Influenced by Offenbach this French composers light operas and operettas had an incredible air of happiness. He began his musical career as a conductor of the Theatre de l'Athenee in Paris and composed his first one-act operetta "Il signor Pulcinella." After his father's death he composed approximately forty operettas in the next two decades including "Les mousquetaires au couvent" in 1880. The operettas by Varney were appreciated both in France and abroad though only "Les mousquetaires" remains a part of the repertoire in France. ~ Keith Johnson, Rovi