Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots: An Evangel of Religion and Love By Robert Ignatius Letellier Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots: An Evangel of Religion and Love, by Robert Ignatius Letellier This book first published 2014 Cambridge Scholars Publishing 12 Back Chapman Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2XX, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2014 by Robert Ignatius Letellier All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book 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 copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-4438-5666-5, ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-5666-9 Fig, 1 Giacomo Meyerbeer. Lithograph by Delpech after a drawing by Maurin (1835) CONTENTS List of Figures............................................................................................. xi List of Musical Examples ........................................................................ xvii Introduction .............................................................................................. xix 1. The Origins .............................................................................................. 1 2. The Plot ................................................................................................. 11 3. The Sources ........................................................................................... 19 4. The Religious Symbolism ..................................................................... 31 5. The Dramaturgy ..................................................................................... 43 Historical Music Drama ................................................................. 43 The Five-Act Structure ................................................................... 45 Couleur locale ................................................................................ 47 6. The Leading Themes ............................................................................. 51 Protestant Motifs .................................................................................. 51 The Curfew .......................................................................................... 57 Catholic Motifs .................................................................................... 57 7. Instrumental Writing.............................................................................. 63 “Plus blanche que la blanche hermine”........... ..................................... 64 The Nuptial Benediction ...................................................................... 65 8. Formal Innovation ................................................................................. 67 Melodic Pliability ................................................................................ 67 The Conception of Act 2 ...................................................................... 67 The Figure of Marcel ........................................................................... 70 The Chanson Huguenote ...................................................................... 72 A Romantic Concern with Dramatic Impulse ...................................... 74 The Duel Septet ................................................................................... 74 viii Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots: An Evangel of Religion and Love 9. The Treatment of the Chorus ................................................................. 77 The Orgie ............................................................................................. 77 “Honneur au conquerant” .................................................................... 78 The Confrontation Scene ..................................................................... 79 10. The Blessing of the Daggers ................................................................ 81 Bellini and the Blessing of the Daggers ............................................... 84 11. The Love Duet ..................................................................................... 91 12. The Dramatic Form of Act 5 ............................................................. 103 13. The Orchestral Music ........................................................................ 109 1) The Ouverture ............................................................................... 109 2) The Entr’acte to Act 2 ................................................................... 110 3) The Entr’acte to Act 3 ................................................................... 112 4) The Entr’acte to Act 4 ................................................................... 112 5) The Entr’acte to Act 5 ................................................................... 112 6) The Danse bohémienne ................................................................. 113 14. Reception History .............................................................................. 117 15. Performing Traditions ........................................................................ 129 Table of Major Performances in Paris, New York, London and Milan ..................................................................................... 132 16. Performance in the Twentieth Century .............................................. 143 17. The Iconography ................................................................................ 155 Les Beautés de l’Opéra ...................................................................... 155 The Frontispiece ................................................................................ 155 The Scenes from Act 1 ....................................................................... 157 The Scenes from Act 2 ....................................................................... 159 The Scenes from Act 3 ....................................................................... 161 The Scenes from Act 4 ....................................................................... 163 The Scenes from Act 5 ....................................................................... 165 Oeuvres Illustrées de Eugène Scribe ................................................. 168 Three Paintings by Contemporary Historial Artists ........................... 172 The Liebig Cards ............................................................................... 178 Contents ix 18. Historical Appendices ........................................................................ 185 Heinrich Laube .................................................................................. 185 Franz Liszt ......................................................................................... 186 George Sand ....................................................................................... 188 Notes ........................................................................................................ 217 Bibliography ............................................................................................ 227 Giacomo Meyerbeer........................................................................... 227 General Studies ............................................................................ 227 Life ............................................................................................... 227 Bibliography ................................................................................. 228 Libretti .......................................................................................... 228 Augustin-Eugène Scribe .................................................................... 228 Émile Deschamps .............................................................................. 229 Les Huguenots .................................................................................... 229 Libretto ......................................................................................... 229 Scores ........................................................................................... 230 Modern Editions ........................................................................... 231 Separate Pieces ............................................................................. 231 Arrangements ............................................................................... 234 Discography and Bibliography ..................................................... 243 Discography ............................................................................ 244 Bibliography ........................................................................... 245 Reviews of 20th -century performances ........................................ 257 Index ........................................................................................................ 265 LIST OF FIGURES Creators and Historical Background Fig. 1 (frontispiece) Giacomo Meyerbeer. Portrait by Jaeger ...................... v Fig. 2 Augustin-Eugène Scribe ................................................................ xxii Fig. 3 The Massacre of Saint Bartholomew’s Day. Painting by François Dubois ............................................................................................... xxiv Fig. 4 Émile Deschamps .............................................................................. 5 Fig. 5 Prosper Mérimée. Engraving by Nargeot .......................................... 5 Fig. 6 Edmond Duponchel ..........................................................................