Alfred Blau

Alfred Blau (born Blois, 29 May 1827, died Brussels, 23 February 1896) was a French dramatist and opera librettist. He was a cousin of Édouard Blau, another French librettist of the same period.

Although born in Blois, he became "one of the most Parisians of the Parisians of Paris", although this only extended to the right bank of the city. He had trained in law and taken on a few cases but went to Paris aged 22 and soon became a part of the group of Murger, Schanne and Champfleury.

In the literary world he was known by the anagrammatic pen-name Baül. In addition to the libretti listed below, in late 1887 he was in discussions with Emmanuel Chabrier for a libretto on the subject of The Tempest by Shakespeare, but the project came to nothing.

Blau was a member of the Académie of Blois (despite believing such institutions to be redundant), and was nominated chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in 1894, two years before his death in Brussels.

Birth and Death Data: Born (Blois (French commune and city in Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire)), Died February 23, 1896 (City of Brussels (municipality and capital city of Belgium) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1930 - 1933

Roles Represented in DAHR: lyricist

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia (U.K.) WLX642 12-in. 5/6/1930 Le bruit des chants s'éteint dans la forêt immense Eugène Bigot ; Paul Franz Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  
Columbia (U.K.) CLX1729 12-in. 7/7/1933 Le bruit des chants Eugène Bigot ; Georges Thill Male vocal solo, with orchestra lyricist  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Blau, Alfred," accessed January 3, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/373398.

Blau, Alfred. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 3, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/373398.

"Blau, Alfred." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 3 January 2026.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/373398

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.