French librettist.

His first libretto was for the operetta M'sieu Landry by J. Duprato.

In 1869 he became the assistant director of the Paris Opéra, and from 1870 to 1874 he was co-director of the Opéra-Comique with D. Leuven. It was for this theatre that he commissioned Carmen from Bizet. For Verdi, he wrote the libretto for Don Carlos in collaboration with François Joseph Méry, and translated into French the librettos of Simon Boccanegra and La forza del destino. He also takes credit for having suggested to Verdi the subject for Aida, an idea matured together with the French archaeologist Mariette following a trip to Egypt.