Gilbert, Gabriel
(1610–1680)> LIBRETTIST
Gilbert, Gabriel (1610, Paris; 1680?, Paris), librettist, was a Parisian Protestant known more for his tragedies than his operas: his collaborator on Téléphonte (1642) was Cardinal Richelieu; his Rodogune (1644) seemed suspiciously similar to Pierre Corneille’s play by the same title; his tragedy based upon the story of Hippolytus and Theseus anticipates Racine’s Phèdre in more than one way. He was rather a contemporary of Corneille than a colleague of Boileau, and one of his most ardent…