INTRODUCTION

Ludovic Halévy was bom in Paris, Jauuary i, 1834. Upon the œmpletion of his studies in the lycée Louis4e-Grand he entered the service of the French govemment, and held responsible positions in the State and Colonial Departments and in the Législative Assembly. Thèse duties, however, did not prevent him from foUowing his natural inclination for literary work. Under the name of Jules Servières at first, and later under his own name, he produced a number of comédies and operettas, some of which were set to music by Offenbach, Bizet, Lecocq, and Delibes. In 1865 he relinquished his position in the Législative Assembly to dévote his attention exclusively to letters. An indefatîgable worker, his literary output soon became enormous, — short stories, farces, comédies, ballets, and operettas from his pen appeared in profusion.

The majority of his theatrical pièces were written in collaboration with a chance acquaintance, Henri Meilhac, whose bizarre and fantastic imagination served as a stimulus to Halévy's witty and realistic tendencies. Among the best known of the light opéras due to the combined efforts of the two authors may be mentioned: la BeUe Hélène, Barbe-Bleue, la Vie parisienne, la Grande-Diéchesse de Gerolstein, and les Brigands, ail with music by Offenbach; Carmen (based on Mérimée's celebrated nouvelle), with music by Bizet; and le Petit Duc, with music by Lecocq. The greater part of thèse pièces reflect dearly the period in which they were written. The Second Empire, with ail its materialism, licence, and extravagance, was striving for a single goal — the