Philippe Gille

Philippe Emile François Gille (10 December 1831 – 19 March 1901) was a French dramatist and opera librettist, who was born and died in Paris. He co-wrote wrote more than twenty librettos between 1857 and 1893, the most famous of which are Massenet's ''Manon'' and Delibes' ''Lakmé''.

Gille studied law and was a clerk for a time at the Préfecture de la Seine, before becoming secretary of the Théâtre Lyrique and, from 1869, an art and music critic for ''Le Figaro''.

Gille was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1899 and was appointed as an officer of the Legion of Honour. Provided by Wikipedia