Arthur Bernède (5 January 1871 – 20 March 1937) was a French writer, poet, opera librettist, and playwright.
Bernède was born in Redon, Ille-et-Vilaine department, in Brittany. In 1919, Bernède joined forces with actor René Navarre, who had played Fantômas in the Louis Feuillade serials, and writer Gaston Leroux, the creator of Rouletabille, to launch the Société des Cinéromans, a production company that would produce films and novels simultaneously. Bernède published almost 200 adventure, mystery, and historical novels. His best-known characters are Belphégor, Judex, Mandrin, Chantecoq, and Vidocq. Bernède also collaborated on plays, poems, and opera libretti with Paul de Choudens; including several operas by Félix Fourdrain.
Bernède also wrote the libretti for a number of operas, among them Jules Massenet's Sapho and Camille Erlanger's L'Aube rouge.
Works
Opéras, opéras bouffe and vocal pieces
Phryné, opera by Camille Saint-Saëns
Marie Fouré, opera by André Fijan (1897), created in Péronne
Sapho, opera by Jules Massenet (1897), libretto in collaboration with Henri Cain, with the singer Emma Calvé in the title role Ninon de Lenclos, opera by Edmonde Missa (1895), libretto in collaboration with A. Leneka, created at the Opéra-Comique Les Petites Vestales, opéra bouffe by Justin Clérice (1900) La Légende du Point d'Argentan, pièce lyrique, by Félix Fourdrain (1907) La Glaneuse, poème lyrique by Félix Fourdrain (1908), libretto in collaboration with Paul de Choudens L'Aube rouge, drame lyrique de Camille Erlanger (1911), libretto in collaboration with Paul de Choudens, created at the Théâtre des Arts de Rouen Vercingétorix, opera by Félix Fourdrain (1912), libretto in collaboration with Paul de Choudens Madame Roland, opera by Félix Fourdrain (1913), libretto in collaboration with Paul de Choudens Les Contes de Perrault, féerie lyrique by Félix Fourdrain (1914), libretto in collaboration with Paul de Choudens, with Yvonne Printemps in the title role.
Theatre plays and monologues
Le Lycéen (1891), played at the Théâtre Classique
Le Petit Alsacien
Revanche! Le Bijou de Stéphana (1892), comédie en vaudeville given at the Théâtre de Cluny L'Amour à crédit La Duchesse de Berry (1900) Les Idées de Monsieur Coton (1901), played at the Théâtre de la Renaissance La Pipe (1901), performed at the Théâtre de la Renaissance La Lune de Miel (1902), in collaboration with Daniel Riche Les Tonsurés (1905), anticlerical play La Soutane (1905), anticlerical play Sous l'Épaulette (1906), play advocating democratization of the army and social justice Aux Bat'd'Af (1906), antimilitarist melodrama, written in collaboration with Aristide Bruant L'Illustration théâtrale (1906) La Loupiote (1909) Cœur de Française (1912) Un jeune officier pauvre, trilogy (1921)