Lopez, Francis(co)
Lopez, Francis(co)
Lopez, Francis(co), French composer; b. Mont-béliard, June 15, 1916; d. Paris, Jan. 5, 1995. He studied to be a dentist but after finding success writing songs, he opted for a career as a composer of light works for the French musical theater in Paris. He found an adept librettist and lyricist in Raymond Vincy; they scored an enormous success with their first outing, the operetta Le Belle de Cadix (Dec. 24, 1945). They subsequently collaborated on a long series of highly successful works, among them Andlousie (Oct. 25, 1947), Quatre Jours à Paris (Feb. 28, 1948), Pour Don Carlos (Dec. 17, 1950), Le Chanteur de Mexico (Dec. 15, 1951), La Route fleurie (Dec. 19, 1952), À la Jamïque (Jan. 24, 1954), La Toison d’or (Dec. 18, 1954), and Méditerranée (Dec. 17, 1956). Several of these works became classics and were made into films. Lopez and Vincy continued their collaboration until the latter’s death in 1968. Among their later scores were Maria-Flora (Dec. 18, 1957), La Secret de Marco Polo (Dec. 12, 1959), Visa pour I’amour (Dec. 1961), Cristobal le Magnifique (Dec. 1963), and Le Prince de Madrid (March 4, 1967). In subsequent years, Lopez continued to compose prolifically but only infrequently found the inspiration of his earlier years. His autobiography was publ. as Flamenco: La gloire et les larmes (Paris, 1987) .
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire