Daniel-François-Esprit Auber: La Barcarolle

Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (17821871), once one of the most well-known and well-loved names in French 19th-century opera, came later in life than many famous composers to his art, yet had one of the longest and most successful careers. He studied with Cherubini after abandoning an initial attempt to establish a career in commerce, and experienced his first real triumph at the age of 38 with La Bergère Châteleine (1820). His subsequent association with the librettist Eugène Scribe (17911861), a collaboration that lasted until Scribes death, became one of the most famous and successful partnerships in musical history. Works such as Le Maçon (1825) and La Muette de Portici (1828) cemented Aubers popularity with the public and drew official recognition and honours. In 1829 he was appointed a member of the Institut, in 1839 Director of Concerts at Court, in 1842 Director of the Conservatoire, in 1852 Musical Director of the Imperial Chapel, and in 1861 Grand Officer of the Légion dHonneur.Aubers grand opera La Muette de Portici (also known by its heros name as Masaniello), a work of great significance in the history of opera, is set against a background of revolution and uprisinga situation that Auber knew only too well. He lived through four French Revolutions (1789, 1830, 1848, 1870), dying at the advanced age of 89 in the desperate conditions of the Commune, of a long-standing illness aggravated by the dangers and privations that attended the Siege of Paris. Auber had always loved his home city, and was not prepared to leave it, even after his house had been set on fire by the petroleurs et petroleuses. Ironically, a mark had been placed against the house of the composer of La Muette de Portici, a man so successful in depicting revolutionary fervour that a performance of this opera in Brussels in 1830 had helped to inspire the revolution that led to the separation of Belgium from Holland.Aubers charming and graceful overtures were once staples of the light Classical repertoire, known and loved everywhere. His gracious melodies and dance rhythms had an overwhelming influence on piano and instrumental music, and on the genre of Romantic comic opera, especially in Germany. His operas, apart from Fra Diavolo (1830), have virtually passed out of the repertoire. Contemporary audiences are not attuned to Aubers elegant and restrained art, accustomed as they are to verismo, high Wagnerian ideology, and 20th-century experimentalism, but those willing to listen are rewarded by works that retain all their freshness, delicacy and charm.La Barcarolle, an opéra-comique in three acts, with libretto by Eugène Scribe, was premiered at the Opéra-Comique (Deuxième Salle Favart) on 22 April 1845.The opera is set in Parma in the 18th century, and the story involves a tale of artistic rivalry and social aspiration in the midst of Court intrigue. The Count de Fiesque gives his half-brother, the composer Fabio, the poem to a barcarolle which Fabio is to set to music, and thus bring his work to the attention of the Grand Duke. The Kapellmeister Cafarini and the Marquis de Felino, who are seeking advancement at court themselves, secretly copy the poem, set it to the music they overhear Fabio singing, and send it to the Duchess. The Grand Duke discovers the barcarolle, suspects the Count of being an admirer of his wife, and has him arrested. Fabio learns through Cafarinis niece Gina of the Kapellmeisters part in the plot, and having been forbidden entry to the Dukes concert, disguises himself as a member of the orchestra and places the parts to his barcarolle on the music stands. Gina saves Fabio from arrest by producing the music in Cafarinis handwriting; the Kapellmeister disentangles himself by identifying the Marquiss draft. The Duke pardons everyone.The libretto is simply structured, but the action moves forward most skilfully. Traces of topical humour characteristic of the original comédie-vaudeville that the libretto was derived from have been retained in the dialogue, even though these elements have been fundamentally toned down. This creates an unconscious and slightly discordant duality between the spoken and musical numbers. The Marquis is not altogether convincing as a villain, and his intrigues to imprison the Count and exile Fabio seem exaggerated and out of context.Aubers music is elegant, pliable and distinguished, like all his work. Many motifs recall memories from earlier works. The soprano air for Gina in act 1 (Personne en ces lieux ne ma vue) and the comic duet for two basses (Viens, que par toi nos muses) offer good musical declamation.There is a touching duet in act 1 for Fabio and the Count, in which they celebrate their kinship. The Barcarolle itself serves as a Leitmotif, presented imaginatively in various forms throughout the worksolo, duet, quintet, sextet, and finally quartet at the end of the opera. Of the sixteen numbers in the score, eight are duets, six of them for male voices, and two for the two basses. The score also tunes into a tradition of satireboth of musicians and artists, and of musical styles, in the manner of the most famous French example, the enduringly popular Le Maître de chapelle (1821) by Ferdinando Paër.The original cast were: Gustave-Hippolyte Roger (Fabio), Chaix (Felino), Léonard Hermann-Léon (Cafarini), Edouard Gassier (Count de Fiesque), Anoinette-Jeanne-Hermance Révilly (Clélia), and Mlle Octavie Delille (Gina). The work did not last beyond the year of its premiere, 1845.There were 27 performances. After the economic slump of 1845, frivolous tales found little public response, and this may well have turned normally receptive listeners away from this work in which the collaboration between Scribe and Auber is subtle but essentially most effective. See more