Indian Culture and Music as a Source of Inspiration for French Opera Composers

"The current paper strives to discover and reveal the influences of Indian culture and classical Indian music in French operas. At first, the evocation of India was obtained through the subjects of the operas and stunning scenic designs, fulfilling the requirements of exoticism. Gradually, the composers attempted to include in their musical discourses exotic rhythmic and melodic elements, in some instances inspired by Indian classical music, thus aiming to evoke a genuine image of India. At the same time, the use of elements pertaining to Indian music (rāgas, rhythmic patterns, timbres) offered the musicians the possibility to create novel sound discourses. The analysis focuses on several operas, composed between the eighteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, following the evolution of Indian representations in several dimensions: dramatic (libretto), visual (scenic representations, dance), and musical (melody, rhythm, timbre). The present paper investigates the way Indian themes influenced the conception of the libretto, and at the same time the visual dimension of the works (setting, costumes), observing how these visual elements were gradually absorbed into the musical discourse (analysis of the melodic structures), through the incorporation of Indian rāgas in works conceived according to the rules of Western music composition. Keywords: exoticism, orientalism, India, French opera, rāga "

Popular Opera in Eighteenth-Century France

This is the first book for a century to explore the development of French opera with spoken dialogue from its beginnings. Musical comedy in this form came in different styles and formed a distinct genre of opera, whose history has been obscured by neglect. Its songs were performed in private homes, where operas themselves were also given. The subject-matter was far wider in scope than is normally thought, with news stories and political themes finding their way onto the popular stage. In this book, David Charlton describes the comedic and musical nature of eighteenth-century popular French opera, considering topics such as Gherardi's theatre, Fair Theatre and the 'musico-dramatic art' created in the mid-eighteenth century. Performance practices, singers, audience experiences and theatre staging are included, as well as a pioneering account of the formation of a core of 'canonical' popular works.

«Huguenots» by J. Meyerbeer in the context of spiritual-Christian quests of the era of romanticism

The purpose of the article is to identify the poetical and intonational features of J. Meyerbeer’s «Huguenots» in the context of the spiritual quest of romanticism, the evolution of French musical theater in the first half of the 19th century and its mystery component. The methodology of the work is the intonation concept of music from the perspective of intonation-stylistic analysis inherited from B. Asafiev and his followers. The analytical-musicological, genre-style, interdisciplinary, historical and cultural approaches are also essential for this work, revealing the spiritual and moral specifics of the poetics of the French «grand opera» and its mystery primary sources using the example of J. Meyerbeer's «Huguenots». The scientific novelty of the work is determined by its analytical perspective, focused on the consideration of the «Huguenots» by J. Meyerbeer in the context of the spiritual-Christian quests of the romantic era. Conclusions. The poetics of J. Meyerbeer’s opera «Huguenots», which is one of the exemplary examples of «grand» French opera, was formed at the intersection, on the one hand, of creative discoveries in the field of French musical theater of the first half of the 19th century and its vocal and performing stage practice. On the other hand, the named work demonstrates a deep connection with the mysterious traditions of the French spiritual theater, dating back to the Middle Ages, to the spiritual, religious and stylistic attitudes of the musical theater of French classicism («lyric tragedy» by J. B. Lully) and at the same time consonant with the religious quests of romanticism and the moral and ethical positions of French historicism. The essential role of religious confrontation in the Huguenots, which determinesthe intonational and dramatic specificity of the work, right down to the quotations of the Lutheran chant, ultimately focuses on the «collegiality of the highest order», which overcomes confessional barriers, defining the spiritual and moral pathos of the French «grand opera» and its spiritual attitudes.

The private musical memoirs of Dutch nobleman Alexander Michiels van Kessenich (1800–1869)

The memoirs that the Dutch nobleman Alexander Michiels van Kessenich (1800–1869) published in 1858–1859 offer a unique perspective on nineteenthcentury social music history. They were public in the sense of being printed, but private in the sense that the publication was not for sale. Because of a lack of editorial rigor the text comes across as a highly informal collection of personal musical memories. The unusual format of this publication is mirrored in its content. With his insistence that in their music making members of the aristocracy should avoid mingling with the lower classes and his obvious fondness for contemporary French opera, the musical memoirs of this Dutch nobleman demonstrate that to him, and probably many more like him, the burgeoning ideals of nineteenth-century middle-class music life were simply irrelevant.

The Exotic in Nineteenth-Century French Opera, Part 1: Locales and Peoples

Nineteenth-century French opera is renowned for its obsession with “the exotic”—that is, with lands and peoples either located far away from “us” Western Europeans or understood as being very different from us. One example: hyper-passionate Spaniards and “Gypsies” in Bizet’s Carmen. Most discussions of the role that the exotic plays in nineteenth-century French opera focus on a few standard-repertory works (mainly serious in nature), rather than looking at a wider range of significant works performed at the time in various theaters, including the Opéra, the Opéra-Comique, and Offenbach’s Bouffes-Parisiens. The present article attempts to survey the repertory broadly. Part 1 examines various “different” (or Other) lands and peoples frequently represented on stage in French operas. Part 2 discusses typical plots and character types found in these operas (sometimes regardless of the particular exotic land that was chosen) and concludes by exploring the musical means that were often employed to impel the drama and to convey the specific qualities of the people or ethnic group being represented. These musical means could include special or unusual traits: either all-purpose style markers of the exotic generally or more specific style markers associated with identifiable peoples or regions. But the musical means could also include any of the rich fund of devices that opera composers normally used when creating drama and defining character: melodic, harmonic, structural, and so on. This last point is often neglected or misunderstood in discussions of “the exotic in music,” which tend instead to focus primarily on elements that indisputably “point to” (as if semiotically) the specific land or people that the work is seeking to evoke or represent. In both Parts 1 and 2, instances are chosen from works that were often quite successfully performed at the time in French-speaking regions and that, even if little known today, can at least be consulted through recordings or videos. The works come from the standard recognized operatic genres: five-act grands opéras, three-act opéras-comiques, and short works in bouffe style. The composers involved include (among others) Adam, Auber, Berlioz, Bizet, Chabrier, Cherubini, Clapisson, Félicien David, Delibes, Flotow, Gomis, Gounod, Halévy, Messager, Meyerbeer, Hippolyte Monpou, Offenbach, Ernest Reyer, Saint-Saëns, Ambroise Thomas, and Verdi (Les vêpres siciliennes, Don Carlos). Examining certain lesser-known works reveals merits that have gone relatively unheralded. As for the better-known works, approaching them in this wide-angled way grants us a richer appreciation of their strengths and their often-enlivening internal contradictions.

The Evolution of French Opera Repertories in Provincial Theaters

Which operas did people most often watch in France—all over France, that is—in 1780, 1820, 1860, and 1890? How did provincial theaters compare with those in Paris, where the great majority of operas originated? This chapter aims to correct the unduly narrow focus on Paris traditionally followed in histories of French opera. The chapter shows how old, indeed canonic, repertories were created in Paris, which then were performed in such cities as Rouen, Bordeaux, and Lyon. It traces how repertories emerged, focusing variously on works by Gluck, Rossini, Meyerbeer, Donizetti, Verdi, and Wagner. The most important respect in which provincial theaters differed from those in Paris was the close intermingling in a single theater of pieces in different genres—opéra comique, grand opéra, and opérette. This chapter is paired with Yannick Simon’s “The mingling of opera genres: Canonic opera at the Théâtre des Arts in Rouen, 1882–1897.”

The Mingling of Opera Genres

This chapter analyzes in depth the operas performed in the late nineteenth century in Rouen. The repertory that was produced from 1882 in the new Théâtre des Arts illustrates how a provincial theater would differ significantly, in terms of the genres presented, from the Opéra or the Opéra-Comique in Paris. Like all regional theaters, the one in Rouen adapted itself to the constraints of a national system shaped by Parisian production, but it was also expected to defer to local tastes and performing conditions. The public thus saw a much greater variety of genres than was presented in the capital city. The new works produced there were often objects of local pride; for example, since Pierre Corneille had been born locally, the theater produced Jules Massenet’s setting of Le Cid. This chapter is paired with Patrick Taïeb and Sabine Teulon Lardic’s “The evolution of French opera repertories in provincial theaters: Three epochs, 1770–1900.”