Nicolas Isouard

Nicolas Isouard (; also known as Nicolò, Nicolò Isoiar or Nicolò de Malte; 18 May 1773 – 23 March 1818) was a Franco-Maltese composer.

Biography Born in Valletta, Malta, Isouard studied in Rabat or Mdina with Francesco Azopardi, in Palermo with , and in Naples with Nicola Sala and Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi. From 1795 he was organist at St John's Co-Cathedral - the Conventual Church of the Order of Saint John in Valletta

He moved to Paris, where he worked as a free composer and became friends with Rodolphe Kreutzer. The pair worked together on several operas, including Le Petit page, ou La Prison d'état (1800) and Flaminius à Corinthe (1801). Isouard adopted the pseudonym Nicolò (or Nicolò de Malte) and found rapid success in the field of opéra comique with Michel-Ange (1802) and L'Intrigue aux fenêtres (1805). He composed regularly for the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique, writing some thirty works for the theatre.

He composed masses, motets, cantatas, romances, and duos, along with over 45 operas.

Family and legacy

Isouard had two daughters, Sophie-Nicole (1809–1885), a composer of romances, and Annette-Julie (1814–1876), a pianist and composer. His brother Joseph (1794–1863) had a career as a singer and opera director before being named inspector of historic monuments in Rouen. Nicolas Isouard died in Paris and was buried in Notre-Dame-des-Victoires. A bust of the composer was placed on one of the facades of both the Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique and the Palais Garnier, and one of the main squares in Paris was given his name.

Works Casaciello, perseguitato da un Mago, Opera buffa - Two-act comedy 1793, Malta L'avviso a Maritati, Opera, Florence June 1794 Artaserse, re di Persia, Opera seria, Livorno August 1794. Two excerpts only survive. Edited by Richard Divall Il barbiere di Siviglia, Opera buffa after Pierre Beaumarchais, Malta Teatro Manoel 1796 Rinaldo d'Asti, Dramma giocoso, Malta 1796 L'improvvisata in campagna, Opera buffa, Malta 1796-7 I due avari, Commedia per musica, Malta 1797 Il bottaio, Opera comique, 1798 Il barone d'Alba chiara, Commedia per musica, Carnevale, Malta 1798 Ginevra di Scozia, Dramma serio eroico, 1798 Le Petit page, ou La Prison d'état, Opera, Paris, February 1801 Flaminius à Corinthe, Opera, Paris February 1801 Le Tonellier Opera-comique, Paris May 1801 L'Impromptu de campagne, Opera-comique, Paris June 1801 La Statue, ou La Femme avare, Opera comique, 1802 Michel-Ange, Opera, 1802 Les Confidences, Opera, 1803 Le Baiser et la quittance, ou Une Aventure de garnison, Opera comique, 1803 Le Médecin turc, Opéra bouffon, 1803 L'Intrigue aux fenêtres, Opera, 1805 La Ruse inutile, ou Les Rivaux par convention, Opera, 1805 Léonce, ou Le Fils adoptif, Opera, 1805 La Prise de Passaw, Opera comique, 1806 Le Déjeuner de garçons, Comédie mêlée de musique, 1806 Idala, ou La Sultane, Opera comique, 1806 Les Rendez-vous bourgeois, Opéra bouffon, 1807 Les Créanciers, ou Le Remède à la goutte, Opera comique, 1807 Un Jour à Paris, ou La Leçon singulière, Opera comique, 1808 Cimarosa, Opera comique, 1808 Zélomir, ou L'Intrigue au sérail, Opera comique, 1809 Cendrillon, Opéra féerie after Charles Perrault, 1810 La Victime des arts, ou La Fête de famille, Opera comique, 1811 La Fête de village, ou L'Heureux militaire, Opera comique, 1811 Le Billet de loterie, Opera comique, 1811 Le Magicien sans magie, Opera comique, 1811 Lulli et Quinault, ou Le Déjeuner impossible, Opera comique, 1812 Le Prince de Catane, ou Alamon, Opera, 1813 Le Français à Venise, Opera comique, 1813 Bayard à Mézières, ou Le Siège de Mézières, Opera comique, 1814 Joconde, ou Les Coureurs d'aventures, Opera comique, 1814 Jeannot et Colin, Opera comique, 1814 Les Deux maris, Opera comique, 1816 L'Une pour l'autre, ou L'Enlèvement, Opera comique, 1816 Les Deux capitaines de hussards Opera comique, Paris, March 1817 Aladin, ou La Lampe merveilleuse, Opéra féerie, 1822 Une Nuit de Gustave Wasa, Opera, 1825

Sacred works - all with orchestra and voices (In alphabetical order). Original Manuscripts - Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris Angelus Domini Credo Leg a 4 Voci 1795 De torrente in A flat major De torrente in B flat major Diffusa est Gratia Dixit Dominus a 4 Dixit Dominus Leg Dominus Deus a Terzetto Gloria in D Gratia agimus tibi in E flat Gloria Patri in E flat Kyrie in E flat Kyrie in C minor Kyrie Messa no 2 in E flat - fragment Juravit Dominus Lauda Jerusalem Laetatus sum Magnificat Missa a Quattro Voci 1790 ( attr. to another composer) Cospicua Archives Missa Pro Defunctorum - Jommelli, orchestrated by Isouard (Brussels Conservatoire Library) Nisi Dominus Panis Angelicus Qui Tollis Quoniam Tu Solus Salve Regina Sinfonia in C minor Stabat Mater (5 fragments) Suscepimus Deus Te Deum 1791 Vexilla Regis Virgam Virtutis for tenor and bass duet Virgam Virtutis for solo tenor Virtute Magna

All of the above have been edited by Richard Divall and are available from the University of Divinity, Australia. Richard Divall is currently preparing a publication of a monograph and complete thematic catalogue, and an edition of the opera Cendrillon.