Daniel-François-Esprit Auber: The Man and His Music

Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (1782-1871), the composer of La Muette de Portici (1828) and Fra Diavolo (1830), was once regarded as one of the great figures of music, a staple of the operatic repertoire in France, and indeed around the world. It is now almost impossible to understand the extent of his once universal fame and his influence on contemporary composers. His operas were in the theatre repertories of the world until the 1920s, and innumerable arrangements of them were published and sold everywhere. The ubiquity of his overtures Masaniello, Fra Diavolo, The Bronze Horse, The Black Domino, The Crown Diamonds once as popular as those of Rossini and Suppé, and the influence of his melodies and dance rhythms on piano and instrumental music, and on Romantic comic opera, was overwhelming. Auber s style was distinguished by an avoidance of excess in dramatic expression; all feeling and expressiveness, any vivid depiction of local colour, were realized within his discreetly nuanced tones, always stamped with a Parisian elegance. Many important posts were conferred on Auber. His appointment to the Institute (1829) was followed by other prestigious positions: Director of Concerts at Court (1839), director of the Paris Conservatoire (1842), Musical Director of the Imperial Chapel (1852), and Grand Officer of the Légion d Honneur (1861). His death during the Siege of Paris (1871), in the city he always loved, marked the end of an era. Auber s operas continued to be loved in France up to the years preceding First World War, but the influence of Wagner, Impressionism and the Neo-Classicism of the Ballet Russe resulted in a neglect of the ancient traditions of opéra-comique in the country of its origin. Only in Germany did the genre continue to flourish. Auber s most enduring work Fra Diavolo is still performed there. The time has surely come for Auber s life and work to be reassessed; perhaps then the world will begin to hear more of his elegant gracious, life-affirming music. The aim of the present study is to offer an overview of the life and work of Auber by close examination of his forty operas, with consideration of origins, casting, plot, analysis of dramaturgy and musical style, and reception history. This is presented in the context of Auber's relationship to the dominant genres of early nineteenth century French opera. The analysis of the operas is made in the context of Auber's crucial working relationship with Eugène Scribe (1791-1861) master dramatist and supreme librettist, a determining force in the history of opera who provided 38 of his libretti. Their cooperation is unique and of great importance on several literary, musical and cultural levels. The nature of their interaction and personal friendship is assessed by a translation of the extant correspondence between them, some 80 letters that have not appeared in English before. The presentation of each opera is illustrated by musical examples from all the scores, prints from the complete works of Scribe and other theatrical memorabilia. The study also contains bibliographies of Auber s works and their contemporary arrangements, studies of Auber s and Scribe s life and work, their artistic and historical milieux, and a discography.