Alphonse Varney (; 1 December 1811 – 7 February 1879) was a French conductor, mainly of opera. His son was the composer Louis Varney who studied music with his father.

Education

He studied at the Paris Conservatoire including counterpoint with

Reicha Anton (Antonín, Antoine) Joseph Reicha (Rejcha) (26 February 1770 – 28 May 1836) was a Czech-born, Bavarian-educated, later naturalized French composer and music theorist. A contemporary and lifelong friend of Beethoven, he is now best reme ...

Career

Varney conducted the Théâtre de Ghent in 1835, followed by the Théâtre Historique, the Théâtre Lyrique (which he left in 1852 to spend more time composing, and conducting in Ghent), the Théâtre des Bouffes Parisiens from 1857 (from 1862 to 1864 he was also director and staged works by Offenbach), the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux from 1865 to 1878, and the Société Sainte-Cecile in Bordeaux. He was also invited to conduct the 'French Opera Season' in New Orleans in 1844.

Compositions

Varney composed the well-known '' Chant des Girondins'', written for the play ''

Le Chevalier de Maison-Rouge ''Le Chevalier de Maison-Rouge'' (translated as ''The Knight of Maison-Rouge: A Novel of Marie Antoinette'' or ''The Knight of the Red House'') was written in 1845 by Alexandre Dumas, père. It is related to a series referred to as the , though t ...

'' by

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

. He also composed the music for a drame-lyrique by Alexandre Dumas, fils in 1848 entitled ''Atala''. His

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 ...

''La ferme de Kilmoor'' (first performance 27 October 1852 at the Théâtre-Lyrique) was savaged by the critics.Walsh TJ, op cit. Other stage works by Varney include ''Le moulin joli'' (1849), ''L'opéra au camp'' (1854), ''La polka des sabots'' (1859) and ''Un leçon d'amour'' (1868). He retired in 1878.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varney, Alphonse 1811 births 1879 deaths French conductors (music) French male conductors (music) 19th-century conductors (music) 19th-century French musicians Conservatoire de Paris alumni