Frédéric TOULMOUCHE

Born in Nantes, Frédéric Toulmouche was from the same family as the impressionist painter, Auguste Toulmouche (1829-1890), a cousin by marriage of Claude Monet. Although he completed his music studies at the Paris Conservatoire (in Victor Massé’s composition class from 1874 to 1878), Frédéric Toulmouche maintained a lasting connection with his native region, in particular writing about various opera productions of the time in Nantes periodicals (such as L’Ouest-Artiste, gazette artistique de Nantes). He also probably held the position of Chef de Chant at the Opéra-Comique for a large part of his life. Although still very little is known about this musician, it is clear nonetheless that he devoted himself almost entirely to the composition of light works for the smaller theatres. His operettas and opéra-bouffes were mainly premiered in Paris: La Veillée de noces (Théâtre des Menus-Plaisirs, 1888), Mademoiselle ma femme (Menus-Plaisirs, 1893), La Perle du Canal (Folies-Dramatiques, 1895), La Saint-Valentin (Bouffes-Parisiens, 1895), Tante Agnès (Olympia, 1896) and Noir et Blanc (Opéra-Comique, 1909); but also in Brussels (Le Moutier de St-Guignolet, 1885) and Saint-Brieuc (L’Âme de la patrie, 1892). There was also a translation of one of his works performed in London in 1892 (The Wedding Eve, put on at the Trafalgar Square Theatre). His musical style evolved from a more Lecocqian vein to the modern sound of the young Messager.