Jean-Pierre Solié

His father was a cellist with the orchestra at the theatre in Nîmes, and Solié likewise learned to play the cello. But he also learned to sing and play the guitar, and became a choirboy in the cathedral. As he got older he began traveling to nearby towns in southern France, where he played cello in local theatre orchestras and supplemented his income by giving lessons in guitar and singing. In 1778 in Avignon he was called upon to replace an ailing tenor in André Grétry's La Rosière de Salency and made such a good impression, he was hired to sing tenor roles. Later he was asked to go to Paris to perform two roles with the Opéra-Comique, where he first sang in Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny's Félix on 31 August 1782 and later in Grétry's ''L'amant jaloux''. His success was limited, and he returned to the provinces, working and singing in Nancy and Lyon. Grétry also had a high regard for Solié, in particular as an actor: "l'excellent acteur, le citoyen Solier". == Career as a composer ==

Solié apparently composed some music for a comedy, Le séducteur, in 1783, and it was presented at Fontainebleau on 4 November 1783. His career as a composer, however, really began in 1790 with an adaptation he prepared of Christoph Willibald Gluck's La rencontre imprévue, which Solié called Les fous de Médine, and for which he composed several original pieces including parodies of music by Henri Montan Berton and Gluck. In May 1792 he participated in a collaboration with Rodolphe Kreutzer called Le franc Breton, but his first important totally independent work came in November with Jean et Geneviève. The opera was revived several times, receiving its final performance in 1822. Solié also participated in the collaborative Revolutionary opera Le congrès des rois, a 3-act ''comédie mêlée d'ariettes, which was composed by order of the Comité du Salut public'' (Committee of Public Safety) and was hurriedly put together in just two days. The work combined music written by Solié and 11 other composers and was first performed by the Opéra-Comique at the Salle Favart on 26 February 1794. It was poorly received and was soon banned by the Revolutionary authorities. == Significance as a composer ==

The music historian Paulette Letailleur has written: "Although pleasant and facile, Solié’s compositional style was not assertive enough to achieve lasting success. He is, however, remembered for Le secret (103 performances between 1801 and 1814) and Le jockey, works which owe much to the librettist [François-Benoît] Hoffman, Le diable à quatre (95 performances) and for occasional pieces such as L’opéra au village (1807), written for the emperor's return and the signing of the peace." == Descendants ==

Solié's second son, Emile Solié (9 April 1801, Paris – after 1867, Ancenis?), became an author who wrote about music (see Other sources). Emile's son Charles (died after 1912) was a conductor and director in the 1860s at the Théâtre Graslin in Nantes. Subsequently he conducted at the Théâtre-Français in Nice. He was also a composer: his comic opera ''Schein Baba, ou L'intrigue au harem'' was well received when it was performed in Nice on 5 April 1879. == List of stage works ==

This list of works for the stage was compiled from Wild and Charlton with additional works, primarily those not performed at the Opéra-Comique, from Letailleur as noted. • ''L'entreprise folle'', a 1-act comic opera, was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in the Salle Favart in 1795. • Plutarque, a 1-act comic opera with a libretto by François-Pierre-Auguste Léger and René de Chazet, was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in the Salle Feydeau on 20 January 1802. • Le séducteur amoureux, a 3-act comédie with a libretto by C. de Longchamp, was first performed at the Théâtre-Français on 25 January 1803 and published in 1803. • Henriette et Verseuil, a 1-act comédie mêlée de chant with a libretto by P. Guillet and Eugéne Hus, was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in the Salle Feydeau on 30 July 1803. It was performed a total of 5 times. The libretto was published, and the score has not been found. Eugéne Hus is only mentioned in the libretto for providing the words for three of the songs. • ''L'incertitude maternelle, ou Le choix impossible'', a 1-act comic opera with music by Solié and André Grétry and a libretto by Jean-Claude Dejaure, was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in the Salle Feydeau on 6 August 1803 with further performances up to 1810. The libretto and vocal score were published. The libretto was adapted from a play of the same name by Dejaure's father which was given by the Comédiens Italiens on 5 June 1790. The text of the play was published in 1790, and there is a prompter's manuscript as well. • ''L'oncle etle neveu'', a 1-act comic opera with a libretto by A.-J. Grétry, was first performed at the Théâtre des Variétés-Montansier on 26 November 1803. • ''L'époux généroux, ou Le pouvoir des procédés, a 1-act comédie'' which was a lyric adaption of a play by Jean-Claude Dejaure, which was first performed by the Comédiens Italiens on 15 February 1790. There is an indication on the manuscript of the libretto: "Remise en opéra-comique par Grétry neveu". The opera was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in the Salle Feydeau on 7 February 1804. Additional performances were given into 1805. The libretto and vocal score were published. • Louise, ou La malade par amour, a 1-act comic opera with a libretto by François-Benoît Hoffman, was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in the Salle Feydeau on 16 April 1804 and was given a total of 7 times. The libretto has not been found, but the vocal score was published. • The libretto is adapted from the same author's Stratonice with music by Étienne Méhul, first performed by the Opéra-Comique in the Salle Favart on 3 May 1792, which was based on De Dea Syria [On the Syrian Goddess] attributed to Lucian and Antiochus, a tragicomedy by Thomas Corneille. • Les deux oncles is a 1-act comédie with a libretto by André-Joseph Grétry, which was a lyric adaptation of a comedy by Nicholas-Julien Forgeot that was first performed by the Comédiens Italiens on 29 September 1780. The opera, which was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in the Salle Favart on 3 January 1805, was given a total of 10 times. The libretto exists in manuscript form, and the score has not been found. • Chacun son tour, a 1-act opera with a libretto by Justin Gensoul, was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in the Salle Feydeau on 26 October 1805. It was performed into 1806. The libretto was published (no date), and the score has not been found. It was described in Décade philosophique as: "A bad copy of ''Rivaux d'eux-mêmes'', a pretty little piece by Pigault-Lebrun". • ''L'opéra au village'', a 1-act divertissement with a libretto by Charles Augustin de Bassompierre Sewrin, was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in the Salle Feydeau on 30 July 1807 and published (no date). • ''L'amante sans le savoir, a 1-act comédie mêlée d'ariettes with a libretto by Auguste Creuzé de Lesser, was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in the Salle Feydeau on 10 August 1807. The title is taken from the register; on the manuscript of the libretto it is given as La leçon de père''. It was performed a total of 5 times. The libretto was printed; the full score has not been found. • Anna, ou Les deux chaumières, a 1-act comédie mêlée d'ariettes with a libretto by Charles Augustin de Bassompierre Sewrin, was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in the Salle Feydeau on 20 February 1808. It was performed a total of 9 times. The vocal score and libretto were published (no date). • Mademoiselle de Guise, a 3-act comic opera with a libretto by Emmanuel Dupaty, was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in the Salle Feydeau on 17 March 1808 with further performances up to 1811. The libretto (BNF: Thb. 1665) and full score (BNF: D. 14037) were published. • Le hussard noir, a 1-act comic opera with a libretto by Emmanuel Dupaty, was performed for the first and last time by the Opéra-Comique in the Salle Feydeau on 10 December 1808. The libretto was published, and the score has not been found. The manuscript of the libretto gives the alternate title: Le Hussard noir ou le Sergent de Neiss – libretto after "un trait mis dans les journaux l'été dernier". • Le diable à quatre, ou La femme acariâtre, a 3-act comic opera with a libretto by Michel-Jean Sedaine revised by Auguste Creuzé de Lesser, was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in the Salle Feydeau on 30 November 1809. It was revived by the Théâtre Lyrique on 15 October 1853 in an orchestration by Adolphe Adam. The libretto exists both in manuscript (AN: AJ13 1090) and printed form (BNF: Thb. 2891, 1809 edition), and the full score (BMO: F. 1667 (2); 1809 edition, indicated by a handwritten note) was also printed. • The libretto is based on an English ballad opera, The Devil to Pay, or The Wives Metamorphosed, by Charles Coffey. There were several prior comic opera versions of Sedaine's libretto, all with the title Le diable à quatre, ou La double métamorphose: • The first had music by diverse composers which was premiered by the Opéra-Comique at the Foire Saint-Laurent on 19 August 1756 and later performed at the Hôtel de Bourgogne on 30 January 1764 with further performances up to 1776. The libretto (BNF: Thb. 1826 A) and vocal score (BNF: L. 2850) were published. The composers of various parodied musical numbers are identified as Ciampi, Duni, Galuppi, and G. Scarlatti (Pietro Alessandro Gaspare Scarlatti). Other pieces have been attributed to Jean-Louis Laruette and François-André Danican Philidor. • Christoph Willibald Gluck prepared his own version for Vienna, altering music by the other composers and adding music of his own. This version was first performed in Laxenburg on 28 May 1759. • A third had music by Bernardo Porto which was performed in the first Salle Favart on 14 February 1790 with further performances up to 1793. The libretto and vocal score have not been found. • La victime des arts, a 2-act comic opera composed in collaboration with Isouard and Henri Montan Berton with a libretto by L.-M. d'Estournel. was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in the Salle Feydeau on 27 February 1811. • Les ménestrels, a 3-act comic opera with a libretto by J. M. de Reveroni Saint-Cyr, was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in the Salle Feydeau on 27 April 1811. ==References==