André Grétry; Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Richard Cœur de Lion; Le Devin du Village

"At the time when 'Richard Cœur de Lion' was first performed, at the Comédie Italienne on 21 October 1784, its composer, André-Modeste Grétry, was one of the favourites of the French stage, and a master of opéra-comique, a genre which at the end of the eighteenth century was experiencing an unequalled expansion. Believe it or not, this extremely popular entertainment, liked by all levels of society, was only eighty years old. The vaudevilles and comedies interspersed with songs which for a time made the trestle-theatres so popular, flouring at Saint Germain and Sain Laurent, the most important fairs in the capital, had long had their days, as had the parodies and pastiches of grand opera. One constraint remained, and would persist throughout the following century, before being set aside: that of alternating spoken dialogue and sung couplets, the Académie Royale de Musique (otherwise known as the Opéra) reserving itself the privilege of putting on works which were entirely sung. But as to the choice of subject, imagination was the order of the day. François-André Philidor and Pierre Alexandre Monsigny had led the way: Grétry was to be their worthy successor.

"In 1768, for the two-act 'Le Huron', he had found a note collaborator in the person of Jean-François Marmontel; with 'Zémire et Azore' in 1771, they turned success into triumph. They had a fruitful collaboration up until 'La fausse Magie' (1775). But for 'Le Magnifique', in 1773, another writer lent his words to the composer's music: Michel-Jean Sedaine (1719-1797). It was to his librettos that Grétry composed some of his most ambitious works, 'Richard Cœur de Lion' (1784), which is always cited if never heard, together with 'Raoul Barbe-bleue' (1789) and 'Guillaume Tell' (1791). The comedy sung couplets and the 'opéra-comique' were Sedaine's chosen ground, to the extent that his career as a playwright would always suffer. Back in 1756, for 'Le Diable à quatre ou la double métamorphose', he had partnered Philidor, with whom he worked again three years later on 'Blaise le savetier'. He teamed up with Monsigny for 'On ne s'avise jamais de tout' (1761). In 'Le Paradoxe sur le comédien', Diderot wonders: 'Without wishing to prefer Sedaine over Voltaire or Voltaire over Sedaine, could you tell me what would have come out of the head of the author of 'Le Philosophe sans le savoir, Le Déserteur' and 'Paris' if, instead of spending thirty-five years of his life mixing plaster and cutting stone, he had used all that time, like Voltaire, or you and me, reading and thinking about Homer, Virgil, Tasso and so on? We should never have had his vision of things, and he would never have learned to speak like us. I regard him as a great-nephew of Shakespeare.' As for Voltaire, he was only too glad to send him a most affable letter: 'I was very sick when I received the two plays you were good enough to send me; they made me forget all my ills. I know no-one who understands the theatre better than you and who allows his actors to speak more naturally.'

"Under Sedaine's hand, 'opéra-comique' changes its tone, deserting the fairy tale and approaching bourgeois drama and sentimental comedy of the kind exemplified also by Diderot; the world of the imaginary became that of sentiment, and not only was music to appeal to the spirit, it was to speak directly to the heart, just as a picture by Greuze can - it should not be forgotten that Sedaine's and Monsigny's 'Le Déserteur' made a whole generation weep. 'Richard Cœur de Lion' is innovative in more than one way. Considered as the ancestor of French historical opera, it is also the first musical stage-work to go over to that troubadour style which would be so dear to the early romantics: it evokes a fantasy-Middle Ages by means of romantic adventures, but starting out from the true story of one of the period's most significant figures, and moreover a King of England (there are traces of the captivity of Richard Cœur de Lion on his way home from the crusades in the various avatars of 'Robin Hood', as well as in Walter Scott's 'Ivanhoe'). The sovereign's deliverance may be said to adumbrate the 'rescue' genre, highly esteemed during the Revolution. Librettist and composer here effect a kind of skilful synthesis of various tendencies, under the banner of sentiment, simplicity and naturalness. Sedaine is certainly not a first-class stylist, but he knows how to manage a plot, and also how to delineate a character - a quality all the more praiseworth since those in 'Richard Cœur de Lion' embrace the most disparate levels of society, from the nobility to the peasantry, as well as Blondel, the faithful squire and the real hero of the piece, who as a poet is classless.

"Grétry's score easily matches this variety of inspiration, by turns amiable, touching, lively and amusing To those who would reproach him for not being learned enough, the composer, in his 'Mémoires', which he started to compile soon after he completed 'Richard', vouchsafed the secret of his aesthetic: 'The misuse of learning is more dangerous in relation to music than to any other art... We will dare to say that there are still far too many of those would-be 'savants' in music who must have harmonic transitions at all costs, without stopping to think whether they are justified by the sense of the words... Learning can have only one definition, that is, the study of nature; as soon as it departs from that, we say boldly that this learning is an abuse'. Incidentally, Lauretta's aria 'Je crains de lui parler la nuit' has, by adoption, taken on a life of its own: it is in fact the song with which the Countess in Tchaikovsky's 'The Queen of Spades' recalls the happy days of her past.

"That is something which would have pleased Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who was a great admirer of Grétry. To be honest, although he fancied himself as a composer, the apostle of the return to nature is far from having left to prosterity any imperishable masterpieces in the sphere of music. He was a theoretician and above all a polemicist. In his 'Letter on French music' of 1753, he is scathing: 'I think I have shown that French music has neither rhythm nor melody, because the language does not take to it; that French singing is just a continual howling, which is unbearable to any ear not accustomed to it; that its harmony is crass, without expression, and above all a mere schoolboy's exercise...'. A fierce champion of the Italians in the 'Querelle des Bouffons', he was to change sides twenty-five years later, taking Gluck's part against Piccinni. First performed at the court of Fontainebleau on 18 October 1752 by such famous artists as Marie Fel, the tenor Pierre Jelyotte and the baritone Cuvillier, his 'Le Devin du village' (The Village Soothsayer) is a brightly coloured trifle. Louis XV, who was fond of it, apparently sang its opening aria 'with the most out-of-tune voice in the kingdom'. In 1768, Mozart used the same libretto, in German, for 'Bastien and Bastienne'; at the age of twelve he outdid his predecessor, whose delicate little one-acter was unable to free itself of the out-of-date graces of the 'Ancien Régime'." (Michel Parouty, tr. Hugh Graham. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Orchestre de Chambre de la RTB, Edgard Doneux, Mady Mesplé, Charles Burles, Michel Trempont, Orchestre de Chambre Louis de Froment, Louis de Froment, Janine Micheau, Nicolai Gedda, Michel Roux

1.1. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: Overture/'Chantons, Chantons, Célébrons Ce Bon Ménage'

1.2. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: 'Antonio, Qu'entends-je?'

1.3. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: 'La Danse N'est Pas Ce Que J'aime'

1.4. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: 'Va, Mon Fils... Oui, Voilà Des Tours'

1.5. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: 'O Richard, Ô Mon Roi!'

1.6. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: 'Quoi! De La Part Du Gouverneur?'

1.7. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: 'Rentrez Dans La Maison'

1.8. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: 'Je Crains De Lui Parler La Nuit'

1.9. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: 'Vous L'aimez Donc Bien, Belle Laurette?'

1.10. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: 'Un Bandeau Couvre Les Yeux'

1.11. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: 'Ah! Voici Je Ne Sais Combien De Personnes'

1.12. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte I: 'Que Le Sultan Saladin Rassemble'

1.13. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte II: 'Ronde De Nuit'

1.14. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte II: 'L'aurore Va Se Lever'

1.15. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte II: 'Si L'univers Entier M'oublie'

1.16. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte II: 'Mon Garçon, J'aime Á Respirer'

1.17. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte II: 'Une Fièvre Brûlante'

1.18. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte II: 'Sais-tu, Connais-tu, Qui Peut T'avoir Répondu?'

1.19. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte II: 'Voici Monsieur Le Gouverneur'

1.20. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte II: 'Ah! Monseigneur!'

1.21. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte III: 'Il Faut Que Je Lui Parle'

1.22. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte III: 'Sire Williams'

1.23. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte III: 'Oui, Chevaliers'

1.24. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte III: 'Ah! Chevaliers'

1.25. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte III: 'Le Gouverneur, Pendant La Danse'

1.26. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte III: 'Et Zic Et Zic Et Zic'

1.27. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte III: Danses

1.28. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte III: 'Que Richard À L'instant'

1.29. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte III: Marche

1.30. Richard Cœur De Lion, Acte III: 'O Ma Chère Comtesse'

2.1. Le Devin Du Village: Ouverture

2.2. Le Devin Du Village: 'J'ai Perdu Tout Mon Bonheur'

2.3. Le Devin Du Village: 'Elle Compte Dans Sa Main'

2.4. Le Devin Du Village: 'Perdrai-je Colin Sans Retour?'

2.5. Le Devin Du Village: 'Si Des Galants'

2.6. Le Devin Du Village: 'Je Vous Rendrai Le Sien'

2.7. Le Devin Du Village: 'L'amour Croit Qu'il S'inquiète'

2.8. Le Devin Du Village: 'J'ai Tout Su De Colin'

2.9. Le Devin Du Village: 'L'amour Et Vos Leçons'

2.10. Le Devin Du Village: 'Non, Non, Colette N'est Pas Trompeuse'

2.11. Le Devin Du Village: 'Ce N'est Point Un Berger'

2.12. Le Devin Du Village: 'Je Vais Revoir Ma Charmante Maîtresse'

2.13. Le Devin Du Village: 'Je L'aperçois'

2.14. Le Devin Du Village: 'Ma Collette, Êtes-vous Fâchée'

2.15. Le Devin Du Village: 'Ta Foi M'est Point Ravie'

2.16. Le Devin Du Village: 'Hélas!'

2.17. Le Devin Du Village: 'Tant Qu'à Mon Colin'

2.18. Le Devin Du Village: 'A Jamais, Colin'

2.19. Le Devin Du Village: 'Je Vous Ai Délivres'

2.20. Le Devin Du Village: 'Colin Revient À La Bergère'

2.21. Le Devin Du Village: 'Dans Ma Cabane Obscure'

2.22. Le Devin Du Village: Pantomime

2.23. Le Devin Du Village: 'Il Faut Tous'

2.24. Le Devin Du Village: 'Quand On Sait Bien Aimer, Que La Vie Est Charmante'

2.25. Le Devin Du Village: 'Allons Danser'

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