This short biography of Andre Messager was kindly contributed to the Society by Dr. Francis Burroughes of Chard Operatic Society.

Andre Messager (1859 - 1929)
was raised in the French operetta tradition, but unlike many operetta composers, for example Planquette, whose chief work we heard at Lyme Regis last year, he had a thorough musical education, studying eventually with Saint-Saens. He won prizes for a symphony and a cantata in 1876, and later he became conductor of the Opera-Comique. It was for this company that he composed many of his early operettas, including 'Veronique' in 1896.
In 1901 he was appointed artistic director at Covent Garden, a post he held together with a similar one at the Paris Opera. His operas and operettas became widely known and popular in this country, including 'Madame Chrysantheme', a sort of French Madam Butterfly, 'La Basoche', and 'Mirette', which contains perhaps some of his best music. Many of his operettas were adapted to English words by Percy Greenbank, who unashamedly cut some numbers and inserted his own songs, adapting them for Edwardian musical taste. Most of them were staged by George Edwardes at Daly's Theatre, London, which was the home of such pre-war successes as 'The Merry Widow', 'The Quaker Girl' and 'The Arcadians'. The only operetta that Messager wrote in English was 'Monsieur Beaucaire' in 1922, which was probably the best of them all. It is never performed nowadays, probably because it requires a very competent male chorus. Messager also wrote ballet music, 'Les Deux Pigeons' still retains a hold in the repetoire, much instrumental and piano music, and several hundred songs which have virtually been all but forgotten. His wife was the popular Irish song and ballad composer, Hope Temple, who was his pupil. He was also a great personal friend of Debussy, and conducted the first performance of 'Pelleas et Mellisande' in 1902. He was also a great champion of many young French composers such as Ravel, d'lndy. Honegger. Milhaud and other composers who were to become famous as 'Les Six".
©2001 Dr. Francis Burroughes