A Jungian Analysis of Hector Berlioz's Les Troyens by Rhea M
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We Are Living in a Patriarchal World and I Am an Archetypal Girl: A Jungian Analysis of Hector Berlioz’s Les Troyens by Rhea Michelle Bumpass A thesis submitted to the Moores School of Music, Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music in Musicology Chair of Committee: Paul Bertagnolli Committee Member: Katherine Turner Committee Member: Francesca Behr University of Houston August 2020 DEDICATION Dedicated to my grandmother, Abbie Claxton. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Bertagnolli for his guidance, edits, and patience during my thesis process. I would also like to express gratitude to my committee members, Dr. Turner and Dr. Behr, for their edits and support. Many thanks to the library staff for assistance, especially during the pandemic shutdown. I would like to also thank Stacia Morgan Dunn for her assistance throughout my graduate program. Finally, I am eternally grateful to my friends, family, and colleagues who listened to my theories, gave advice, and supported my thesis writing adventure. iii ABSTRACT Cultural archetypes embody ideas, characters, and stories, which societies use to define women and assign their gender roles accordingly. The same occurs in operas. When a composer also writes the libretto, their decision about archetypal representation of their characters and musical support can reveal aspects about their own personality and opinions. Utilizing the archetypal theory of Carl Jung as a critical framework, this thesis argues that the characters in Hector Berlioz’s opera, Les Troyens (1858), portray gendered archetypes, that musical topics support these archetypes, and that they ultimately reinforce Aeneas’s destiny in a patriarchal, imperial society due to Berlioz acting as composer and librettist. An examination of his autobiography, Memoires, provides the reasoning behind his interpretation of these characters. Three aspects of Berlioz’s biographical experiences influenced Les Troyens: his relationships with women, his need to shape the narrative of his artistic career, and his interest in Napoleon III’s imperialist politics. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION/EPIGRAPHS ......................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... vii LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ................................................................................. ix INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................1 I. INTRODUCTION TO JUNG, ARCHETYPES, THE SUBCONSCIOUS, AND GENDER ............................................................................................................................7 II. THE EVOLUTION OF CASSANDRA ...................................................................27 Cassandra: Aeneid Versus Les Troyens .................................................................27 Libretto Analysis of Act I ......................................................................................31 Libretto Analysis of Act II .....................................................................................37 Libretto Analysis of Act V .....................................................................................42 Cassandra: Music in Act I ......................................................................................44 Cassandra: Music in Act II ....................................................................................50 Cassandra: Music in Act V ....................................................................................60 Berlioz and Cassandra............................................................................................62 Conclusions ............................................................................................................69 III. DIDO’S DEMISE ......................................................................................................71 Dido: Aeneid Versus Les Troyens Act III ..............................................................73 Dido: Aeneid Versus Les Troyens Act IV ..............................................................80 v Dido: Aeneid Versus Les Troyens Act V ...............................................................88 Dido: Music in Act III..........................................................................................102 Dido: Music in Act IV .........................................................................................109 Dido: Music in Act V ...........................................................................................122 Berlioz and Dido ..................................................................................................136 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................141 IV. CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................................145 WORKS CITED.............................................................................................................156 vi LIST OF TABLES 1.1 List of Common Archetypes Used Today, Descriptions, and Sources…………..11 vii LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES 2.1 Les Troyens Act I No.2 Measures 1-4: Cassandra Motive ....................................44 2.2 Les Troyens Act I No. 2 Measures 9-11: Abbreviated Cassandra Motive ............45 2.3 Les Troyens Act I No. 2 Measure 16: Abbreviated Cassandra Motive ................46 2.4 Les Troyens Act I No. 2 Measures 52-57: Abbreviated Cassandra Motive ..........46 2.5 Les Troyens Act I No. 2 Measures 17-27: Tensions in Recitative Accompaniment ....................................................................................................48 2.6 Les Troyens Act I No. 3 Measures 81-83: Abbreviated Cassandra Motive ..........49 2.7 Les Troyens Act II No. 15 Measures 1-2: Abbreviated Cassandra Motive ..........51 2.8 Les Troyens Act II No. 15 Measures 12-14: Fragment of Military-Style Dotted Figures While Cassandra Sings of Aeneas Escaping to Found Italy .....................52 2.9 Les Troyens Act II No. 15 Measures 45-47: Ascending Scalular Patterns Reminiscent of Cassandra’s Motive ......................................................................52 2.10 Les Troyens Act II No. 15 Measures 63-65: Ascending Scalular Patterns Reminiscent of Cassandra’s Motive (Final Appearance) ......................................52 2.11 Les Troyens Act II No. 16 Measures 201-9: Unison Lines Between Cassandra and Chorus While the Captain Calls Cassandra a Bacchante ......................................56 2.12 Les Troyens Act II No. 16 Measures 225-32: Cassandra’s Accompanied Recitative Before Suicide .....................................................................................56 2.13 Les Troyens Act II No. 16 Measures 233-34: Cassandra’s Unaccompanied Recitative Declaration ...........................................................................................57 2.14 Les Troyens Act II No. 16 Measures 261-70: Italie Motive .................................58 2.15 Les Troyens Act V No. 42 Measures 12-17: Syncopated Rhythm on the Same Pitch ......................................................................................................................61 2.16 Les Troyens Act V No. 42 Measures 23-26: Dotted Rhythm on Same Pitch .......61 viii 3.1 Les Troyens Act III No. 18 Measures 7-12: Maestoso Quarter Notes .................102 3.2 Les Troyens Act III No. 19 Measures 66-68: Dotted Rhythmic Figures .............104 3.3 Les Troyens Act III No. 24 Measures 88-89: Fate Motive ..................................105 3.4 Les Troyens Act III No. 24 Measures 73-75: Altered Fate Motive .....................107 3.5 Les Troyens Act III No. 24 Measures 79-85: Altered Fate Motive .....................107 3.6 Les Troyens Act IV No. 29 Measures 9-10: Death Motive in the Flutes and Examples of “Bird” Trills ....................................................................................110 3.7 Les Troyens Act IV No. 29 Measures 44-52: Pastoral Elements and Hunting Calls .....................................................................................................................111 3.8 Les Troyens Act IV No. 29 Measures 132-38: Elements of Tempesta Topic Increase…………………………………………………………………………112 3.9 Les Troyens Act IV No. 29 Measures 227-28: Death Motive in Timpani During Storm ....................................................................................................................113 3.10 Les Troyens Act IV No. 29 Measures 242-54: Vocalizations of Italie Over Sextuplets and Eighth Notes ................................................................................114 3.11 Les Troyens Act IV No. 35 Measures 75-77: Fate Motive While Ascanius Steals Dido’s Ring ..........................................................................................................117 3.12a Les Troyens Act IV No. 37 Measures 25-33: Descending Chromatic Movement in Dido’sVerse .....................................................................................................118 3.12b Les Troyens Act IV No.