Michel Carré

Born in Besançon on October 20, 1821, Michel Carré went to Paris intending to become a painter, but soon turned to writing instead. He began with verse and plays before finding his strongest voice in the theater as a librettist.

Carré is especially remembered for his long collaboration with Jules Barbier. Together they wrote libretti for major French operas, including works for Charles Gounod such as Faust and Roméo et Juliette. He also wrote the text for Gounod’s Mireille on his own and worked with other collaborators on notable stage works, including Bizet’s Les pêcheurs de perles.

His writing helped bring literary feeling, clear dramatic structure, and emotional immediacy to opera at a time when French musical theater was flourishing. Carré died in Argenteuil on June 27, 1872, but his work continues to live on wherever these operas are performed.