Table Of ContentGrétry’s Operas and the French public
AshgAte InterdIscIplInAry studIes
In OperA
series editor
roberta Montemorra Marvin
University of Iowa, USA
Advisory Board
linda hutcheon, University of Toronto, Canada
david levin, University of Chicago, USA
herbert lindenberger, emeritus professor, Stanford University, USA
Julian rushton, emeritus professor, University of Leeds, UK
the Ashgate Interdisciplinary Studies in Opera series provides a centralized
and prominent forum for the presentation of cutting-edge scholarship that draws
on numerous disciplinary approaches to a wide range of subjects associated
with the creation, performance, and reception of opera (and related genres) in
various historical and social contexts. there is great need for a broader approach
to scholarship about opera. in recent years, the course of study has developed
significantly, going beyond traditional musicological approaches to reflect
new perspectives from literary criticism and comparative literature, cultural
history, philosophy, art history, theatre history, gender studies, film studies,
political science, philology, psycho-analysis, and medicine. the new brands of
scholarship have allowed a more comprehensive interrogation of the complex
nexus of means of artistic expression operative in opera, one that has meaningfully
challenged prevalent historicist and formalist musical approaches. the
Ashgate Interdisciplinary Studies in Opera series continues to move this important
trend forward by including essay collections and monographs that reflect the
ever-increasing interest in opera in non-musical contexts. books in the series are
linked by their emphasis on the study of a single genre—opera—yet are distinguished
by their individualized and novel approaches by scholars from various disciplines/
fields of inquiry. The remit of the series welcomes studies of seventeenth century to
contemporary opera from all geographical locations, including non-Western topics.
Grétry’s Operas and the
French public
From the Old regime to the restoration
r.J. arnOld
© r.J. arnold 2016
all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
r.J. arnold has asserted his right under the copyright, designs and patents act, 1988, to be
identified as the author of this work.
published by
ashgate publishing limited ashgate publishing company
Wey court east 110 cherry street
union road suite 3-1
Farnham burlington, Vt 05401-3818
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www.ashgate.com
British library cataloguing in publication data
a catalogue record for this book is available from the british library
the library of congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
arnold, r. J. (robert James), 1971-
Grétry’s operas and the French public : from the old regime to the restoration / by
r.J. arnold.
pages cm. – (ashgate interdisciplinary studies in opera)
includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-1-4724-3850-8 (hardcover) – isbn 978-1-4724-3851-5 (ebook) –
isbn 978-1-4724-3852-2 (epub) 1. Grétry, andré-ernest-Modeste, 1741–1813.
Operas. 2. Grétry, andré-ernest-Modeste, 1741–1813 – death and burial. 3. Opera –
France – 18th century. 4. Opera – France – 19th century. i. title.
Ml410.G83a9 2015
782.1092–dc23
2015019031
isbn 9781472438508 (hbk)
isbn 9781472438515 (ebk – pdF)
isbn 9781472438522 (ebk – epub)
printed in the united Kingdom by henry ling limited,
at the dorset press, dorchester, dt1 1hd
Contents
Series Editor’s Preface vii
List of Figures ix
List of Tables xi
Introduction 1
1 ‘In the Bosom of One’s Family’: Grétry’s Earliest Opéras
Comiques and their Audiences 9
2 ‘If Only that Heap of Erudition Could Provide Us with a Melody’:
Grétry’s Conception of the Role and Powers of the Composer 43
3 ‘Those who Listen with a Sensitive Soul and Practised Ears’: The
Formation of Musical Taste in the Ancien Régime 75
4 ‘Always a Friend of Liberty’: The Fortunes of Grétry’s Career and
Reputation in the Revolution 109
5 ‘The Long-Dispersed Debris of French Theatre is Being
Reassembled’: Grétry and his Public in Post-Revolutionary France 141
6 ‘We are Nothing but a Single Distraught Family’: Mourning and
Mythologising after Grétry’s Death 177
Bibliography 213
Index 229
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Series Editor’s Preface
Ashgate Interdisciplinary Studies in Opera provides a centralized and prominent
forum for the presentation of cutting-edge scholarship that draws on numerous
disciplinary approaches on a wide range of subjects associated with the creation,
performance, dissemination, and reception of opera and related genres in various
historical and social contexts. The series includes topics from the seventeenth
century to the present and from all geographical locations, including non-Western
traditions.
In recent years, the field of opera studies has not only come into its own but
has developed significantly, going beyond traditional musicological approaches to
reflect new perspectives from literary criticism and comparative literature, cultural
history, philosophy, art history, theater history, gender studies, film studies,
political science, philology, psycho-analysis, and even medicine. The new brands
of scholarship have allowed a more comprehensive and intensive interrogation of
the complex nexus of means of artistic expression operative in opera, one that has
meaningfully challenged prevalent historicist and formalist musical approaches.
Today, interdisciplinary, or as some prefer cross-disciplinary, opera studies are
receiving increasingly widespread attention, and the ways in which scholars,
practitioners, and the public think about the art form known as opera continue
to change and expand. Ashgate Interdisciplinary Studies in Opera seeks to move
this important trend forward by including essay collections and monographs that
reflect the ever-increasing interest in opera in non-musical contexts.
In Grétry’s Operas and the French Public: From the Old Regime to the
Restoration, R.J. Arnold presents a social history of the operas of the prolific
composer André-Erneste-Modeste Grétry, highlighting the changing relationship
between the works and their audiences over time. Valued by contemporaries for
their expression of real-world truth, the composer’s operas had a deep and enduring
impact. Arnold’s culturally minded historical study provides an understanding
of the reception of these works and fills a gap in our knowledge of musical life
between the ancien régime and the Restoration. In so doing, it presents fresh
insights into the social and political history of France as related to the commercial,
political, and entertainment value of a significant body of musical stage works.
Dealing with sources from the fields of theater history and music history, and the
Revolution of 1789, the book will be of interest to readers across the humanities.
Roberta Montemorra Marvin
Series Editor
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List of Figures
1.1 ‘Où peut-on être mieux?’ from Lucile 16
1.2 Blaise’s monologue from Lucile 28
3.1 Toile de jouy, La Caravane du Caire, Petitpierre et Cie., c. 1785.
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 97
4.1 The schoolboys’ mockery of Dionysius in Denis le Tyran.
Source: Bodleian Library, University of Oxford 119
4.2 The aria ‘Ô Richard! ô mon roi!’ from Richard Coeur de Lion 125
5.1 Anacréon chez Polycrate, Act 3 scene iii 155
5.2 Grétry’s Willow Song from Othello. Source: J.-F. Ducis, Recueil
de Poésies (Paris, 1809) 167
5.3 Statue of Grétry by Jean-Baptiste Stouf. Source: Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York 172
6.1 Funerary print of Grétry, c. 1814. Source: Bibliothèque nationale
de France 184
6.2 Print after ‘L’Enfance de Grétry’ by Faustin Besson, 1857.
Source: Bibliothèque nationale de France 207
