Nicolas-François Guillard (16 January 1752 – 26 December 1814) was a French
librettist. He was born in
Chartres and died in Paris, the recipient of a government pension in recognition of his work writing librettos. He was also on Comité de Lecture of the
Paris Opéra. One of the foremost of the French librettist of his generation, he wrote libretti for many noted composers of the day, including
Salieri (Les Horaces) and in particular
Sacchini (Œdipe à Colone, amongst many others). His most famous work is Iphigénie en Tauride, his first libretto, set by
Gluck after the composer had initially rejected it. Gluck collaborated with Guillard to heavily recast the libretto, not only to suit Gluck's artistic preferences, but also to accommodate pre-existing music that Gluck borrowed, both from himself and from other composers, when composing the opera.
Guillard's librettos were often adaptations of previously written works, rather than the products of original invention. He used a wide range of subjects as a starting point, basing his libretto for Sacchini's final opera, Arvire et Évélina, on an English dramatic poem and also using the works of
Pierre Corneille on two occasions. In the 1790s he altered his style to fit the revolutionary atmosphere of the time, one of his last works being the epic La mort d'Adam, where he turned to biblical themes.
1798: Olimpie, tragédie lyrique in 3 acts, music by
Christian Kalkbrenner, presented at the Théâtre de la République et des Arts à Paris, 18
frimaire an VII (8 December)
1801: Le Casque et les colombes, opéra-ballet in one act, music by André Grétry, premiered at the Opéra de Paris, 7 November.