Prey, Claude

Prey, Claude , French composer; b. Fleury-sur-Andelle, May 30, 1925; d. Paris, Feb. 14, 1998. He received training in piano and organ before settling in Paris in 1945, where he studied letters and aesthetics at the Sorbonne. In 1947 he entered the Cons. and took courses with Messiaen (harmony) and Milhaud (composition). He completed his training with Mignone in Rio de Janeiro, with Frazzi in Siena, and at Laval Univ. in Quebec. In 1963 he won the Prix Italia for his chamber opera Le Coeur révélateur.

Works

Le Phénix, opera buffa (1957); Lettres perdues, radiophonie opera (1960; Paris, April 24, 1961); La Dictée, lyric monodrama (1961); Le Coeur révélateur, chamber opera (1961; Paris, Oct. 7, 1964); L’Homme occis, opera (1963; concert perf., Radio France, Nov. 10, 1975); Jonas, operaoratorio (1963; concert perf., Paris, Nov. 3, 1966); Mots croisés, opera (1964; Paris, Nov. 17, 1978); Donna mobile I, opera (1964; Tours, Aug. 11, 1985); Métamorphose d’Echo, mono-mimo-mélodrame (1965); La Noirceur du lait, “opéra-test” (1966; Strasbourg, June 9, 1967); On veut la lumière? Allons-y!, opera-parody (Angers, Dec. 12, 1968); Fêtes de la faim, opera for comedians (Avignon, July 26, 1969); Jeu de l’oie, opera (1970); Théâtrophone, “opera a cappella” (1971); Donna mobile II, “opéra-kit” (Avignon, Aug. 5, 1972); Les liaisons dangereuses, “opéra épistolaire” (1973; Strasbourg, Feb. 5, 1974); Young Libertad, “opéra-study” (1975; Lyons, March 5, 1976); La Grand-mère française, “opéra illustré” (Avignon, July 20, 1978); Utopopolis,”opéra-chanson” (Paris, April 11, 1980); L’Escalier de Chambord, opera (Tours, March 20, 1981); Scénarios VII, “motet-opéra” (1981); Lunedì blu, short opera (Paris, June 3, 1982); Pauline, chamber opera (Fresnoy, May 9, 1983); O comme eau, “ode homophone” for Voices and Early Instruments (Paris, Nov. 30, 1984); Paysages pacifiques, “mélo-cycle” for Soprano, Flute, Cello, and Piano (Paris, Dec. 17, 1986); Le Rouge et le Noir, opera (Aix-en-Provence, July 20, 1989); Sommaire Soleil, “melodrama” (1991; Paris, March 21, 1995); Parlons Fric, comic opera (1992); Sitôt le septuor, opera (1993).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire