Berton, Henri-Montan
Berton, Henri-Montan
Berton, Henri-Montan, French conductor and composer, son of Pierre-Montan Berton; b. Paris, Sept. 17, 1767; d. there, April 22, 1844. He was a pupil of Rey and Sacchini. In 1782 he joined the orch. of the Paris Opéra as a violinist, and in 1795 he was appointed to the staff of the Paris Cons., where, in 1818, he succeeded Méhul as prof. of composition. From 1807 to 1809 he conducted at the Opéra-Bouffe, and in 1809 became chorus master at the Paris Opéra. In 1815 he was elected a member of the French Academy. He wrote 47 operas, of which the most successful were Montano et Stéphanie (1799), Le Délire (1799), and Aline, reine de Colconde (1803); also several oratorios, 8 cantatas, and 4 ballets.
Bibliography
D. Raoul-Rochette, Notice historique sur la vie et les ouvrages de M. B. (Paris, 1846); H. Blanchard, H.-M. B. (Paris, 1839).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire