Duplessis, Charles-Pierre

Duplessis, Charles-Pierre (1750, Martinique; 1800, Paris), librettist, was known to his contemporaries as the “chevalier Duplessis.” He was quite young at the time of his arrival in France from Martinique, and he began his European studies at a military school. He graduated with a commission, but he decided to embark upon a musical career in his spare time. His first effort was the libretto for Pizarre which Candeille set. Since the baron de Breteuil was interested in this work, it was staged…