Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet

BACKGROUND

In the first half of the 19 th century, French opera was transformed as audiences drew away from the excesses of Grand Opéra and began to covet emotionally thrilling dramas. Evidence of this shift can be seen in the work of contemporary French composers such as Ambroise Thomas (1811-1896), Charles Gounod (1818-1893), and Georges Bizet (1838-1875), whose works were calculated to appeal to the middle-class taste for dramatically naïve, melodically sweet operas. Paris audiences, who primarily viewed their opera experiences as melodic backgrounds to social maneuvering, loved Thomas’ Hamlet for its sprightly dances, hearty choruses and poignant dramatic moments. Carré and Barbier’s powerfully dramatic libretto, coupled with Thomas’ expert understanding of the human voice and atmospheric scene- painting, made Hamlet Thomas’ masterpiece and only success at the Opéra. While French audiences were duly impressed by this intertwining of story and melody, at its Covent Garden premiere in 1869, audiences were appalled at what they felt was a bastardization of one of the greatest English texts of all time. To suit the audience, a revised version was constructed which more closely mirrored the plot of Shakespeare’s Hamlet , and it is this revised version which has become popular in recent years. Though Mignon (1866) and Hamlet (1868) were his only lasting successes, Thomas was a significant figure in 19 th -century French opera and his lyrical sentimentalism set the stage for the masterpieces of composers such as Gounod, Saint-Saëns, and Bizet.

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