Paul Bastide
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Paul Adrien Bastide (6 April 1879 – 18 August 1962) was a French conductor and composer.


Career

Paul Bastide was born at
Quimper Quimper (, ; ; or ) is a Communes of France, commune and Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the ...
and studied at the
University of Aix-en-Provence Aix-Marseille University (AMU; ; formally incorporated as ) is a public research university located in the Provence region of southern France. It was founded in 1409 when Louis II of Anjou, Count of Provence, petitioned the Pisan Antipope Alexan ...
and the
Paris Conservatoire 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 Pessard and
Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...
), winning a first prize in harmony.Key P V R. Pierre Key's Musical Who's Who. Pierre Key, Inc, New York, 1931. His first professional work was as chorus master in Marseille from 1898, and gained early conducting experience also in Cairo and the Hague.L. Oster: ''Les Opérettes du Répertoire Courant'' (Paris: Éditions du Conquistador, 1951). He also conducted the premiere of the three-act version of ''Les Armaillis'' by
Gustave Doret Gustave Doret (20 September 1866 – 19 April 1943) was a Swiss composer and conductor. Career Doret was born in 1866 in Aigle, Switzerland. He studied at the Berlin Academy of Music with Joseph Joachim, and then at the Conservatoire de Paris ...
at the Grand Théâtre in Geneva in 1913. From 1919–38 Bastide was the musical director of the opera house in Strasbourg, conducting ''
Samson et Dalila ''Samson and Delilah'' (), Op. 47, is a grand opera in three acts and four scenes by Camille Saint-Saëns to a French libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire. It was first performed in Weimar at the (Grand Ducal) Theater (now the Staatskapelle Weimar) on 2 ...
'' at the reopening on 8 March 1919 after the German occupation of
Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
. He returned again after the Second World War, from 1945–48, reopening with ''
Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...
'' on 16 November 1945 and conducting notable productions of ''
Béatrice et Bénédict ''Béatrice et Bénédict'' (''Beatrice and Benedick'') is an ''opéra comique'' in two acts by French composer Hector Berlioz. Berlioz wrote the French libretto himself, based in general outline on a subplot in Shakespeare's ''Much Ado About Noth ...
'', and ''Martine'' by
Henri Rabaud Henri Benjamin Rabaud (10 November 187311 September 1949) was a French conductor, composer and teacher, who held important posts in the French musical establishment and upheld mainly conservative trends in French music in the first half of the t ...
(premiere).Pitt C. Strasbourg, in: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' (London & New York: Macmillan, 1997). From 1945 to 1950 he was also music director of the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra. Bastide was music director at Vichy from the 1920s, and at the
Opéra de Marseille The Opéra de Marseille, known today as the Opéra Municipal, is an opera company located in Marseille, France. In 1685, the city was the second in France after Bordeaux to have an opera house, which was erected on a tennis court. However, the ...
from 1941–45. Bastide was Director of Music 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 ...
in Paris from 1932–36, making his debut with ''Carmen''. Premieres there conducted by him included ''Tout Ank Amon'' (1934) and ''Gargantua'' (1935), and the French premiere of ''Frasquita'' (1933). He supervised the centennial revival of ''
Le Pré aux clercs ''Le pré aux clercs'' (, ''The Clerks' Meadow'') is an opéra comique in three acts by Ferdinand Hérold with a libretto by François-Antoine-Eugène de Planard based on Prosper Mérimée's ''Chronique du temps de Charles IX'' of 1829.Pougin A ...
'' (1932) and new productions of ''Tarass Boulba'', ''
Don Quichotte ''Don Quichotte'' (''Don Quixote'') is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Caïn. It was first performed on 19 February 1910 at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Massenet's ''comédie héroïque'', like many dramatiz ...
'' (with
Chaliapin Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Шаля́пин, Fyodor Ivanovich Shalyapin, ˈfʲɵdər ɨˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ʂɐˈlʲapʲɪn}; 12 April 1938) was a Russian opera singer. Possessing a deep and expressive bass voic ...
) and ''The Marriage of Figaro''. He returned to the Salle Favart as head of music studies from 1948-52.Stéphane Wolff: ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique 1900–1950'' (Paris: André Bonne, 1953). He conducted '' Louise'' in some performances of the 50th anniversary run in 1950 at the Opéra-Comique, and the following year in Marseille.ODB : Opéra Passion. Rencontre avec Géori Boué La Malibran de Sacha Guitry
At the
Opéra This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most co ...
he conducted '' la Flûte enchantée'' in 1949 and ''
Pénélope ''Pénélope'' is an opera in three acts by the French composer Gabriel Fauré. The libretto, by René Fauchois is based on Homer's ''Odyssey''. It was first performed at the Salle Garnier, Monte Carlo, on 4 March 1913. The piece is dedicated ...
'' in 1951. Bastide became a
Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was o ...
in 1928. He died in Paris.


Compositions

Several operas by Bastide were staged in France: ''Idylle à l'Etoile'' (Marseille, 11 January 1899), ''L'Amour magicien'' (opéra-comique in one act, words and music by Bastide, premiered in Toulouse February 1903), ''Médée'' (The Hague, 1911), ''Le Gentil Bernard'' (Vichy, 22 July 1919), ''Monsieur de Pourceaugnac'' (opéra-bouffe in three acts, words by Pajol 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 ...
, premiere Strasbourg 5 February 1921), ''La Vannina'' (Rouen, 29 January 1926), ''Oedipe-Roi de Sophocle'' (Rouen, 21 February 1936), ''La Divine épopée'' (poème lyrique in five acts, premiere at the
Opéra de Marseille The Opéra de Marseille, known today as the Opéra Municipal, is an opera company located in Marseille, France. In 1685, the city was the second in France after Bordeaux to have an opera house, which was erected on a tennis court. However, the ...
on 25 March 1943), and ''Jeanne d’Arc'' (1949).Page about Paul Bastide on French Art-Lyrique website
accessed 17 November 2014.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bastide, Paul 1879 births 1962 deaths 20th-century classical composers Knights of the Legion of Honour French classical composers French conductors (music) French male classical composers French male conductors (music) Music directors (opera) 20th-century French male musicians Composers awarded knighthoods Conductors (music) awarded knighthoods