French Opera: a short history (

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English speakers have long needed a history of French opera that opens up this rich but neglected operatic tradition. Vincent Giroud claims that his study, a 'short history' of about 300 pages of text, has the 'modest' ambition (even though his goal is actually quite daunting) of providing a survey of 'the evolution of the genre by focusing on its actors and their achievements - who wrote what in what context, and how it was received' (p. 3). To this end he includes not just succinct discussions of the works everyone knows - like Gounod's Faust (1859), Bizet's Carmen (1875), Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila (1877), Massenet's Manon (1884) and Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande (1902) - plus historically significant monuments of the French tradition normally mentioned in music history textbooks, but also looks 'at the contributions of lesser-known composers and at the lesser-known works of well-known composers' (p. 4). Indeed, he lays out for all to see the many riches of a repertory that contains far more titles than those that are regularly staged in modern opera houses around the world. Giroud does not conceal that he is an advocate for this French tradition, 'second only to Italian opera in the length, breadth, and diversity of its history' (p. 1), for his voice is ever present. And he speaks with an elegant command of the repertory in smooth and graceful language.

French Opera: a short history contains a wealth of data, including useful background information (both political and cultural), concise composers' lives, discerning plot summaries and pithy commentary on operas and their reception history. Still, this is not a study that makes its points through musical analysis, though important moments/numbers are often indicated. In fact, the book contains no musical notation at all. The intended reader may well be the educated opera lover and serious students of opera; still, the many tantalizing observations on early and/or lesser-known works will undoubtedly stimulate musicologists, conductors and other music professionals to explore this repertory further on their own. To this project Vincent Giroud, now a professor at the University of Franche-Comté, brings not only a lifetime of involvement in French opera but also a broad background in European literature. Formerly the Curator...