- Date of Birth: January, 1763
- Place of Birth: a French village near Tours, France
- Date of Death: April, 1842
- Claim to Fame: French lawyer and playwright who wrote the libretto for what became Beethoven's Fidelio
Jean Nicolas Bouilly was born in a village near Tours, France in 1763. Encouraged by his mother and stepfather to become a lawyer, Bouilly received his law license in Paris in 1787. He returned to Tours during the French Revolution, worked as a lawyer, and wrote plays on the side. During the Reign of Terror, Bouilly headed the government's military commission, an experience that was to influence his later writing. In 1795, he returned to Paris and worked for the Committee of Public Instruction until 1799, when he left public life in order to concentrate on his writing full time.
Bouilly is best known as the author of Fidelio, the only opera ever written by Beethoven. The libretto for this opera went through many incarnations before reaching Beethoven's quill. It was originally written by Bouilly in 1798 as Léonore, ou L'amour Conjugal, a rescue opera which was set to music by Pierre Gaveaux. Boilly's inspiration for the story came from an incident that he had witnessed during the Terror, when a woman risked her life to save her husband, who was wrongfully imprisoned in a Jacobin prison. In 1804, Léonore was translated to Italian by Ferdinando Paer; a year later it was adapted for a second time in Italian by Simon Mayr. At approximately the same time, it was being adapted and translated to German by Joseph von Sonnleithner, intendant of the court theaters in Vienna. Von Sonnleithner brought the libretto to Beethoven's attention, the name of the work was changed to Fidelio, and the opera premiered on November 20, 1805. The audience, comprised largely of French troops who had occupied Vienna a week earlier, did not appreciate the work, which had lost some of its dramatic impact during Sonnleithner's expansion and adaptation and included some parts that were almost impossible to sing. Fidelio played for just two more nights and was then withdrawn. A second version made its debut in 1806, and a third eight years later.
Bouilly's other writings include plays and vaudevilles, moral tales for children, and his memoirs. His works include a musical comedy called Pierre le Grand (1790), an opera called Les Deux Journees with music by Cherubini (1800), a historical comedy called L'Abbe de L'Epee (1800), a collection of stories for his daughter called Contes a ma fille (1809), and Les Adieux du Vieux Conteur (Farewell from the Old Story Teller, 1835). Bouilly died in Paris in April of 1842.
Last updated: December 09, 2004.
