Ludovic Halévy (1834–1908)

Ludovic Halévy was born in Paris, France, the son of the writer Léon Halévy and his second wife Louise Alexandrine Lebas. He paternal uncle was the operatic composer Jacques François Fromental Halévy. Ludovic was educated at the Lycée Louis le Grand and then became a member of the French civil service. He began writing for the stage in his spare time. His first major success was his contribution to the libretto for Jacques Offenbach's 1858 opera Orphée aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld). In 1861, Halévy began a literary partnership with Henri Meilhac that lasted 20 years and that would produce a series of humorous and witty works that epitomized the spirit of the Second Empire even while making fun of it. Together the two men wrote the librettos for Offenbach’s operettas La Belle Hélène (1864), Barbe-bleue (1866), La Vie Parisienne (1866), and La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein (1867), among others, all highly popular works in their day. They also wrote the libretto for Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen (1875). They also co-wrote popular drawing-room comedies, including Fanny (1868) and Froufrou (1869). The partnership came to an end in 1882. Halévy also independently wrote novels and short stories, including La Famille Cardinal (1883) and L’Abbé Constantin (1882), a huge bestseller. He was elected to the Académie française in 1884 and received the Legion of Honor.