Vaëz, Gustave, 1812-1862

Jean-Nicolas-Gustave Van Nieuwen-Huysen (known as Gustave Vaëz) (6 December 1812 – 12 March 1862) was a Belgian playwright, librettist, translator of opera libretti, and opera director. He wrote many stage plays and opera libretti in collaboration with Alphonse Royer; including the libretti to Gaetano Donizetti's La favorite (1843) and Giuseppe Verdi's Jérusalem (1847). Vaëz and Royer also translated several Italian-language operas by other writers into French. Vaëz also collaborated on opera libretti with the writers Eugène Scribe and Victorien Sardou. Alone, Vaëz wrote the libretto to Donizetti's Rita, ou Le mari battu. He served as director of the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe from 1853 to 1856, and as deputy director of the Paris Opera from 1856 to 1860. He was awarded the Order of Leopold in 1846, and the Legion of Honour in 1856. He died in 1862.