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Image:Gustave charpentier.jpg|right|115px|Gustave
Charpentier
Gustave Charpentier (June 25, 1860 - February 18,
1956) was a France|French composer, best known for
his opera Louise (opera)|Louise.

He was born in Dieuze, the son of a baker, and
after studying at the conservatoire in Lille
entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1881. There he
studied compositions under Jules Massenet and in
1887 won the Prix de Rome for his cantata Didon.
During the time in Rome that the prize gave him,
he wrote the orchestral Impressions d'Italie and
began work on the libretto and music for what
would become his best known work, the opera Louise
(opera)|Louise.

Charpentier returned to Paris, and continued to
compose, including songs on texts by Charles
Baudelaire and Voltaire. He eventually completed
Louise, and it was accepted for production by the
Opéra-Comique. A realistic portrait of Parisian
working-class life, it is sometimes considered an
early example of verismo opera.

The premiere of Louise on February 2, 1900 under
the baton of André Messager made it the first new
opera to be produced at the Opéra-Comique in the
20th century. It was an immediate success, soon
being performed all over the world and bringing
Charpentier wide acclaim. It also launched the
career of Scottish soprano Mary Garden who took
over the title role during an early performance. A
film version of the work was made in 1939 with 
Grace Moore in the title role, and Louise is still
occasionally performed today, with "Depuis le
jour", an aria taken from it, a popular recital
piece.

In 1902, Charpentier founded the Conservatoire
Populaire Mimi Pinson, intended to provide a free
artistic eduction to Paris's working girls.
However, he became unproductive as a composer. He
worked on a sequel to Louise, Julien, but it was a
not as great a success as Louise on its 1913
premiere, and was quickly forgotten. Charpentier
wrote virtually no more music for the rest of his
life. He died in Paris.

==Opera==
*Louise (opera)|Louise - 1900
*Julien (opera)|Julien, ou La vie du poète - 1913
*L'amour au faubourg - 1913
*Orphée (opera)|Orphée - 1931