Victor Hugo and the Romantic Musicians

A great admirer of Beethoven and Schubert, Victor Hugo took an interest in music without participating directly in musical life. Except on one occasion: in 1836, in collaboration with Louise Bertin, he offered an adaptation of Notre-Dame de Paris, as La Esmeralda, to the Académie royale de musique; but this opera project fell prey to censorship and scandal. His works had a lasting impact on contemporary musicians, however, and on future generations throughout Europe. Poems from Les Orientales (1829), for example, were set to music by Berlioz, Liszt, Wagner, Bizet, d’Indy, and Marie Jaëll. His plays were also widely adapted for the operatic stage: their powerful and modern themes attracted not only French composers (Massenet, Lalo) but also Italians (Donizetti, Mercadante, Verdi) and Russians (Cui, Dargomyzhsky). This influence extended beyond vocal music: among the earliest symphonic poems, many, including Franck’s Ce qu’on entend sur la montagne (1847) and Liszt’s Mazeppa (1851), were inspired by Hugo’s works.