The Libretti of Jean -Philippe Rameau's 'Tragedies En Musique', (1733-1764)." (1989)
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1989 A Catalyst for Change: The Libretti of Jean - Philippe Rameau's 'Tragedies en Musique', (1733-1764). Jonathan Philip joseph Radvan Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Radvan, Jonathan Philip joseph, "A Catalyst for Change: The Libretti of Jean -Philippe Rameau's 'Tragedies en Musique', (1733-1764)." (1989). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 4803. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/4803 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 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Ann Arbor, Ml 4X1 (Mi A CATALYST FOR CHANGE: THE LIBRETTI OF JEAN-PHILIPPE RAMEAU'S TRAGEDIES EN MUSIOUE (1733-1764). A Dissertation Submitted tc the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillrent of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Speech Communication Th e a t r e and Cor.r uni ca 11 on Disorders by Jonathan Philip Joseph RAEVAN M.A.(Hons.) St. Andrews University, 1982 August 1989 This work is unworthily dedicated to Jesus Chr i s t, God and man, whose love alone is undivided, inexha us t ible and unchanging. Acknowledgeroent b I wish to thank above a!3, my father, Charles Michael Radvan, for urging me to complete this study and for his unwavering belief in me. Thanks are also due to Maria Fatima and Maria Ernestine, for their help with typing; to Dr. Cresdna Doty for supporting my research financially; to Dr. Billy J. Harbin, for his revision of my work; to the other members of the examining committee; and to all the patient souls, who helped me to find material and who provided me with facilities for writing this dissertation. i i i CONTENTS Page Dedication ii Acknowledgements iii CONTENTS iv ABSTRACT v INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER ONE: The tragedie en mus igue 7 CHAPTER TWC: Hi ppolyt e et Ari cie 42 CHAPTER THREE: Castor et Pol1ux 71 CHAPTER FOUR: Dardanus 98 CHAPTER FIVE: A bans ou les Boreades 12 3 CONCLUSION 135 BIBLIOGRAPHY 139 APPENDICES 143 Vita 152 i v ABSTRACT Jean-Fhilippe Rameau was the most celebrated composer of opera and the foremost music theorist in eighteenth century France and great attention has justly been given to his musical and theoretical works, but there has been no corresponding study, such as this one, of the libretti of his operas, which depart from the precepts of neo classical drama and reflect a new sentimental age. The librettists of the tragic operas of Rameau introduced many innovations to the tragic genre, hitherto forbidden by the rigid canons of neo-classicism. They were free to do so because opera was a relatively new genre which could not readily be defined through a code of rules dating from classical antiquity. The libretti of the tragedies en musique of Rameau depart not only from neo-classical conventions, such as the unities of time, place and manner, but they also introduce elements from other dramatic forms, such as classical comedy and eighteenth century sentimental drama, and adapt them to the purposes of tragic opera. These libretti reflect a sentimental, romantic and essentially Christian sensibility, new not only to opera, but also to tragedy. The librettists treat classical v material from Ancient Greece and Rome, not with the awe and reverence of the neo-classicists, but as one of many sources which contributes to the creation of an eclectic and modern form of drama. These operas no longer serve as pure entertainment, but seek to impart an idealistic belief in humanity, in which love is the strongest power for good, having the potential to vanquish all human evil and suf f er i ng. VI INTRODUCTION The stage works of Je an- Phi 1 i ppe Rameau (1663-1764' dominated French opera and ballet from 1733 until 1764 and retained their popularity. along with the operas of Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1767), Andre Gretry (1741- 1613) and the Italians, until the French Revoluticr. Rareau earned his place as a major figure of French opera late in life. Bern in Dijon in 1663, he spent irany year;: earning his living as organist in provincial churches = n d cathedrals (nets!!y at Clermont-Ferrand 1 , followed t\ similar work in Paris, in 17 31 after nine years composing music fcr the Fair theatres. His name was well-known t hr oughcu t France and beyond as the sutler of the Tr a i t e d -i 1 ' h a r r c n i e printed i r. Paris in 1723. Thus before t h t. 1730s F a - e u was regarded more as a theorist than s con. poser. Ir, 1726, he met the wealthy financier Riche c - la Poupliniere and through his influence obtained sufficient security and social contacts to have hit traqedie er, nus i gue , Hippolv t e e t Ar i c i e , successfully presented at the Paris Opera in October 1733. From t h. f ' time until his death in 1764 at the age of eighty- one Rameau presented over twenty lyrical stage works in Paris, where he gained prominence as a major rr.usical figure ennobled by the king and occupying a position at court. 1 For a fuller biography one may consult several sources, but a succinct and complete summary may be found in volume XV of the New Grove Pi ct ionarv of Mus ic and Mu s i c i ans (559-573) . Already by 1733, tragic opera vas losing popularity and new genres, such as the ope ra-ballet and ballet- herolgut, were taking its place. Both the tragic opera, dating from the 1670s in France with Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1667) , and the new genres, written by such composers as Andre Cam.pra (166 0-1744) and Jean Joseph Mouret (1662- 17 3 £ : . drew heavily in their subject matter or. Greek mythology. P. a m e a u alsr created pieces in the new genres such as his or. e-act ballets, Fvc~il ( 1 7 4 £ ; a r. d A r. a ; r e t n 1 15 4 . In all, Parea ^ wrote twenty-five musical works f c : the stage in a period of thirty years between the ages cf fifty and eighty- one, but it is in the tracel.e? e r. nsii.i . above all. that the tastes cf the eighteen* v century car: be measured by the alterations race to the Greek and Roman myths used. The tracedie er, r.u s was Rareai's preferred name for the traced:e lyrlgic c: traoCl.t opera , which, as defined by the K e v Grrv ■. Dictionary ( XIX. 114) was a serious, though. net necessarily tragic opera,based on mythology, with a prologue and five acts. The earliest example of this genre was Lully’s Cadmus e t Herri one of 1673, the first of many for which Philippe Quinault (1635-1666) was the 3 The traaedie en musiaue had pretentions to the tragic genre practiced by the neo-classica1 dramatists but was freer than traditional tragedy, because it was a comparatively new, modern art form, having no direct equivalent in ancient classical art and not constricted by the neo-classical rules that were thought to have governed and controlled the tragic form. Rameau wrote seven tragedies en musiaue. Of these Samson (1732) and Linus (1750) (which had only three acts, instead of the usual five) are lost and have never been performed. Zoroastre (1749) is based on Persian mythology, but the remaining four, Hippolvt e et Ar i c ie (1733) , Cas tor et Pollux (1733), Dardanus (1739),and Abaris ou les Boreades (1764), are based on ancient Greek myths.