FRENCH OPERA

French opera continued in the 19 th century with the official company known as the Opéra- Comique, derived from the tradition of the same name and allowing more freedom in choice of subject and treatment. The company had been established early in the preceding century, derived from the performances of the Paris Fairs. It had amalgamated with the Paris Italian Theatre and then with other establishments offering similar repertoire. In particular, the Opéra- Comique, in the various theatres in which it performed, allowed some spoken dialogue. Outstanding examples of works staged by the Opéra- Comique include Gounod's Faust and Bizet's Carmen . Neither of these, of course, are comedies. In Gounod's opera Faust sells his soul to the Devil, a bargain from which he is finally rescued by the intervention of the spirit of the girl he has seduced. Carmen is a story of low life in Spain, a tale of criminals, jealousy and murder that has much in common with Italian verismo . The tradition continued with some of the operas of Massenet, a composer of importance in the last part of the 19th century. His Manon , where the heroine is convicted of immorality and transported, to die in the American desert, was staged by the Opéra- Comique, as was his treatment of the story of Cinderella, Cendrillon.