From French Literature to Music

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From French Literature to Music
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Outline

• Introduction
• Part I. French Literature and Opera
• A. The Marriage of Figaro
• B. Carmen
• C. Rigoletto
• Part II. French Literature and Musical
• A. The Phantom of the Opera
• B. Notre Dame de Paris
• C. Le Petit Prince
• Conclusion
• References

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Introduction

• French literature is considered one of the
  richest and most varied national literatures
• French stories has been influential since the
  Middle Ages
• A large number of opera libretti is based on
  French plays and novels
• French novels have found a way to become even
  more famous in the 20th century as many musicals
  were based on French novels
• Here are some of the most famous operas and
  musicals inspired by French literature

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Part I. French Literature and Opera

• As defined in the dictionary an opera is an art
  form consisting of a dramatic stage performance
  set to music
• Opera clearly resembles theater however the
  words of the opera or libretto are sung rather
  than spoken
• Male singers are classified as bass
  bass-baritone baritone tenor and countertenor.
  Female singers are classified as contralto
  mezzo-soprano and soprano
• The word opera means simply works in Latin The
  earliest work considered an opera in the sense
  the work is usually understood dates from around
  1597
• The golden age of opera 17-19 centuries Even if
  Italian libretti were the norm many operas were
  based on a French story

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A. The Marriage of Figaro

• Novel written by Beaumarchais (1732-1799)
• Le Mariage de Figaro (1784) part II of a
  trilogy dedicated to the life of Figaro
• The story set in Count Almavivas castle in
  Seville The Count has married Rosine and Figaro
  is about to marry Suzanne (Rosines maid)

• Opera composed by Mozart (1756-1791)
• Libretto written by Lorenzo da Ponte (original
  title Le Nozze di Figaro) Four acts
• First performance in Vienna in May 1786
• The story is a continuation of The Barber of
  Seville (Rossini composed an opera in 1816)

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A. The Marriage of Figaro

• Lorenzo da Ponte took this popular play removed
  political content that would have offended the
  Viennese imperial censors (the French Revolution
  was only a few years away) and faithfully
  translated the rest into Italian

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B. Carmen

• Opera composed by Georges Bizet (1838-1875)
• Libretto written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic
  Halévy
• Four acts 1874
• First performance in Paris in March 1875
• Influenced by Giuseppe Verdi he composed the
  title role in Carmen for a mezzo-soprano.

• Novel written by Prosper Mérimée (1803-1870)
• Carmen (1846) story of an unfaithful gypsy girl
  who is killed by the soldier who loves her
• Mérimée met and befriended the Countess of
  Montijo in Spain in 1830. When her daughter
  became the Empress Eugenie of France in 1853 he
  was made a senator

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B. Carmen

• During its time Carmen was considered a failure
  denounced as immoral and superficial. Today
  it is often seen as the greatest romantic opera
  of the era and one of the most popular works in
  operatic history.

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C. Rigoletto

• Victor Hugos Le Roi samuse
• Five acts 1832 Paris
• The Renaissance Francis I represented as an
  odious character
• Rigoletto was not staged in Paris due to
  objections from Victor Hugo himself
• It took 6 years to convince him to listen to the
  music
• When he finally was persuaded to watch a
  performance of the opera Hugo found himself
  extremely enthusiastic

• Opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi  (1813-1901)
• Libretto written by Francesco Maria Piave
• Three acts March 1851
• The jester of the prince (Triboulet in Hugos
  work) became Rigoletto (from French rigolo
  funny). The name of the work too was changed (it
  was first called The Malediction).

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C. Rigoletto

• The play tells the story of a libertine king.
  When the opera was written northern Italy was
  under the domination of Austria. Verdi had to
  compromise with the Austrian censors the French
  King became a fictitious Duke of Mantua.

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Part II. French Literature and Musical

• Musical theater (or theatre) is a form of theater
  combining music songs dance and spoken
  dialogue
• Related to opera frequently being distinguished
  by the use of popular music
• The musical developed from opera and operetta at
  the end of the 19th century
• Since the beginning of the 20th century a large
  number of musicals produced on Broadway in New
  York and Londons West End
• The 1980s and 1990s saw the influence of European
  mega-musicals or pop operas with English and
  French hits such as Les Misérables Miss Saigon
  and The Phantom of the Opera

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A. The Phantom of the Opera

• Andrew Lloyd Webber musical in 1986
• His second wife was the soprano who plays
  Christine in the musical Sarah Brightman. They
  were married in 1984 and divorced in 1990.
• 2004 a movie based on the musical was released
• The screenplay was written in the south of France
  in 1989 by Joel Schumacher and Andrew Lloyd
  Webber

• Gaston Leroux (1868-1927) wrote Le Fantôme de
  lopéra in 1910
• 19th century Paris at the Opera Garnier
• The young diva Christine Daaé achieves sudden
  prominence on the opera stage when she replaces
  the current prima donna Carlotta
• Christine is loved by the handsome Raoul but
  also by a ghost that haunts the opera house

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A. The Phantom of the Opera
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B. Notre Dame de Paris

• Victor Hugos novel 1831
• Enormous popularity Gothic revival
• Social justice the gothic cathedral
  mistreatment of the ugly Quasimodo
• The human drama revolves around the gypsy
  Esmeralda and which of several suitors she will
  choose Frollo the priest Phoebus the captain or
  Quasimodo the bell-ringer

• Musical composed by Richard Cocciante and Luc
  Plamandon
• In 1997 performed The Pagan Ave Maria from
  Notre Dame de Paris before Pope John Paul II at
  the Vatican
• Hugo himself wrote a libretto for an opera
  version in 1835 four years after the novel was
  originally published

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B. Notre Dame de Paris

• According to the Guinness Book of Records the
  Franco-Canadian musical Notre Dame de Paris
  enjoyed the most successful first year of any
  musical ever

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C. Le Petit Prince

• Saint-Exupérys novel 1943 written near New
  York in 1942
• Profound and idealistic points about life and
  love in time of war
• The writer imagines himself lost in the Sahara
  desert after a plane crash
• He meets a young extra-terrestrial prince
• In 1944 Saint-Exupérys plane crashed again and
  disappeared

• Musical composed by Richard Cocciante 2002
• Daniel Lavoie singing Frollo in Notre Dame is
  Saint-Exupéry
• It is a great success as it respects the text and
  the spirit of the novel
• Jeff the singer who pays the Little Prince is 13
  years old from Lyon
• Costumes designed by Castelbajac a famous Paris
  designer

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C. Le Petit Prince
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Conclusion

• Because of its long and illustrious history and
  its influence on other literatures French
  literature occupies a central position since the
  Middle Ages
• French plays and novels have not only influenced
  opera and musical but also cinema
• A successful French story has a great chance to
  become a successful opera musical and (or)
  movie there are also many examples of French
  stories first despised that became worldwide hits
  (Carmen or Le roi samuse)
• Among the most appreciated French novels are
  romantic stories (Cyrano de Bergerac) fairy
  tales (Beauty and the Beast Cinderella)
  adventure (Dumas) and science fiction (Jules
  Verne)

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References

• http//www.naxos.com
• http//en.wikipedia.org
• http//encarta.msn.com/artcenter_/browse.html
• http//encarta.msn.com/artcenter_/browse.html
• http//www.operacolorado.org/images/Rigoletto20CO
  MPILED.pdf

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Merci et à bientôt