author
Jules Barbier
1825–1901
A French poet, playwright, and librettist, he helped shape some of the most famous operas of the 19th century. His words gave dramatic life to works such as Faust, Roméo et Juliette, and Les Contes d'Hoffmann.
1 Audiobook
Faust: A Lyric Drama in Five Acts
by Charles Gounod, Jules Barbier, Michel Carré
About the author
Born in Paris in 1825, Jules Barbier became a major figure in French literary and musical life. He wrote poetry and plays, but he is best remembered as an opera librettist whose work reached a wide audience on the French stage.
He often collaborated with Michel Carré, and together they created librettos for several important operas by Charles Gounod, including Faust and Roméo et Juliette. Barbier also wrote the libretto for Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, adapting material connected with E. T. A. Hoffmann into one of opera's most enduring fantastical works.
Barbier spent his life in Paris, where he was born and where he died in 1901. His writing is closely tied to the golden age of French opera, and his gift for turning stories into vivid, singable drama helped secure his lasting reputation.