Lajarte, Theodore Edouard Dufaure de

1826-1890

French composer and writer on music. Born at Bordeaux, he began his education there, later entering the Paris Conservatory, where he studied under Leborne. In his youth he wrote a number of small operettas, the first work of importance being a one-act comic opera, Le secret de 1'oncle Vincent, having quite a run. A number of his operas were produced, but he is best known by his writings. Besides contributing to various papers, he published La Bibliotheque Musicale du Theatre de 1'Opera, a very important catalogue of the  operas produced at the Opera in Paris, with annotations based upon the archives of the institution. He was connected with the opera archives from 1873, becoming librarian there in 1882. He wrote military music, a collection of Airs a danser, from Lully to Mehul, and a number of old operas and ballets in vocal score.