Grétry, André (1741-1813)

Grétry, André

COMPOSER (BELGIUM)

BORN 8 Feb 1741, Liège - DIED 24 Sep 1813, Montmorency, Val-d'Oise: Rousseau's Ermitage
BIRTH NAME Grétry, André Ernest Modeste
GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Père Lachaise, Rue du Repos 16 (division 11, chemin Méhul, ligne 03 (M: X-20))

André Grétry was the son of a poor church violinist. At the church of St. Denis in Liège he was a choirboy. Jean-Pantaléon Leclerc became his teacher in 1753 and after that he was taught by the organist Nicholas Rennekin and by Henri Moreau, the music master of the church of St. Paul. He also taught himself by attending Italina operas.

In 1759 he composed a mass the he dedicated to the canons of the Cathedral in Liège. With the financial help of Canon Hurley he was able to live and study in Rome 1766. Early in 1767 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. He married the painter Jeanne Marie Grandon (1746-1807) in Paris in 1771. At that they time they alread had three daughters together. Their daughter Lucile was a promising composer but she died of tuberculosis when she was seventeen years old.

Grétry 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
• met Voltaire

Images
The grave of André Ernest Modeste Grétry at Père Lachaise, Paris. Picture by Androom (19 Nov 2006)	The house in Liège where André Grétry was born. Picture by Androom (28 Jun 2024)	The statue of André Grétry in front of the opera in Liège. It was created by Guillaume Geefs in 1842. Picture by Androom (27 Jun 2024)