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French opera In rivalry with imported Italian opera from Claude Debussy. As in Wagner's works, productions, a separate French tradition was the orchestra plays a leading role in founded by the Italian Jean-Baptiste Lully at Debussy's unique opera the court of King Louis XIV. Despite his Pelléas et foreign origin, Lully established an Academy Mélisande (1902) and there of Music and monopolised French opera from are no real arias, only recitative. But the 1672. Starting with Cadmus et Hermione, Lully drama is understated, enigmatic and and his librettist Quinault created completely  unWagnerian. tragédie en musique,a form in which dance music and choral writing were Other notable 20th century names include particularly prominent. Lully's operas also Ravel, Dukas, Roussel and Milhaud. Francis show a concern for expressive recitative Poulenc is one of the very few post-war which matched the contours of the French composers of any nationality whose operas language. In the 18th century, Lully's most (which include Dialogues des important successor was Rameau, who composed carmélites)) have gained a five tragédies en musique as foothold in the international repertory. well as numerous works in other genres such Olivier Messiaen's lengthy sacred drama Saint as opera-ballet, all notable for their rich François d'Assise (1983) has orchestration and harmonic daring. After also  attracted  widespread  attention. Rameau's death, the German Gluck was persuaded to produce six operas for the The early years of the twentieth century saw Parisian stage in the 1770s. They show the two more French operas which, though not on influence of Rameau, but simplified and with the level of Debussy's achievement, managed greater focus on the drama. At the same time, to absorb Wagnerian influences while by the middle of the 18th century another retaining a sense of individuality. These genre was gaining popularity in France: were Gabriel Fauré's austere opéra comique. This was the Classical drama equivalent of the German singspiel, where Pénélope arias alternated with spoken dialogue. (1913) and Paul Dukas's colourful Symbolist Notable examples in this style were produced drama, Ariane et Barbe-Bleue (1907). The more by Monsigny, Philidor and, above all, frivolous genres of operetta and Grétry. During the opéra comique still thrived Revolutionary period, composers such as in the hands of composers like Méhul and Cherubini, who André Messager and Reynaldo were followers of Gluck, brought a new Hahn. Indeed, for many people, light and seriousness to the genre, which had never elegant works like this represented the true been  wholly  "comic"  in  any  case. French tradition as opposed to the "Teutonic heaviness" of Wagner. This was the opinion of By the 1820s, Gluckian influence in France Maurice Ravel, who wrote only two short but had given way to a taste for Italian bel ingenious operas: L'heure espagnole (1911), a canto, especially after the arrival of farce set in Spain; and L'enfant et les Rossini in Paris. Rossini's Guillaume Tell sortileges (1925), a fantasy set in the world helped found the new genre of Grand opera, a of childhood in which various animals and form whose most famous exponent was another pieces of furniture come to life and foreigner, Giacomo Meyerbeer. Meyerbeer's sing.[48] A younger group of composers, who works, such as Les Huguenots emphasised formed a group known as Les Six shared a virtuoso singing and extraordinary stage similar aesthetic to Ravel. The most effects. Lighter opéra important members of Les Six were Darius comique also enjoyed tremendous success in Milhaud, Arthur Honegger and Francis Poulenc. the hands of Boieldieu, Auber, Milhaud was a prolific and versatile composer Hérold and Adolphe Adam. In who wrote in a variety of forms and styles, this climate, the operas of the French-born from the Opéras-minutes composer Hector Berlioz struggled to gain a (1927-28), none of which is more than ten hearing. Berlioz's epic masterpiece Les minutes long, to the epic Christophe Colomb Troyens, the culmination of the Gluckian (1928). [49] The Swiss-born Honegger tradition, was not given a full performance experimented mixing opera with oratorio in for  almost  a  hundred  years. works such as Le roi David (1921) and Jeanne d'Arc au bucher (1938). But the most In the second half of the 19th century, successful opera composer was Poulenc, though Jacques Offenbach created operetta with witty he came late to the genre with the surrealist and cynical works such as comedy Les mamelles de Orphée aux enfers; Charles Tirésias in 1947. In Gounod scored a massive success with Faust; complete contrast, Poulenc's greatest opera, and Bizet composed Carmen, which, once Dialogues des Carmélites audiences learned to accept its blend of (1957) is an anguished spiritual drama about Romanticism and realism, became the most the fate of a convent during the French popular of all opéra Revolution. Poulenc wrote some of the very comiques. Massenet, few operas since the Second World War to win Saint-Saëns and Delibes all a wide international audience. Another composed works which are still part of the post-war composer to attract attention standard repertory. At the same time, the outside France was Olivier Messiaen, like influence of Richard Wagner was felt as a Polulenc a devout Catholic. Messiaen's challenge to the French tradition. Many religious drama Saint French critics angrily rejected Wagner's François d'Assise (1983) music dramas while many French composers requires huge orchestral and choral forces closely imitated them with variable success. and lasts four hours. Perhaps the most interesting response came 1 A B C D 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 77 78 79 80 81 82 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110