Demoustier, Charles Albert
(1760–1801)> LIBRETTIST
Demoustier, Charles Albert (11 March 1760, Villers-Cotterets; 9 March 1801, Villers-Cotterets), librettist, was so impressed by his parents’ assertion that he was a descendant of Jean de La Fontaine and Jean Baptiste Racine that he abandoned law for a literary career. His first publication, entitled Lettres à Emilie, was published in six installments between 1786 and 1798. Its first volume brought instant success and fame to its author. Unfortunately, the work relied heavily upon forced wit and…