Grétry, André Ernest Modeste

COMPOSER (BELGIUM)
BORN 8 Feb 1741, Liège - DIED 24 Sep 1813, Montmorency, Val-d'Oise: Rousseau's Ermitage
GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Père Lachaise, Rue du Repos 16 (division 11, X, 20)

Son of a violinist. He studied composition and from 1761 until 1766 he lived in Rome. In 1766 he presented his first comic opera "Isabelle et Gertrude" in Geneva. There he met Voltaire. Under the protection of the Swedish ambassador he was able to produce "Le Huron" in Paris. Subsequently he wrote opera's in rapid succession and even continued to do so during the French Revolution.

Napoleon gave him a pension in 1803 and made him one of the first chevaliers de la Légion d’honneur. He spent his last years at Montmorency, where he lived at the old property of Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Related persons
• admired Dugazon, Rose
• met Napoleon I Bonaparte

Images

The grave of André Ernest Modeste Grétry at Père Lachaise, Paris.
Picture by Androom (19 Nov 2006)

 

Sources
• Culbertson, Judi & Tom Randall, Permanent Parisians, Robson Books, London, 1991


Greuze, Jean-Baptiste

Published: 22 Apr 2007
Last update: 26 Jan 2022