Dezède, Nicolas
Dezède, Nicolas
Dezède, Nicolas, composer; b. c. 1742; d. Paris, Sept. 11,1792. He is believed to have been of noble birth. After initial training in the fundamentals of music and the harp, he settled in Paris and studied composition. He subsequently launched a successful career as a composer for the theater, scoring a major triumph with his opéra-comique Blaise et Babet, ou La Suite des trois fermiers (Versailles, April 4, 1783) and finding a patron in Duke Maximilian of Zweibriicken in 1785. Dezede’s liaison with Mme. Belcour of the Comédie- Franchise resulted in a daughter, Florine (b. c. 1766; d. c. 1792), who wrote the comedy Lucette et Lucas, ou La Paysanne curieuse (Paris, 1781). Mozart used the air “Lison dormait dans un bocage” from Dezede’s opéra comique Julie as the theme for his 9 variations for piano, K. 264. Dezede is believed to have composed the air “Ah, vous dirais-je, Maman?,” celebrated in English as “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."
Works
DRAMATIC (all first perf. in Paris unless otherwise given): Julie, opéra-comique (Sept. 28, 1772); L’erreur d’un moment, ou La Suite de Julie, opéra- comique (June 14,1773); Le Stratageme decouvert, Comédie (Oct. 4,1773); Les Trois Fermiers, Comédie (May 24, 1777); Fatme, ou Le Langage des fleurs, Comédie-ballet (Fontainebleau, Oct. 30,1777); Zulima ou L’Art et la nature, ou La Nature et I’art, opéra-comique (May 9,1778); Le Porteur de chaise, opéra-comique (Dec. 10,1778; rev. as Jerome et Champagne, Jan. 11,1781); Cecile, opéra-comique (Versailles, Feb. 24,1780); A trompeur, trompeur et demi, ou Les Torts du sentiment, opéra-comique (May 3,1780; also known as Fin contrefin); Blaise et Babet, ou La Suite des trois fermiers, opéra- comique (Versailles, April 4, 1783); Peronne sauvee, opéra (May 27, 1783); Alexis et Justine, opéra-comique (Versailles, Jan. 14, 1785); Alcindor, opéra-feerie (April 17, 1787); Auguste et Theodore, ou Les Deux Pages, opéra-comique (March 6, 1789); Les Trois Noces, piece champetre (Feb. 23,1790); Ferdinand, ou La Suite des Deux Pages, Comédie (June 19,1790); Adele et Didier, opéra-comique (Nov. 5, 1790); Paulin et Clairette, ou Les Deux Espiegles, prose Comédie (Jan. 5,1792); Melite, opéra-comique (March 19,1792); La Fete de la cinquantaine, opéra (Jan. 9, 1796).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire