Ferdinand Poise

Jean Alexandre Ferdinand Poise (3 June 1828 – 13 May 1892) was a French composer, mainly of opéra-comiques, for which he also frequently wrote the librettos.

Born in Nimes, Poise studied at the Conservatoire de Paris under the tutelage of Adolphe Adam, himself a pupil of Boieldieu. His first opera was "Bonsoir voisin" (1853), which established his career and remains his most enduring success since it is still performed in France and Belgium. He did not follow contemporary operetta trends, but preferred to remain in line with the 18th century opéra comique. Alphonse Daudet was his librettist for Les Charmeurs (1855) and Les Absents (1864).

In 1862, the cantata Nemausa was created, the libretto of which was written by Alfred de Montvaillant [fr] Le Roi Don Pèdre (1857) and Le Corricolo (1868) were failures, but Poise, drawing inspiration from the works of the late 17th and 18th centuries, went on to create quality works: Les Deux billets (1870) after Florian, Les Trois souhaits (1873) and the trilogy La Surprise de l'amour (1877), L'Amour médecin (1880) and Joli-Gilles (1884). Carmosine was a work that is in a different style from the others.

His contemporary Arnold Mortier portrayed him as "long, emaciated and funereal. Poise, who wrote such vivid and valiant scores, is, I am assured, one of the saddest men in Paris".

Poise died in Paris at age 63.