Hignard, (Jean-Louis) Aristide

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Hignard, (Jean-Louis) Aristide

Hignard, (Jean-Louis) Aristide, French composer; b. Nantes, May 20, 1822; d. Vernon, March 20, 1898. He studied with Halévy at the Paris Cons., taking the 2nd Grand Prix de Rome. He was an earnest composer of lofty aims, but brought out operas and other works of secondary importance. His best opera, Hamlet (1868), was to be performed in Paris, but, unluckily for him, Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas was produced that same year, with such spectacular success that Hignard could not compete with it. Accordingly, he had to be content with a provincial production in his native city (Nantes, April 21, 1888). His other operas included Le Visionnaire (Nantes, 1851), Le Colin-Maillard (Paris, 1853), Les Compagnons de la Marjolaine (Paris, 1855), M. de Chimpanzé (Paris, 1858), Le Nouveau Pourceaugnac (Paris, 1860), L’Auberge des Ardennes (Paris, 1860), and Les Musiciens de l’orchestre (Paris, 1861).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire