"Between 1774 and 1779, Gluck presented five new works in Paris, 'Iphigénie en Aulide', 'Orphée', 'Alceste', 'Armide' and 'Iphigénie en Tauride', bringing about important changes in French opera and opening the doors wide to Romanticism. Gluck's contemporary Grétry was regarded at that time as the leading composer of 'opéra comique', and no one expected to see a work by him, least of all a dramatic work, on stage at the Académie Royale de Musique, alias the Paris Opéra. His only experience in that field had been 'Céphale & Procris' in 1773, a 'ballet heroïque', which after a mixed reception had ultimately been a failure. Yet Grétry must have had potential in the tragic genre, for the libretto of 'Iphigénie en Tauride' had been intended for him, although it finally went to Gluck, much to his despair, making the two composers henceforth rivals at the Académie Royale. By way of compensation, however, Grétry was offered the even more ambitious challenge of providing the music for an opera based on one of Racine's most sombre tragedies, 'Andromaque'.
"The venturesome project came into being in somewhat exceptional circumstances. In the spring of 1778, the press reported unusual effervescence: 'The spectacle that is most likely to focus public attention this season will probably be at the Opéra, in relation either to the change of administration there, or to the new productions that are on the way' ('Journal de Paris', 23 April 1778).
"A small revolution was under way at the Académie Royale de Musique. For several weeks its new director, Anne-Pierre-Jacques de Vismes du Valgay (1745-1819), who had been appointed in October 1777 to succeed Pierre-Henri-Montan Berton, had been the talk of Paris. His arrival brought great changes within the institution. He immediately introduced drastic reforms, even in areas that were not normally the director's concern: he had the stage and orchestra pit enlarged and refurbished; seating for some of the audience was once again provided on stage; the great chandelier was removed; performance times were altered; women were forbidden to attend wearing high coiffes; and those were just some of them. And his artistic policy was just as radical. Amongst other things, he reformed the status of the artists, renewed some of the staff, revised author's fees, increased the number of weekly performances, and reoriented programme planning. Two months before his arrival, a new set of regulations (49 articles) was drawn up, defining the new director's rights, and reminding those employed by the Opéra not only of their duties, but also of the rules governing subordination. The tone was set. Although de Vismes was by no means lacking in ideas, diplomacy and flexibility were clearly not among his qualities. And so it was not long before he met with hostility from staff members and also from some members of the public. His term of office was marked by plots, scandals and arrests, providing a constant topic of conversation in the city. 'The extreme unrest that this quarrel has caused both in the city and at Court is unbelievable. Princes, ministers, duchesses, everyone takes an interest and participates; no one can be indifferent' ('Mémoires secrets', 15 March 1779). Thus, on 23 January of the following year, 1780, de Vismes, feeling that his post had become definitively too restrictive, handed in his resignation.
"Yet the general consensus was that 'there had never been so much variety in new operatic works' as there was in January 1779, when de Vismes achieved the hitherto unprecedented feat of presenting twelve different works within the space of just a few weeks. Paris was amazed to discover that 'it was as easy to to alternate serious operas as it was to alternate comedies' ('Mémoires secrets', 21 January 1779). The new director's main concern had been to achieve the greatest possible variety in every aspect - in time, space, style and form. Therein, he believed, lay the secret of success. Accordingly, at the very beginning of his office, in an address to the Opéra staff, he stated his intention of 'wecloming every genre and showing no partiality in choosing them'. That variety, 'offering each in turn spectacles that were to their liking' (La Borde, 'Essai sur la musique'), met with general approval, and thus de Vismes secured audience support. One of the spearheads of his policy was the revival of old works, which he set against the most modern productions: 'I intend to bring together works composed at very different times, so that the public in general will have the means of comparing and judging more accurately the progress that has been made in that art and each member of the public the possibility of enjoying the genre he prefers' ('Journal de Paris', 15 February 1779). A fine undertaking, aimed as much at the intelligence of the community as at the sensitivity of the individual, and almost as strong in its pedagogic content as in its true artistic value. In the early months of 1779 he was able, with pride, to make his first assessment: 'I have presented consecutively works by MM. Piccinni, Gluck, Philidor, Rameau, Paisiello, Anfossi and other; so all that is missing is a work by Lully, and what better choice could I have made than his opera Thésée, which has constantly enjoyed a fine reputation, and which the beauty of the text, the magnificence of the spectacle and the riches lavished on it by Quinault's imagination will make forever dear to the nation.' If the revival of early works was meant to satisgy a particularly section of the public, new operating and choreographic works were not neglected. Only three new works had been presented in 1777-78, whereas de Vismes' inaugural season scheduled sixteen, including several 'ballets pantomimes' and many Italian 'opere buffe'. His larger-scale projects, on the other hand, proved much more difficult to bring to fruition. During his first season, only one new three-act 'tragédie lyrique' was premièred in 1779, but Piccinni's was not presented at the Académie Royale until 1781. For a time the institution's repertoire was renewed by works commissioned from authors of international renown, such as Johann Christian Bach, Gossec and Philidor.
"So that was the context in which the 'Andromaque' project saw the light. In inviting Grétry to imagine Racine's tragedy as a 'tragédie lyrique', de Vismes was sure to arouse public curiosity and bring people flocking to the theatre. At a time when good librettos were becoming a rarity, he had the idea of reusing some of the old librettos by Fontenelle, Houdar and de La Motte, Fuselier and especially Quinault. Thus the season from 1770 to 1800 saw the staging of Piccinni's 'Roland' and 'Atys', Gluck's 'Armide', Johann Christian Bach's 'Amadis', Philidor's 'Persée', two version of 'Thésée', by Mondonville and Gossec, and Paisiello's 'Proserpine'. This wish to return to the models of the reign of Louis XIV led to the idea of transporting to opera of of the tragedies of Corneille and Racine, to which Grétry's 'Andromaque' is a perfect illustration, as are Sacchini's 'Le Cid', Salieri's 'Les Horaces', and even the two versions of 'Iphigénie en Tauride' by Gluck and Piccinni. More than any other, the choice of 'Andromaque' was very symbolical. Written in 1667, it was the tragedy that established Racine's reputation as a poet. Between 1667 and the Revolution, it was one of the most frequently performed plays in France. It was unquestionably one of the pillars that gave the national repertoire its identity. Transferring it from the dramatic stage to the operatic stage meant having to reconsider a whole set of parameters, since there was a considerable difference between the rules governing spoken (declaimed) tragedy, on the one hand, and the (sung) 'tragédie lyrique', on the other. Louis-Guillaume Pitra (1735-1818) was the poet who undertook the adaption of Racine's play. He justified the changes he had to make in a detailed foreword to the work:
"'In adapting this tragedy by Racine to the operatic stage, we had to sacrifice countless beauties, which we regretted as much as any person of good taste will do. We were aware more than anyone of the absurdity, the audacity even, of such an undertaking; but our sole aim was to serve the genius of an artist whose talents have so often been our delight, and everyone knows that the pace of an opera requires the cuts which we were obliged to make in the poetic text of the immortal Racine. We retained that great man's lines insofar as the division of the scenes and the form of the airs and the recitative permitted. Unfortunately, in the process of creating a plot that was appropriate for an opera, we frequently had to add other lines, which we blended in with his. We hope that the public, understanding the reasons, will forgive this kind of sacrilege.'
"What Grétry himself says supports the sincerity of his librettist's cautious word: 'Let it not be assumed that Pitra had the slightest pretension in creating this text; he touched Racine's lines only with respect, and because the music required cuts to be made. His desire to see me test my strength on a tragic subject was his reason for undertaking this work, which he brought to be as a bare framework still recquiring the attentions of a poet; but since he knew no one who could assume so formidable a task, I made him take the risks of doing so himself.' Despite Pitra's reorganisation of the text, 'Andromaque' retains Racine's superb versification and an elevated tone that was rare in opera at that time. The ever-present choruses, supporting the four main characters and commenting on, and sometimes participating in, the action, give the work a monumentality that Grétry brings out perfectly in his music, while showing his excellence as dramatist. Appropriating the language of Gluck, he succeeds even better than the latter in fitting together the various elements - airs, ensembles, choruses - to form a continuous discourse that was revolutionary for that time, heralding the operas composed much later by Spontini... or even Berlioz. Grétry wrote in his 'Mémoires': 'The text of 'Andromaque' demands a profound sensibility which the too energetic Gluck could not command. It was in the hope of being superior to him in that respect, and wholly persuaded that I was inferior to him in strength, that I undertook this work.'
"'Andromaque' is undoubtedly the work by Grétry that belongs the least to its own time, and indeed, it was sharply criticised for that reason. In his 'Correspondance littéraire', the ferocious critic La Harpe, disconcerted by the modernity of the work, noted that Grétry, who is 'so charming in 'opéras-comiques', and shows in the singing the grace and gentleness he learned in Italy, has left his habitual genre for that of Gluck, a desertion that is not to his advantage. In this work there is nothing but a shrill and tedious noise, and all the failings of Gluck without the presence of what redeems to some extent them, that is to say, expressive pieces and an understanding of theatrical effect. Indeed, this drama is as badly constructed as it could possibly be, and Racine's masterpiece is horribly disfigured.' Like many original or visionary works - Charpentier's 'Médée', for example, or Rameau's 'Hippolyte & Aricie', Berlioz's 'Les Troyens'... - 'Andromaque' came under fire from the critics at first. Was Grétry aware of his audacity? Presumably not, for in his 'Mémoires' he admitted that no work had cost him less trouble. He completed 'Andromaque' in thirty days, although 'contrary to my wont, I composed in the evening and wrote out the music the following morning. The author of the text, Pitra, was with me all the time. Constantly carried along by the beauty and pace of the action, I wrote it in one go. It has, perhaps, too much warmth, even in the music, and I advise those who have it performed not to hurry the movements.'
"The authors thus threw themselves wholeheartedly into the adventure. But when the time came to stage the work, the director of the Académie Royale, de Vismes, was again faced with problems. 'Andromaque''s genesis was chaotic and it came close to not being presented at all. The first rehearsals, in May 1778, were halted by a dispute with the Comédie Française, which helf the acting monopoly to the play and succeeded in having the performances banned. After many complications, the work nevertheless finally reached the stage in June 1780, by which time the director of the Académie was Antoine Dauvergne, who had succeeded de Visme's successor, Henri-Montan Berton, on the latter's sudden death a few weeks previously. However, the première, initially scheduled for the beginning of the season in April, had to be postponed, this time because Mademoiselle Levasseur, who singing the title role, had fallen ill. In a letter of 26 April 1781, Dauvergne wrote: 'My opinion is that 'Andromaque' should be given on Sunday, even if that means Madame Saint-Huberty taking the part, but I am told Monsieur Dauberval has declared that the ballets will not be ready. So the performance of the opera has had to be postponed.'
"The administrative context was more favourable by that time, but there was nevertheless continuing strife and some of those working for the institution, notably members of the corps de ballet, decided to air their long-standing grievances by being uncooperative and making as little effort as possible in the dances. In another letter of 2 April 1781, Dauvergne complained, though to no avail, to the royal court:
"'[The negligence of the 'sujets'] recently caused the failure of 'Castor [& Pollux]'; indeed, the fight, which used to be superb, and which made more than a small contribution in attracting the attention of a portion of the public, was detestable [...] and all the other ballets in that opera were likewise neglected; the whole audience expressed its dissatisfaction; and that is how all the other operas we have given this year have been treated; 'Andromaque', 'Alceste', 'Persée', 'Iphigénie', were likewise skimped, although there is very little dancing in them; now we include only a very few dancers in the corps de ballet for those pieces.'
"Indeed, 'Andromaque' had a mixed reception. It was criticised especially for its many choruses, which gave people the impression that they were listening to an oratorio rather than an opera. The ending was considered too tragic for the stage of the Académie Royale. And audiences were used to there being more 'divertissements' to provide relief: here they found few light choruses, not many dances, no virtuoso ariettes... Grétry and Pitra decided therefore to refashion the third and last act. Moving away from Racine's original, they explored the spectacular potention and musical possibilities of the final scene, making 'Andromaque' end this time on a happier note, with a wedding. A second series of performances, with the opera in its new form, was given in 1781, and this time its success was without reserve. But then a few weeks later a serious fire at the Opéra put an end to the triumph of 'Andromaque'. Most of the sets and costumes were destroyed and the work was never shown again in France.
"More than two centuries later, the music of 'Andromaque' may still seem surprising to us today. It is in fact totally symbolic - symbolic of a century of evolution in French opera, from its heyday under Louis XIV to its final radiance under Louis XVI. This 'tragédie lyrique' by Grétry is characterised above all by its lack of concession to imperatives of the drama; the music serves, underlies, comments on and extends the drama without ever impeding it. The 'divertissements', in which the few decorative ballets and choruses are found, are reduced to a minimum; perfectly integrated into the action, they never hold it up but, on the contrary, create 'suspense', heightening the seriousness of the scenes that follow.
"To create such a dramatic work meant having to ignore completely, in every respect, the aesthetic that had still been prevalent only ten years previously - that is to say, the aesthetic that had been valid throughout the career of Rameau and his contemporaries. At the same time the dramatic works imagined a century earlier by Lully and Quinault had gradually given way to a decorative style. Thus, Baron Grimm ('Encyclopédie', IV, p. 103) had noted that the dance, 'that artificial part, has even of late become the main element in opera'. And the great Marmontel, as forthright as ever in his views, had written in the 'Mercure de France' (July 1759, II, p. 94) that 'the moderns are degenerating; their taste for florid decoration, if one may say so, has spoiled all the emotion'. In the mid-eighteenth century, the 'Encyclopédie' (IV, p. 350) gave the following advice to potential opera librettists and composers:
"'[At the time of Lully] the three and a quarter hours of a performances included two and a half hours of recitative; today the latter must be replaced by 'divertissements', choruses, dramatic action, brilliant vocal pieces, etc. Otherwise tedium is assured, and failure of the opera is inevitable. Hence only about three-quarters of an hour of recitative is required; therefore an opera must be very differently structured nowadays compared to the works of Quinault.'
"The 'revolution' that Gluck brought about, first of all with 'Iphigénie en Aulide' (1774) and even more with 'Alceste' (1776) in particular, had enabled French opera to return to its origins, and maybe go back even further still, by bringing the new aesthetic of opera closer to that of the great plays of Corneille and Racine that used declamation. After a century of developments in the Baroque mould through the skills of Quinault, opera thus moved back in time, closer to its ancestor of the Classical period: spoken tragedy. The Gluck era paved the way therefore for the operas that were to flourish throughout the nineteenth century, the work of eminently Romantic authors. Grétry's 'Andromaque' stands at the crossroads, at the point where those different styles and issues meet. Viewed by turns with a Baroque, Classical or Romantic eye, its many facets shed new light on its composer." (Benoît Dratwicki, tr. Mary Pardoe. From the liner notes.)
Performers: Le Concert Spirituel; Hervé Niquet
1.1. Ouverture
1.2. Acte I, Scène I: 'Cessez De Répandre Des Larmes'
1.3. Acte I, Scène I: 'C'est Le Seul Espoir Qui Me Reste'
1.4. Acte I, Scène I: 'Si, Fidèle Au Noeud Qui L'engage'
1.5. Acte I, Scène II: Marche
1.6. Acte I, Scène II: 'Au Vainqueur Des Troyens'
1.7. Acte I, Scène II: 'De Tous Nos Rois Secondez La Colère'
1.8. Acte I, Scène II: 'Non, Non'/'Je Veux Défendre Et Le Fils Et La Mère'
1.9. Acte I, Scène II: 'Je Ne Fus Que Trop Implacable'
1.10. Acte I, Scène II: 'Je Defendrai Contre Eux Et Le Fils Et La Mère'
1.11. Acte I, Scène III: Marche
1.12. Acte I, Scène III: 'Je L'envoie, Je Le Sais, Aux Pieds De Sa Maîtresse'
1.13. Acte I, Scène IV: 'Où Portez-vous Vos Pas?'
1.14. Acte I, Scène IV: 'Ils Me Menacent De Leurs Armes'
1.15. Acte I, Scène IV: 'Triste, Captive, Importune À Moi-même'
1.16. Acte I, Scène IV: 'Votre Vainqueur Baigne De Larmes'
1.17. Acte I, Scène IV: 'Ah ! Dites-moi Seulement Que J'espère'
1.18. Acte I, Scène IV: 'Murs Sacrés ! Que N'a Pu Conserver Mon Hector'
1.19. Acte I, Scène IV: 'Cruelle!'
1.20. Acte I, Scène IV: 'Vous Le Voulez ? Hé Bien, Cruelle'
1.21. Acte I, Scène IV: 'Le Fils, Dans Ma Juste Colère'
1.22. Acte I, Scène V: 'Ah! C'en Est Fait, Cruelle!'
1.23. Acte I, Scène V: 'Je M'applaudis De Ma Victoire'
1.24. Acte I, Scène V: 'Qu'on Cherche Oreste, Amenez Hermione'
1.25. Acte I, Scène VI: 'Fille De Menélas, Oreste'
1.26. Acte I, Scène VI: 'J'oublie À Jamais L'ingrate'
1.27. Acte I, Scène VI: 'Dieux ! Que Cet Aveu Me Flatte'
1.28. Acte I, Scène VI: Marche
2.1. Acte II, Scène I: 'Modérez Ce Transport Jaloux'
2.2. Acte II, Scène II: 'Regnez A Jamais Dans Mon Ame'
2.3. Acte II, Scène II: 'Bientôt La Pompe Nuptiale'
2.4. Acte II, Scène III: 'Ne Fuyez Point Un Spectacle Si Doux!'
2.5. Acte II, Scène IV: 'Elle Fuit, La Cruelle, Et Se Rit De Mes Larmes'
2.6. Acte II, Scène IV: 'Chère Épouse, Dit-il, Je Te Laisse Ce Gage'
2.7. Acte II, Scène IV: 'Et Sa Mère Pourrait Supporter Son Trépas?'
2.8. Acte II, Scène V: 'Hâtons-nous Et Quittons Ce Rivage'
2.9. Acte II, Scène VI: 'Phoenix, Il Faut Aux Grecs Livrer Le Fils d'Hector'
2.10. Acte II, Scène VI: 'Hélas! Vous Pouvez, Sans Pitié'
2.11. Acte II, Scène VII: 'Laissez-moi Baigner De Mes Larmes'
2.12. Acte II, Scène VII: 'Je Ne Puis Resister À Ses Larmes'
2.13. Acte II, Scène VII: 'A Votre Fils, Je Servirai De Père'
2.14. Acte II, Scène VII: 'Ciel C'en Est Fait!'
2.15. Acte II, Scène VIII: 'C'est Pour L'hymen D'une Immortelle'
2.16. Acte II, Scène VIII: Gavotte
2.17. Acte II, Scène IX: 'C'en Est Fait! Le Parjure!'
2.18. Acte II, Scène IX: 'Va Lui Jurer La Foi Que Tu M'avais Jurée'
2.19. Acte II, Scène IX: 'Quoi! Preferer À La Fille D'un Roi'
2.20. Acte II, Scène X: 'Croirai-je Que Vos Yeux Sont Enfin Désarmés?'
2.21. Acte II, Scène X: 'Je Crois Tout'
2.22. Acte II, Scène X: 'Lâche! N'espère Plus Obtenir Ma Conquête!'
2.23. Acte II, Scène X: 'Il Ne Mourra Que De La Main D'Oreste'
2.24. Acte II, Scène X: 'Jurez De Venger Son Injure'
2.25. Acte III, Scène I: 'Ombre Chérie, Ombre Sacrée'
2.26. Acte III, Scène I: 'Reçois, Chère Ombre Que J'adore'
2.27. Acte III, Scène I: 'Vivez Pour Votre Fils Et Faites Son Bonheur'
2.28. Acte III, Scène II: 'Pyrrhus Vous Attend À L'autel'
2.29. Acte III, Scène III: 'Quel Spectacle Cruel!'
2.30. Acte III, Scène III: 'Bravons La Crainte Et Le Danger'
2.31. Acte III, Scène IV: 'Chantons, Celebrons L'hymenee'
2.32. Acte III, Scène IV: Gavotte
2.33. Acte III, Scène IV: Menuet
2.34. Acte III, Scène IV: Reprise De La Gavotte
2.35. Acte III, Scène IV: Marche
2.36. Acte III, Scène IV: 'Dieu D'Hymen, Que Sous Ton Empire'
2.37. Acte III, Scène IV: 'Andromaque, Régnez Sur Mon Peuple Et Sur Moi'
2.38. Acte III, Scène IV: Combat
2.39. Acte III, Scène V: 'Quels Cris Me Remplissent D'effroi?'
2.40. Acte III, Scène VI: 'Princesse, C'en Est Fait ! Votre Haine Est Servie'
2.41. Acte III, Scène VI: 'Barbare, Ne Voyais-tu Pas'
2.42. Acte III, Scène VII: 'Est-ce Hermione?'/'Et Que Viens-je D'entendre?'
2.43. Acte III, Scène VIII: 'Ô Fureur! Ô Funeste Sort!'
2.44. Acte III, Scène VIII: 'Sauvons-le De Sa Fureur!'
2.45. Acte III, Scène VIII: 'Filles D'enfer, Vos Mains Sont-elle Prêtes?'
2.46. Acte III, Scène VIII: 'Dieux Implacables, Dieux Vengeurs'
