
Photo: C. Ruckert & Cie · Public domain · credits
Robert Planquette
Person · male · France · Paris · born 1848 · died 1903 · recording since 1973
French composer of songs and operettas (1848–1903)
Also known as 罗贝尔·普朗凯特
Timeline
1840s
1880s
1900s
1970s
· Debut release
Debut release: Les Cloches de Corneville
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
2000s
Biography
Biography
Jean Robert Planquette (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ ʁɔbɛʁ plɑ̃kɛt]; 31 July 1848 – 28 January 1903) was a French composer of songs and operettas.
Several of Planquette's operettas were extraordinarily successful in Britain, especially Les cloches de Corneville (1878), the length of whose initial London run broke all records for any piece of musical theatre up to that time. Rip Van Winkle (1882) also earned international fame.
Life and career
The son of a singer, Planquette was born in Paris and educated at the Paris Conservatoire. He did not finish his studies, lacking the funds to do so, and worked as a café pianist and composer and singing (he was a tenor). A few romances that he composed brought less fame than did his song, "Sambre et Meuse", first sung in 1867 by Lucien Fugère, who went on to be one of the foremost French opera singers of his day.
In 1876, the director of the Théâtre des Folies-Dramatiques gave Planquette a commission to compose his first operetta, Les cloches de Corneville. It opened in Paris in 1877, running for an extremely successful 480 performances, and then enjoyed an astonishing London run, beginning in 1878, of a record-breaking 708 performances. Planquette's music has been praised for its pathos and romantic feeling. Le Chevalier Gaston was produced in 1879 with little success. In 1880 came Les Voltigeurs du 32ieme which had a long run in London in 1887 as The Old Guard, and La Cantiniére, which was translated into English as Nectarine, though never produced.
In 1882 Rip Van Winkle was produced in London and subsequently given in Paris as Rip, in both cases with great success. The libretto is an adaptation by H. B. Farnie of Washington Irving's famous tale. In 1884 the phenomenon of an opera by a French composer being produced in London before being heard in Paris was repeated in Nell Gwynne, which was modestly successful, but failed when produced in Paris as La Princesse Colombine. It was followed by La Crémaillere (Paris, 1885), Surcouf (Paris, 1887; London, as Paul Jones, 1889), Captain Thérése (London, 1887), La Cocarde tricolore (Paris, 1892), Le Talisman (Paris, 1892), Panurge (Paris, 1895) and Mam'zelle Quat'sous (Paris, 1897).
Another Planquette composition, the march Le Régiment de Sambre et Meuse, has achieved fame in an arrangement for brass band; it is the tune used by the Ohio State University Marching Band when performing their famed Script Ohio formation. The original orchestral version has been recorded by the Boston Pops Orchestra conducted by Arthur Fiedler and appears on the RCA Living Stereo CD Marches in Hi-Fi. "The Song of the Cabin Boy," a barcarolle from Planquette's Les cloches de Corneville was played on the violin by W.K.L. Dickson in the first experiment in history in synchronizing sound and motion pictures (1894). It is viewable online as The Dickson Experimental Sound Film.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 23 | 84.8th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 3 | 77.1th |
| Studio albums | 3 | 80.9th |
| Awards recorded | 1 | 89th |
| Timeline events | 6 | 80.8th |
| Recording span (years) | -70 | 5.7th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (3 release groups · 3 studio albums)
Albums · 3
1973 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 4 tracks · 1:38:15
Disc 1A1Acte I: 1ère Partie23:30B1Acte I: Suite et fin24:35Disc 2C1Acte II: 1ère Partie24:30D1Acte II: Fin / Acte III: Début et fin25:402001 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 52 tracks · 2:00:37
Disc 11Les Cloches de Corneville : Ouverture5:012Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte I. Chœur “C’est le marché de Corneville” (Chœur, Serpolette)2:083Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte I. Chanson des on-dit “On dit, on dit, charmante femme” (Serpolette, Chœur, Le Tabellion)5:304Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte I. Dialogue “C’est-y vrai que tu quittes le Père Gaspard ?” (Serpolette, Les 5 filles)0:485Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte I. Chanson de Serpolette “Dans ma mystérieuse histoire” (Serpolette)1:536Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte I. Dialogue “En attendant que tu sois princesse” (Germaine, Serpolette, Le Bailli)2:397Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte I. Chanson du mousse “Va, petit mousse” (Grenicheux)3:038Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte I. Dialogue “C’est qu’elle est riche, la Germaine” (Grenicheux, Germaine)1:059Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte I. Duo “Même sans consulter mon cœur” (Germaine, Grenicheux)3:3610Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte I. Dialogue “Ah ! mon Dieu, qu'est-ce là ?” (Germaine, Grenicheux, Henri)1:1411Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte I. Légende des cloches “Nous avons hélas perdu d’excellents maîtres” (Germaine, Chœur)3:3812Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte I. Dialogue “Charmante voix et ravissante jeune fille” (Henri, Germaine, Une fille)1:1713Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte I. Rondeau-valse “J’ai fait trois fois le tour du monde” (Henri)3:1314Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte I. Monologue “Mais en attendant le marché” (Henri)0:0915Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte I. Ensemble “C’est affreux, c’est odieux” (Serpolette, Germaine, Grenicheux, Le Bailli, Gaspard, Chœur)1:5216Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte I. Entracte3:5317Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte I. Monologue “Ouf … ” (Grenicheux)0:3118Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte I. Couplets de Grenicheux “Je ne sais comment faire” (Grenicheux)1:3719Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte I. Dialogue “Grenicheux!” (Les Filles, Grenicheux)0:2620Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte I. Final-Chœur “C’est le marché de Corneville” (Chœur, Le Tabellion, Gaspard, Grenicheux, Henri, Germaine, Serpolette)9:5621Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte II. Entracte1:0422Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte II. Chœur “À la lueur de ces flambeaux” (Chœur, Germaine, Henri)2:1123Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte II. Dialogue “Au secours, voulez-vous me lâcher” (Grenicheux, Les Marins, Cachalot, Germaine, Le Bailli, Serpolette)0:3024Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte II. Trio “Fermons les yeux” (Serpolette, Grenicheux, Le Bailli)1:2025Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte II. Chanson “Pristi, sapristi” (Serpolette)2:0326Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte II. Dialogue “Vous le voyez, impossible de pénétrer dans ces galeries” (Henri, Germaine, Serpolette, Grenicheux, Le Bailli)0:3127Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte II. Couplets de Germaine “Ne parlez pas de mon courage” (Germaine)2:22Disc 21Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte II. “À ce propos, mes compliments, monsieur le bailli” (Henri, Le Bailli, Germaine)0:262Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte II. Chanson du Bailli “J’avais perdu ma tête et ma perruque”2:343Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte II. “Et ce scandale, qui l’avait provoqué?” (Henri, Le Bailli, Germaine)0:564Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte II. Chanson & chœur des ancêtres “Non ! Vous le voyez, mes aïeux étaient restés de garde” (Henri, Serpolette, Germaine, Grenicheux, Chœur)2:455Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte II. Dialogue “Mais il est visible que les fantômes n’ont pas habité cette salle” (Henri, Germaine, Le Bailli, Serpolette, Grenicheux)2:046Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte II. Ensemble & couplets “C’est mouai, c’est mouai” (Serpolette, Henri)2:017Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte II. Dialogue “Tout beau, tout beau, ma chère enfant” (Henri, Germaine, Le Bailli, Grenicheux)1:438Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte II. Duo “C’est elle, et son destin la guide” (Henri, Germaine)4:489Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte II. Dialogue “Pardon, Capitaine, une sentinelle...” (Cachalot, Henri, Germaine, Grenicheux, Le Bailli)0:4410Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte II. Chœur & quintette “Gloire au valeureux Grenichon” (Serpolette, Germaine, Grenicheux, Henri, Le Bailli, Chœur)2:5011Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte II. Dialogue “Un homme entre dans le souterrain” (Cachalot, Grenicheux, Gaspard)1:2612Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte II. Duo “C’est là, c’est là qu’est la richesse” (Grenicheux, Gaspard)2:5813Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte II. Chœur “Debout, debout, nobles ancêtres” (Henri, Serpolette, Germaine, Le Bailli, Chœur, Gaspard)3:1514Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte III. Entracte1:2915Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte III. Chanson des gueux “Enfin, nous voilà transportés” (Gaspard, Les 5 filles)2:1916Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte III. Dialogue “Est-ce drôle tout de même” (Serpolette, Gaspard, Les 5 filles)1:1817Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte III. Chœur & chanson “Regardez donc, quel équipage” (Chœur, Serpolette, Grenicheux)3:2518Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte III. Dialogue “À la bonne heure, nous te r’trouvons” (Serpolette, Germaine, Les 5 filles, Grenicheux, Gaspard)1:5319Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte III. Chanson de la pomme “La pomme est un fruit plein de sève” (Serpolette, Chœur)3:1820Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte III. Dialogue “Bravo, à merveille” (Henri, Serpolette, Le Bailli, Grenicheux)2:2121Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte III. Rondeau-valse “Je regardais en l'air” (Grenicheux)2:4322Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte III. Dialogue “Ah ! c’est trop de patience, scélérat !” (Henri, Grenicheux, Germaine)0:4723Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte III. Duo “Ah ! Monseigneur” (Germaine, Henri)3:5024Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte III. Dialogue “Ah ! mon Dieu, l’on revient” (Henri, Germaine, Le Bailli, Gaspard, Serpolette, Grenicheux)2:2825Les Cloches de Corneville : Acte III. Finale “Pour ce trésor que tu nous abandonnes” (Serpolette, Germaine, Grenicheux, Henri, Gaspard, Henri, Le Bailli, Chœur)2:46— · studio album
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Tracklist · 3 tracks
A1Acte IA2Acte II (première partie)B1Acte II (deuxième partie)
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Robert Planquette head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 23 | 84.8th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 3 | 77.1th |
| Studio albums | 3 | 80.9th |
| Awards recorded | 1 | 89th |
| Timeline events | 6 | 80.8th |
| Recording span (years) | -70 | 5.7th |
| Genres | 2 | 74th |
Awards & honours
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1888 | Knight of the Legion of Honour | won |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robert_Planquette_by_C._Ruckert.pngaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/e2096b6f-6fb2-41ef-8316-a8cc869268fddiscography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/e2096b6f-6fb2-41ef-8316-a8cc869268fdcore—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1921492genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1921492seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Planquettebiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Planquette
Why this artist is in the database
- List of composers by name
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: C. Ruckert & Cie · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q1921492 · MusicBrainz: e2096b6f-6fb2-41ef-8316-a8cc869268fd
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