Opéra féerie
Encyclopedia
Opéra féerie is a French
genre of opera
or opéra-ballet based on fairy tales, often with elements of magic in their stories. Popular in the 18th century, from the time of Jean-Philippe Rameau
onwards, the form reached its culmination with works such as La belle au bois dormant
by Michele Carafa
and Cendrillon
by Nicolas Isouard
at the beginning of the 19th century.
The distantly related English genre of "fairy opera" includes Gilbert and Sullivan
's Iolanthe
. Earlier in the 19th century, James Planché
had popularised the "fairy comedy".
The German genre of Märchenoper (fairy-tale opera), though similar in subject matter, has its roots in Italian opera.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
genre of opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
or opéra-ballet based on fairy tales, often with elements of magic in their stories. Popular in the 18th century, from the time of Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau was one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the Baroque era. He replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera and is also considered the leading French composer for the harpsichord of his time, alongside François...
onwards, the form reached its culmination with works such as La belle au bois dormant
La belle au bois dormant (opera)
La belle au bois dormant is an opera in three acts by Michele Carafa to a French libretto by François-Antonine-Eugène de Planard after the tale by Charles Perrault....
by Michele Carafa
Michele Carafa
Michele Enrico Carafa di Colobrano was an Italian opera composer. He was born in Naples and studied in Paris with Luigi Cherubini. He was Professor of counterpoint at the Paris Conservatoire from 1840 to 1858...
and Cendrillon
Cendrillon (Isouard)
Cendrillon is a French opera in three acts by the Maltese-born composer Nicolas Isouard. It takes the form of an opéra comique with spoken dialogue between the musical numbers, although its authors designated it an opéra série. The libretto, by Charles Guillaume Etienne, is based on Charles...
by Nicolas Isouard
Nicolas Isouard
Nicolas Isouard was a Maltese composer.Isouard studied in Valletta with Francesco Azopardi, in Palermo with Giuseppe Amendola, and in Naples with Nicola Sala and Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi. From 1795 he was organist at St...
at the beginning of the 19th century.
The distantly related English genre of "fairy opera" includes Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
's Iolanthe
Iolanthe
Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh collaboration of the fourteen between Gilbert and Sullivan....
. Earlier in the 19th century, James Planché
James Planche
James Robinson Planché was a British dramatist, antiquary and officer of arms. Over a period of approximately 60 years he wrote, adapted, or collaborated on 176 plays in a wide range of genres including extravaganza, farce, comedy, burletta, melodrama and opera...
had popularised the "fairy comedy".
The German genre of Märchenoper (fairy-tale opera), though similar in subject matter, has its roots in Italian opera.
Examples
- Zémire et AzorZémire et AzorZémire et Azor is an opéra comique, described as a comédie-ballet mêlée de chants et de danses, in four acts by the Belgian composer André Grétry, The French text was by Jean François Marmontel based on La Belle et la bête by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont, and Amour pour amour by P. C....
, music by André GrétryAndré Ernest Modeste GrétryAndré Ernest Modeste Grétry was acomposer from the Prince-Bishopric of Liège , who worked from 1767 onwards in France and took French nationality. He is most famous for his opéras comiques....
(1771) - CendrillonCendrillon (Isouard)Cendrillon is a French opera in three acts by the Maltese-born composer Nicolas Isouard. It takes the form of an opéra comique with spoken dialogue between the musical numbers, although its authors designated it an opéra série. The libretto, by Charles Guillaume Etienne, is based on Charles...
(1810) and Aladin ou la Lampe merveilleuse (1822), music by Nicolas IsouardNicolas IsouardNicolas Isouard was a Maltese composer.Isouard studied in Valletta with Francesco Azopardi, in Palermo with Giuseppe Amendola, and in Naples with Nicola Sala and Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi. From 1795 he was organist at St...
, librettiLibrettoA libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Charles-Guillaume ÉtienneCharles-Guillaume ÉtienneCharles-Guillaume Étienne was a French dramatist and miscellaneous writer.He was born in Chamouilley, Haute Marne. He held various municipal offices under the Revolution and came in 1796 to Paris, where he produced his first opera, Le Rêve, in 1799, in collaboration with Antoine-Frédéric Gresnick... - Zirphile et fleur de myrte ou cent ans en un jour, music by Charles Simon CatelCharles Simon CatelCharles Simon Catel was a French composer and educator born at L'Aigle, Orne.-Biography:Catel studied at the Royal School of Singing in Paris. He was the chief assistant to François-Joseph Gossec at the orchestra of the National Guard in 1790...
, libretto by Victor-Joseph Étienne de Jouy and Nicolas Lefebvre (1818) - Le cheval de bronzeLe cheval de bronzeLe cheval de bronze is an opéra comique by the French composer Daniel Auber, first performed at the Opéra-Comique, Paris on 23 March 1835. The libretto is by Auber's regular collaborator, Eugène Scribe and the piece was a great success in its day. In 1837, it was transformed into an opera-ballet,...
, music by Daniel AuberDaniel AuberDaniel François Esprit Auber was a French composer.-Biography:The son of a Paris print-seller, Auber was born in Caen in Normandy. Though his father expected him to continue in the print-selling business, he also allowed his son to learn how to play several musical instruments...
(1835) - La fée aux roses, libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Eugène Scribe, music by Fromental HalévyFromental HalévyJacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy , was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera La Juive.-Early career:...
, Paris, Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique (1849) - La chatte blanche by the Frères Cogniard (1852)
- Les amours du diable, by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges, music by Albert GrisarAlbert GrisarAlbert Grisar was a Belgian composer.Grisar studied in Antwerp, in Paris , and, in the mid-1840s, in Naples with Saverio Mercadante. He was a successful comic opera composer, first winning success in Brussels in 1833 and in Paris later in the decade...
, Paris, Théâtre LyriqueThéâtre LyriqueThe Théâtre Lyrique was one of four opera companies performing in Paris during the middle of the 19th century . The company was founded in 1847 as the Opéra-National by the French composer Adolphe Adam and renamed Théâtre Lyrique in 1852...
(1853) - Le roi CarotteLe roi CarotteLe roi Carotte is a 4-act opéra-bouffe-féerie with music by Jacques Offenbach and libretto by Victorien Sardou, after E. T. A. Hoffmann. It premiered at the Théâtre de la Gaîté on 15 January 1872...
(1872) and Le voyage dans la luneLe voyage dans la lune (operetta)Le voyage dans la Lune is a opéra-féerie in four acts and 23 scenes by Jacques Offenbach. Loosely based on the novel From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne, its French libretto was by Albert Vanloo, Eugène Leterrier and Arnold Mortier.It premiered on 26 October 1875 at the Théâtre de la Gaîté...
(1875), music by Jacques OffenbachJacques OffenbachJacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
(the latter in collaboration with Victorien SardouVictorien SardouVictorien Sardou was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play...
)
Source
- Bartlet, M Elizabeth C: Opéra féerie in 'The New Grove Dictionary of OperaNew Grove Dictionary of OperaThe New Grove Dictionary of Opera is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes....
', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7