2012/02/4
Louise Angelique Bertin (1805–1877), France
Composer and poet. Studied music and composition for François-Joseph Fétis. At age 20 she wrote her first opera, Guy Mannering, followed a year later by Fausto (libretto adapted from Goethe’s Faust), and the opera Le Loup-garou, which premiered at the Opéra-Comique.
Bertin was friends with Victor Hugo, who wrote the libretto for her opera La Esmerelda. She went on to compose music in more genres: 12 cantatas, six piano pieces, five symphonies for chamber orchestra, several string quartets, and a large number of songs.