe Awards The 70th Golden Globe Awards honoring the best in film and television of 2012, was broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on January 13, 2013, by NBC. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler co-hosted. Nominations were annou ...

for the song "Suddenly" from the 2012 film version of ''

''.

Family

Alain Boublil has had two sons, born in 1969, and 1975 with his first wife Francoise Pourcel. He then had two more boys, with his second wife, Marie Zamora.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boublil, Alain 1941 births French musical theatre lyricists Broadway composers and lyricists Grammy Award winners Tony Award winners Living people 20th-century French Sephardi Jews Tunisian Jews Tunisian emigrants to France