(b Muret, 8 June 1753; d Paris, 26 Nov 1809). French composer. From 1774 he was a sub-lieutenant at Versailles, where he studied composition and began writing chamber pieces; his string quartets were very popular. In 1782 he began a long series of works for Paris theatres, mostly opéras comiques - notably Nina (1786), perhaps the first of the sentimental type to exclude comic elements. He also adapted popular operatic tunes to Republican words. He remained famous in France and abroad after the Revolution, using gothic (e.g. Camille, 1791), oriental and chivalric subjects, and his work was accepted as the logical continuation of Grétry's. His c 60 opéras comiques show his keen dramatic sense, with action and conversation in the ensembles, and his subtle melodic gift. Particularly influential were the romances (lyrical solo numbers). His style moved from one akin to Gluck's to a lighter, more Italianate idiom; some early works, such as Sargines (1788), anticipate Beethoven's style.
