French Opera

New Zealand Listener, Volume 12, Issue 289, 5 January 1945, Page 7

French Opera

SKED suddenly to name three French operatic composers, the average listener might well flounder, "Oh, well, Gounod of course and-er-er Gounod, and what’s-his-name who wrote Carmen-." But for those listeners who imagine that French Opera began with the Soldiers’ Chorus and ended with the Toreador’s Song, the evening of French Opera from 4YA would be a revelation of the scope of such a subject. The very first aria presented, "Bois Epais," by Lully, was perhaps the loveliest; there is a quietude about it which the turbulent theatricalism of later works seems entirely to miss. The same composer’s scene from Moliére illustrated very clearly the difference in temperament between French Opera and its Italian or German prototype. When we reach Auber we are on the track of the fluent and florid style which to the average mind is the essence of Grand Opera, and the succession of Meyerbeer, Flotow, Gounod, Bizet is inevitable in its musical evolution. There is only one bough of the operatic tree which refuses to be trained in the conservative way, and that is the turbulent Berlioz, who was described as "saturated with Shakespeare even when occupied with Goethe." It seems a pity that the originality of his ideas is the very thing which makes producers fight shy of him, for it would be spectacular to see as well --------------------_----

as hear His operatic fantasies. Tt to me that here is a splendid opportunity for some intellectual motion picture director to lead the way with an entirely new type of artistic creation!