Henri Meilhac
1831-1897
Also born in Paris, Henri Meilhac began drawing and working as a cartoonist and humorous writer as a young man. In 1856 he made his debut as a comedy writer with a one-act musical comedy and subsequently dedicated himself exclusively to the theatre, for which he created at least 115 works of various genres, from musical comedies to comedies in five acts to opera libretti.
Around 1860 he met Ludovic Halévy and together over a collaboration that lasted over 20 years, they influenced the production of comical libretti of the 19th century. Together they wrote libretti for Offenbach, for Bizet’s Carmen, opera libretti for other French composers, and of course, their vaudeville play, Le Réveillion was the basis for Die Fledermaus.
