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History and Repertoire I Assignment Two

Chloe Kiely
Word Count: 1,418
What are the characteristics of French opera that distinguish it from the
Italian; and why did those differences arise?
The turn of the 17th century brought about the widespread emergence of
musical drama in the form of ballet, oratorio, and of course opera. Each of these
genres are intrinsically linked with the Italian Renaissance, and to this day,
opera maintains an enduring reputation as an Italian art form; the very first
operaDafne (1597)and the first opera that is still performed regularly
LOrfeo (1607)were written by esteemed Italian composers Peri and
Monteverdi respectively. The history of opera in France contrasts with that of
Italian opera; undeniably, it has roots in the Italian form, through performances
of operas such as Cavallis Egisto and Xerse which had been performed in
France since 1645,
1
though verily to mixed response.
2
In addition, royal
commissions for special works by Italian composers such as Cavalli and Rossi
3

brought this Italian tradition to French shores, as seen in the case of the French
first minister, Italian-born Cardinal Mazarin, who in 1659 commissioned an
opera by Cavalli in celebration of the marriage of Louis XIV and Maria Theresa
of Spain.
4
While Italian influence was important, French opera also presents its
own organic history. Mascarades and Ballets-Divertissements are the
1
Robert Cannon, Cambridge Introductions to Music: Opera (New York: Cambridge University
Press, 2012) 27
2
Tim Carter, The Oxford Illustrated History of Opera, Roger Parker (ed.) (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1994), 33.
3
David Schulenberg, Music of the Baroque, 3
rd
edn (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013),
61.
4
Cannon, Cambridge Introduction to Music: Opera, 27.
2
predecessors of what could be called serious opera in France. These stemmed
from the enduring French fixation with aesthetic and spectacle, complete with
singing, dancing, and gesture.
5
However, if one were to adhere to Schulenbergs
guidelines for Baroque opera,
(1) the music has a variety of types and genres; (2) the text and plot
are drawn from Classical antiquity or ancient history, involve noble and divine
figures, and ostensibly teach a moral lesson; and (3) the action incorporates a
variety of special scenic effects
6
then Pomone (1671) by Robert Cambert could beand isdescribed as
effectively the first French opera
7
, before Italian-born French opera composer
Lully monopolised the field.
The overall structures of French and Italian opera were entirely
different from one another in almost every sense. To paraphrase a letter
describing the running order of an Italian opera, sent by French writer Charles
de Brosses to M. de Malateste, Italian operas of the time were generally
comprised of three long acts, involving a number of scene changes to reflect a
larger number of stage sets. Scenes of dialogue are all performed in recitative,
often followed by an aria, and upon finishing his or her own aria, the singer
would then depart the stage, followed in quick succession by another singer.
There were no trios, choruses or dances throughout the production, and scenes
were made up entirely of recitatives and arias in quick succession.
8
This is in
contrast with the structure of French opera. Opera in France flourished under
the rule of Louis XIV, himself fixated upon the classical. In accordance with this,
5
John E. Borland, French Opera before 1750, Proceedings of the Musical Association
(1906/1907) 133157 (134)
6
Schulenberg, Music of the Baroque, 59.
7
Amanda Holden (ed.) The New Penguin Opera Guide (New York: Penguin, 2001) 180.
8
Caroline Wood, French Baroque opera: a reader (Hampshire: Ashgate, 2000) 51.
3
the arts were heavily influenced by classical aesthetic in every sense, from
architecture to literature.
9
This in turn affected opera as an art form, and its
structure. Lully, who monopolised the composition of opera under the rule of
Louis XIV, in turn adopted this classical aesthetic. His operas were made up of
five shorter acts, drawing from classical dramatic tradition, featuring dances
relevant to the story, as well as prominent choruses. French opera, never mixed
the genres of comedy and serious drama, and strived to achieve an overall air of
propriety throughout productions.
10
Aside from stylistic differences in composition, as discussed above,
there is the matter of contrast between the French and Italian language, and the
technical matters that arise in the context of operatic singing. If one were to
approach a comparison of Italian and French opera of the from the perspective
of a singer, one would discover a wealth of technical differences. The primary
difference is a cross-disciplinary one between the physical implications of
musical technique and language. The ebb and low of French and Italian in many
regards are distinctly different from one another; in the words of soprano and
Baroque music scholar Sally Sanford:
Italian vocal music is brought to life chiefly through the expressivity
given to the vowels, while in French music the emotional expression rests
chiefly in the highly nuanced inflection of the consonants.
11
One of the most basic and fundamentally important principles of singing is
breathing. As mentioned above, in spoken Italian, the focus is thrust upon the
vowels of a word, while in French, one focuses upon the inflection of the
9
Cannon, Cambridge Introductions to Music: Opera, 28.
10
Ibid., 28, 29.
11
Sally A. Sanford, A Comparison of French and Italian Singing in the Seventeenth
Century (http://www.sscm-jscm.org/v1/no1/sanford.html#*REF), 8 January 2014)
4
consonants. When singing in these languages, the use of air therefore varies
accordingly; the air flow when singing or indeed speaking in Italian is less
steady than in French, and requires flexibility in the abdominal area to achieve
the inflection upon the vowels. The air flow is hardly comparable to that
required when singing in French, which is far more even and demands less of
the singers abdomen. It can then be derived that the key to expression in Italian
singing lies in the variable air flow, which dictates itself in regard to dynamic
contrast. In a word
The text itself thus provides a dynamic plan and shape for the vocal
line that should be observed by the singer and reflected in the
accompaniment.
12
This is entirely different to French technique, in which dynamic variation was
less pronounced, and instead of the focus being placed upon expressive vowels,
the expression could be found in the inflection upon the texts consonants,
depending on how long they were held and with the level of force they were
sang. In a related vein, the use of vibrato was affected by the French and Italian
schools of breathing. The level of air pressure used by singers in the 17th
century was generally lower than is common today, meaning that the use of
vibrato was not necessarily a force of habit. This is common to both French and
Italian singing styles. There are two different kinds of vibrato production:
breath-produced vibrato and throat-produced vibrato. While there are no
sources from the time that state this, it can be surmised that breath-produced
vibrato was favoured by Italian singers, due to their use of varied air-flow, as
explained above, while French singers of the time would have used throat-
produced vibrato, in order to maintain a steady airflow characteristic of the
12
Ibid.
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French style. The above differences, in operatic application, all stem from the
diversity between the two languages.
In conclusion, the features that distinguish French opera from Italian
opera are plentiful, ranging from structure and staging to the physical
mechanics required to sing the recitatives and arias in each. The manner in
which such differences arise are equally varied, from what musicologist Tim
Carter describes as cultural chauvinism
13
on the part of the French, regarding
their ambivalence to the Italian opera form, to the glaringly obvious matter of
the difference between the two languages, in how this affects the physicality of
singing.
13
Carter, Oxford Illustrated History of Opera, 33.
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Works Cited
Borland, John E., French Opera before 1750, Proceedings of the Musical
Association (1906/1907) 133157
Cannon, Robert, Cambridge Introductions to Music: Opera (New York:
Cambridge University Press, 2012)
Carter, Tim, The Oxford Illustrated History of Opera, Roger Parker (ed.)
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994)
Holden, Amanda (ed.) The New Penguin Opera Guide (New York: Penguin,
2001)
Sanford, Sally A., A Comparison of French and Italian Singing in the
Seventeenth Century (http://www.sscm-jscm.org/v1/no1/sanford.html#*REF),
8 January 2014)
Schulenberg, David, Music of the Baroque, 3
rd
edn (New York: Oxford
University Press, 2013)
Caroline Wood, French Baroque opera: a reader (Hampshire: Ashgate, 2ooo)