Gustave Charpentier

French composer Gustave Charpentier (1860-1956) is primarily remembered for the aria "Depuis le jour" from his opera Louise, a perennial favorite with sopranos and with audiences. Charpentier won the Prix de Rome in 1887, and while in residence in Rome began work on the libretto for Louise. The romantic sweep of its music and its realistic and socially progressive subject matter made the opera a tremendous success at its premiere in 1900, but it has all but disappeared from the repertoire. Charpentier wrote a less successful sequel, Julien, in 1913, but for the remainder of his life wrote virtually no music.