Alphonse Royer, (10 September 1803 – 11 April 1875) was a French author, dramatist and

theatre manager Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

, most remembered today for having written (with his regular collaborator, Gustave Vaëz) the librettos for

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera style dur ...

'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 An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory o ...

for the

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwo ...

). 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,

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best know ...

Tirso de Molina Gabriel Téllez ( 24 March 1583 20 February 1648), better known as Tirso de Molina, was a Spanish Baroque dramatist, poet and Roman Catholic monk. He is primarily known for writing ''The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest'', the play from ...

, and Juan Ruiz de Alarcón. A ''Chevalier'' and later ''Officier'' of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

, Royer died in Paris, the city of his birth, at the age of 71.

Biography

Early years and first success

Alphonse Royer was born in Paris to a prosperous family with various commercial interests. His father was a ''commissaire-priseur'' (

auctioneer An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition e ...

) and lawyer. As a young man, Royer belonged to a literary circle inspired by

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

and Liberalism, movements for which he maintained a sympathy throughout his life.Vapereau (1880) p. 1588''La Presse'' (13 April 1875) p. 2 He initially trained to be a lawyer, but was more interested in poetry and the theatre and longed to travel.Vaëz (1840) 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 la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

during the 1826 revolt of the

Janissaries A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ...

against

Mahmud II Mahmud II ( ota, محمود ثانى, Maḥmûd-u s̠ânî, tr, II. Mahmud; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. His reign is recognized for the extensive administrative, ...

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 In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, ''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 The Théâtre des Nouveautés ("Theatre of the New") is a Parisian theatre built in 1921 and located at 24 boulevard Poissonnière (Paris, 9th arr.). The name was also used by several earlier Parisian theatre companies and their buildings, begin ...

on 27 February 1830 with incidental music by

Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera '' Robert le d ...

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas, ...

, and

Louis Spohr Louis Spohr (, 5 April 178422 October 1859), baptized Ludewig Spohr, later often in the modern German form of the name Ludwig, was a German composer, violinist and conducting, conductor. Highly regarded during his lifetime, Spohr composed ten Sy ...

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 Belgian playwright and poet, Gustave Vaëz. Their first major collaboration was the translation and adaptation of Donizetti's opera, ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of 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 Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's '' Jérusalem'' (1847). During the period of the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 ...

, Royer and Vaëz became a major force in the adaptation of Italian operas for French audiences and had a virtual monopoly of the Italian repertoire 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 ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play '' Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887. ...

'':

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 (31 July 1828 in Huysse, near Oudenaarde – 24 December 1908 in Brussels) was a Belgian musicologist and composer.N. Slonimsky, Ed., ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', 8th ed., Schirmer Books, NY L ...

's 1853 ''

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 Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...

'', ''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

and his articles on Mahmud's legislative reforms for the legal journal, ''Gazette des tribunaux''. He held salons 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 Louis-Xavier Eyma (16 October 1816 – 20 March 1876) was a 19th-century French journalist and writer, author, among others, of novels, travel books and theater plays. Biography Born in Martinique, an illegitimate son of Louis, a French lawye ...

, who attended the salons at that time, they resembled a "miniature

divan A divan or diwan ( fa, دیوان, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see '' dewan''). Etymology The word, recorded in English since 1586, meanin ...

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 Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rem ...

and

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lie ...

. 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 A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

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. 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 Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been '' Faust'' (1859); his '' Roméo et Juliette'' (1867) also rema ...

(''

La reine de Saba ''La reine de Saba'' (''The Queen of Sheba'') 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 ''La Reine de Saba'', in '' Le voyage en Orient''. It was premier ...

'') as well as ballets by Ernest Reyer (''Sacountalâ''), Daniel Auber (''Marco Spada''), and

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''T ...

('' 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 Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...

had ordered a performance of

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

'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:

On one of these occasions Bulow 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 Theatre The Scala Theatre was a theatre in Charlotte Street, London, off Tottenham Court Road. The first theatre on the site opened in 1772, and the theatre was demolished in 1969, after being destroyed by fire. From 1865 to 1882, the theatre was ...
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'' (

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 Gozzi, as well those of the Spanish writers,

, 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

in 1844, and in 1867 was promoted to ''Officier''. Alphonse Royer died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

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 Jean-Baptiste Faure () (15 January 1830 – 9 November 1914) was a French operatic baritone and art collector who also composed several classical songs. Singing career Faure was born in Moulins. A choirboy in his youth, he entered the Pari ...

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 Emmanuel Gonzalès (25 October 1815 – 17 October 1887) was a 19th-century French novelist, feuilletonist and playwright. Gonzalès wrote the novel ''Frères de la côte'', which impressed Émile Zola in his childhood, following the praise he m ...

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:

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

, 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 An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, may sometimes be used. Overview An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker of a ...

Charles Narrey Charles Narrey (1825 in Becques, Nord – 1892 in Paris) was a 19th-century French writer and playwright from an Irish family arrived in France following James II of England. Narrey made his debut in 1847 with both a novel, ''Deux heures de myst ...

, 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 feuilleton) to several French periodicals, including ''L'Europe littéraire'', '' Revue de Paris'', ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French Newspaper of recor ...

'', ''

Le Ménestrel ''Le Ménestrel'' (The Minstrel) was an influential French music journal published weekly from 1833 until 1940. It was founded by Joseph-Hippolyte l'Henry and originally printed by Poussièlgue. In 1840 it was acquired by the music publishers Heu ...

'', '' Revue des Deux Mondes'', and '' L'Artiste''.

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 Renaissance, Paris 1839 *'' La favorite'' (Donizetti) – Original libretto (with Gustave Vaëz and

Eugène Scribe Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing " well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of m ...

), Paris Opéra ( Salle Le Peletier), 1840 *''

Don Pasquale ''Don Pasquale'' () is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Paves ...

'' (Donizetti) – French translation (with Gustave Vaëz), Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie,

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

1843 *''

'' ( Rossini) – French translation (with Gustave Vaëz), Paris Opéra (Salle Le Peletier), 1844 *'' Robert Bruce'' (Rossini and

Niedermeyer Niedermeier is a German surname. The name was initially used as a distinguishing name for a farmer (Meier) who had a farm lower (nieder) than the neighboring one(s). Variants are Niedermaier, Niedermair, Niedermayer, Niedermayr, Niedermeier, Niederm ...

, pastiche opera) – Original libretto (with Gustave Vaëz), Paris Opéra (Salle Le Peletier), 1846 *''Les premiers pas'' (

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

, Auber, Carafa, and Halévy) – Original libretto (with Gustave Vaëz), Opéra-National (Cirque Olympique), Paris 1847 *'' Jérusalem'' (

) – Original libretto (with Gustave Vaëz), Paris Opéra (Salle Le Peletier), 1847 *''Georgette ou Le moulin de Fontenoy'' ( Gevaert) – Original libretto (with Gustave Vaëz),

Théâtre Lyrique The Théâtre Lyrique was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century (the other three being the Opéra, the Opéra-Comique, and the Théâtre-Italien). The company was founded in 1847 as the Opér ...

, Paris 1853 *'' Alessandro Stradella'' ( Flotow) – French translation (with Gustave Oppelt), Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels 1859

Plays

Volnys in Henry V et ses compagnons 1830

*''Henry V et ses compagnons'' (with Auguste Romieu),

, Paris 1830Premiere venue and date information in this section is from Everist (2009) pp. 42-45 and the Théâtre de l'Odéon *''Le Voyage à Pontoise'' (with Gustave Vaëz), Théâtre de l'Odéon, 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 Vaudeville, Paris 1850 *''Les Fantaisies de Milord'', (with Gustave Vaëz and Charles Narrey),

Théâtre des Variétés The Théâtre des Variétés is a theatre and "salle de spectacles" at 7–8, boulevard Montmartre, 2nd arrondissement, in Paris. It was declared a monument historique in 1974. History It owes its creation to the theatre director Mademoisell ...

, 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 Pierre Michel Delaporte (5 September 1806 – 30 September 1872) was a 19th-century French playwright, painter, lithographer and political caricaturist. Short biography He was educated in Amiens and in 1824 became a student of Jean-Baptiste R ...

), 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 Barbier), 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 Beauvoir), Paris: Dumont, 1836 Venezia la Bella frontispiece 1834

*''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

'', Paris: Michel Lévy frères, 1862 *''Théâtre de

'', Paris: Michel Lévy frères, 1863 *''Théâtre d'

Alarcón Alarcón is a municipality in the province of Cuenca, in the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. Geography Located 87 kilometers (54 miles) south of the city of Cuenca, Alarcón spans an area of 120 km² (50 sq mi) at an ...

'', Paris: Michel Lévy frères, 1865 *, Paris: Michel Lévy frères, 1865

Notes and references

Royer, Alphonse, Théâtre d'Alarcón, 1865

Sources

*Ashbrook, William
''Donizetti and His Operas''
Cambridge University Press, 1983, pp. 591–592. * *Claveau, Anatol
"Chronique littéraire"
''Revue contemporaine'', 1867 (in French) *Douhair, P
"Revue Critique"
''

Le Correspondant ''Le Correspondant'' was a French Catholic review, founded in March 1829 by Louis de Carné, and , under the motto "Civil and religious liberty throughout the universe" ("Liberté civile et religieuse par tout l'univers"). It ceased publication ...

'', 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. *Eyma, Xavier
"Causerie"
''Le Moniteur de la mode'', July 1866, pp. 218–220 (in French) * Fejtő, François
''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. *Royer, Alphonse
''Théâtre d'Alarcón''
Michel Lévy frères, 1865 (in French) * Sadie, Stanley (ed.), '' The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Vol. 4, Oxford University Press, 1992, p. 76. *Schreier, Lise
''Seul dans l'orient lointain: Les voyages de Nerval et Du Camp''
Université de Saint-Etienne, 2006. (in French) *Tajan
Catalogue: ''Nadar et son Panthéon''
3 December 2004, p. 90 (accessed 15 June 2010, in French) * Théâtre de l'Odéon
Complete repertoire: 1782–1997
(accessed 15 June 2010) *Vaëz, Gustave
"Alphonse Royer"
in Louis Huart and Charles Philipon (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, Gustave Louis Gustave Vapereau (4 April 1819 – 18 April 1906) 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.

External links

*
Alphonse Royer
on Data.bnf.fr * {{DEFAULTSORT:Royer, Alphonse 1803 births 1875 deaths Writers from Paris French opera librettists French theatre managers and producers Opera managers Directors of the Paris Opera 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights Spanish–French translators Italian–French translators 19th-century translators 19th-century French novelists 19th-century French male writers French male non-fiction writers