FRENCH OPERA

In the 1770s Gluck's reformed opera was introduced to Paris, treating very differently the kind of subjects that had been the substance of the tragédie lyrique . French versions of his earlier Italian operas, already staged in Vienna, were now mounted in Paris. Gluck was able, in fact, to show a new compromise. The subjects of his operas might be drawn from classical mythology and legend, like the subjects chosen by Lully, but these were treated in a modern way. The operas were less stylized and very much more dramatic in their effect. At the same time the form of so- called opéa comique could also turn its attention to more serious subjects, as comic opera had in Italy, catering largely for a new middle-class audience. The period before the Revolution also brought the building of provincial opera-houses, where such works would provide the general repertoire.

The Revolution brought obvious changes. French serious opera, in the form of the tragédie lyrique was essentially associated with the monarchy, and had, in any case, been affected by the Paris operas of Gluck, with their new element of dramatic realism. The 1790s, however, demanded work of revolutionary relevance. This trend lasted only a short time. The new century brought a re-organization of opera throughout the country under Napoleon, who instituted reforms in the opera in Paris itself, exercising a limiting control over all theatres. Under the restored Bourbon monarchy opera flourished. The period saw the success in Paris of Rossini and his operas written for the French stage. At the same time there was a continuation of the opéra comique by composers like Auber, Halévy, Berlioz and Bizet. Subjects varied from the light- hearted to the tragically serious, with productions at the Opéra- Comique, the company established in 1714, distinguished from those at the Opéra by their less formal requirements. French opéra comique, in the 19th century at least, does not have to be comic; the descriptive term indicates a much wider category of work.