Meilhac, Henri (1831-97), and Halévy, Ludovic (1834-1908). Legendary duo celebrated for their collaboration in charming drawing-room comedies (Froufrou, 1869; La Petite Marquise, 1874), but above all as the authors of irreverent and entertaining libretti for the operettas of Offenbach, mostly staged at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, and distilling the hedonistic spirit of Second Empire Paris: La Belle Hélène (1864), La Vie parisienne (1866), La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein (1867), etc. Halévy was also the author of amusing, if sentimental, pictures of family life: Abbé Constantin (1882), La Famille Cardinal (1883). His interesting journal was published posthumously: Carnets (1935).
[S. Beynon John]
