Pierre-Joseph-Justin Bernard

Pierre-Joseph Bernard (1708 - 1775), called Gentil-Bernard by Voltaire for the measured grace of his discreetly erotic verses, was a French military man and salon poet with the reputation of a rake, the author of several libretti for Rameau. His libretto for Jean-Philippe Rameau's Castor et Pollux (1737), a resounding success, rendered him fashionable in the salons. For Rameau, Bernard also provided libretti for the operas Les surprises de l'Amour (1748) and Anacréon (1757).