French Opera: A Short History »

Vincent Giroud was formerly Curator of Modern Books and Manuscripts at the Beinecke Library, Yale University. He is currently a professor at the University of Franche-Comté. His recent publications include William Walton, Composer; St Petersburg: A Portrait of a Great City; The World of Witold Gombrowicz; and Picasso and Gertrude Stein.

French opera is second only to Italian opera in the length, breadth, and diversity of its history. Yet most people, if asked to come up with titles, could mention only a handful of titles—Carmen, Faust, Pelleas et Melisande, Samson et Dalila—a small list for an operatic tradition that began in the seventeenth century and is still very much alive. This book provides a full, single-volume account of opera in France from its origins to the present day.

Vincent Giroud looks at the leading composers, from Lully to Messiaen and beyond; at the development of French operatic form and style; at performance, performers, and audience; and at the impact of French opera beyond France’s borders. Lovers of opera will find this an ideal companion to their appreciation of the form.

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgements

Introduction 1

1 From the Origins to Lully 5

2 From Lully to Rameau 25

3 The Age of Rameau 45

4 Gluck to Revolution 69

5 Revolution to Romanticism 93

6 The Age of Grand Opera 126

7 French Opera under the Second Empire 161

8 From Carmen to Pelleas 195

9 From the Belle Epoque to the Annees Folles 237

10 Crisis and Renewal 270

Notes 306

Bibliography 340

Index 347