Victorien Sardou
Victorien Sardou ( born September 5, 1831 in Paris, † November 8, 1908 ) was a French dramatist.
For various Parisian theaters Sardou wrote numerous historical dramas, comedies, and libretti for operas and operettas. He has worked for Camille Saint- Saëns and Jacques Offenbach. Many a time have been brought against him the accusation of plagiarism.
In 1877 he was appointed to the Académie française.
From today's perspective is of utmost importance his drama La Tosca from 1887, which was known in particular by the interpretation of the title role by Sarah Bernhardt. The Italian composer Giacomo Puccini was already in 1889 with the idea to fashion Sardou's drama into an opera. But it was only in 1898 met Puccini and Sardou together in Paris. Together with the librettists Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica Puccini wrote the opera Tosca, which premiered on January 14, 1900 in Rome.
Works (selection)
- Fedora, in 1882, set to music by Umberto Giordano: Fedora, Milan, 1898
- La Tosca, 1887, set to music by Giacomo Puccini: Tosca, Rome, 1900
- Madame Sans - Gêne, 1893, set to music by Umberto Giordano: Madame Sans - Gêne, New York, 1915