{{Short description|French composer}} right|frame '''Victor Roger''' (22 July 1853 – 2 December 1903) was a French composer. He is best known for his operettas, particularly the lighter kind known as the "vaudeville-opérette". His thirty theatre works, composed between 1880 and 1902, also include pantomimes and ballets. His best-known piece, ''Les vingt-huit jours de Clairette'', has remained in the repertory of French companies.
==Biography== Roger was born in Montpellier, in the south of France, the son of a musician.<ref name=grove>Lamb, Andrew. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/23668 "Roger, Victor"]. ''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, accessed 22 June 2010 (requires subscription)</ref> After studying at the École Niedermeyer he began his career composing songs and operettas for the Eldorado music hall. In 1886, he had a success with ''Joséphine vendue par ses soeurs'', a parody of Méhul's biblical opera, ''Joseph et ses frères''. He followed this with ''Les vingt-huit jours de Clairette'' (1892), an operetta on a military theme, in the tradition of the earlier operetta composer Hervé. It ran initially for 236 performances and was revived in 1900, 1901, 1903, 1908, 1914, 1920, 1921 and 1925,<ref name=tmo/> and was filmed in 1933.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0200259/fullcredits#writers "Clairette's 28 Days"]. ''Internet Movie Database'', accessed 22 June 2010</ref> ''Les vingt-huit jours de Clairette'' was by far Roger's greatest success, and so it has tended to eclipse his other works, some of which enjoyed considerable popularity initially.<ref name=tmo>Pourvoyeur, Robert. [http://pagesperso-orange.fr/anao/composit/roger.html "Victor Roger"], ''Théâtre musical – Opérette'', (French text), accessed 22 June 2010.</ref> ''L'auberge du Tohu-Bohu'', which followed in 1897, was another example of "vaudeville-opérette", in which the spoken comedy took a more equal part with the music than in traditional operetta.<ref name=grove/> Besides his songs and operettas, Roger's compositions included some ballet and pantomimes, the former being ''Le vague'' (1883), ''La Camargo'' (1901), and ''Cendrillon'' (1902), and the latter were ''Balazi-Boumboum'' (1888) and {{lang|fr|Chez le conturier}} (1895). He collaborated with the composers Gaston Serpette (''Cendrillonnette'' (1890) and ''La Dot de Brigitte'' (1895)) and Paul Lacome (''Mademoiselle Asmodée'' (1891)).<ref name=grove/> The critic Andrew Lamb wrote of Roger, "His music is admirably crafted, demonstrating melodic grace, charm and a flair for rhythmic effect that are well suited to the lighthearted stage works to which he contributed."<ref name=grove/>
Roger was a Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur, a critic for the publication ''La France'', and editor of the theatrical news in the ''Petit journal''. He also acted as secretary of the Paris Opéra balls.<ref name=grove/>
Roger died in Paris at the age of 50.
==Notes== {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{IMSLP|id=Roger, Victor}} * [http://data.bnf.fr/14820106/victor_roger/ Victor Roger] on data.bnf.fr {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roger, Victor}} Category:1853 births Category:1903 deaths Category:French operetta composers Category:Musicians from Montpellier Category:French ballet composers Category:French opera composers Category:French male opera composers Category:Knights of the Legion of Honour Category:French music critics Category:French male non-fiction writers Category:19th-century French male musicians Category:French recipients of the Legion of Honour