Dauvergne Les Troqueurs
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Antoine Dauvergne
Genre:
Opera
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Magazine Review Date: 8/1994
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 73
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: HMC90 1454
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| (Les) Troqueurs |
Antoine Dauvergne, Composer
Antoine Dauvergne, Composer Cappella Coloniensis Jean-Marc Salzmann, Lucas, Baritone Mary Saint-Palais, Margot Nicolas Rivenq, Lubin, Tenor Sophie Marin-Degor, Fanchon, Soprano William Christie, Conductor |
| (2) Concerts de simphonies, Movement: F |
Antoine Dauvergne, Composer
Antoine Dauvergne, Composer Cappella Coloniensis Emma Mayer, Widow Browe, Soprano Georg Hann, Peter the Great, Baritone Heinrich Hölzlin, Lord Syndham Hermann Schmid-Berikoven, Marquis de Chateauneuf William Christie, Conductor |
Author: Lindsay Kemp
The appearance on disc of Antoine Dauvergne's opera-bouffon of 1753, Les Troqueurs is at once a happy occasion and a frustrating one. For while we can rejoice at the chance to make the acquaintance of this charming little intermede, it also serves to remind us that there are an awful lot of French comic operas from the second half of the eighteenth century that remain unheard. This is repertory that is both interesting and important to the history of opera in general, and Les Troqueurs is the work that stands at its head, for following as it did on the heels of the influential Paris performances of Pergolesi's La serva padrona it was the first real attempt at a wholly French comic opera in the same modern, dramatically light-footed mould. As such it entered the world at the height of that exchange of operatic polemic, the ''Querelle des bouffons'', and, mischievously, Dauvergne originally put the work out as being by an Italian, only to reveal his true identity after it had been praised by the pro-Italian camp. It's not difficult, however, to see how it would have appealed to French supporters as well, because for all that its airs embrace the artless melodies and more straightforward harmonies of Pergolesi and his ilk, it's still an unmistakably French work. This is especially true of its harmonically rich recitatives, but there is also a concluding 15-minute ballet that is reminiscent of Rameau. And it was that grand old man himself who, according to Rousseau, offered Les Troqueurs its most ringing endorsement: ''predicting the degree of perfection to which this genre could subsequently be taken, he fondly reflected on the progress good music would make through partiality to this opera''.
Les Troqueurs (literally ''The exchangers'') has a simple plot: Lubin and Lucas are engaged to Margot and Fanchon respectively, but think better of the arrangement and agree to a swap. The ladies are not so keen, but play along until a fearsome display of temperament from Margot brings about a hasty change of mind for her new fiance. The situation is soon resolved and the status quo happily restored. Slight stuff then, but it was this very lightness which appealed to its earliest audiences, who had grown weary of portentous tales of gods and goddesses. Indeed, it is in the ability of the music to respond quickly to the dramatic, and more importantly comic, needs of the moment that such a work's principal strengths lie. Thus, the highlights include Margot's crucial outburst erupting from what until then had seemed like a perfectly phlegmatic air, an 'echo aria' in which Margot teases Lubin by repeating the last syllable of his every line, each time giving it a new meaning; and another resourceful air for Lubin in which he imitates Fanchon in all her listless utterances.
Simple though all this may appear, it requires a sure dramatic touch, and for this reason we can be thankful that it has fallen into such adroit hands as those of William Christie. It is a little surprising that the comedy isn't played for a bit more worth—perhaps repeated listening on CD is not the place for the sort of knockabout spirit you are liable to encounter in Christie's live performances—but the recitatives are handled with great intelligence, as ever, while the airs are propelled with impressive energy (and that doesn't mean too fast), helped by a 34-piece orchestra which is bigger than one has come to expect in this kind of opera. The four singers are typical Christie voices and they perform well, though none is outstanding and indeed listeners may find difficulty in telling the two men and the two women apart.
An extremely welcome release then; and there is even a filler, in the form of one of Dauvergne's four multi-movement Concerts de simphonies, that hints at another large and neglected area: French late-eighteenth-century orchestral music. We can only hope for more in both fields. '
Les Troqueurs (literally ''The exchangers'') has a simple plot: Lubin and Lucas are engaged to Margot and Fanchon respectively, but think better of the arrangement and agree to a swap. The ladies are not so keen, but play along until a fearsome display of temperament from Margot brings about a hasty change of mind for her new fiance. The situation is soon resolved and the status quo happily restored. Slight stuff then, but it was this very lightness which appealed to its earliest audiences, who had grown weary of portentous tales of gods and goddesses. Indeed, it is in the ability of the music to respond quickly to the dramatic, and more importantly comic, needs of the moment that such a work's principal strengths lie. Thus, the highlights include Margot's crucial outburst erupting from what until then had seemed like a perfectly phlegmatic air, an 'echo aria' in which Margot teases Lubin by repeating the last syllable of his every line, each time giving it a new meaning; and another resourceful air for Lubin in which he imitates Fanchon in all her listless utterances.
Simple though all this may appear, it requires a sure dramatic touch, and for this reason we can be thankful that it has fallen into such adroit hands as those of William Christie. It is a little surprising that the comedy isn't played for a bit more worth—perhaps repeated listening on CD is not the place for the sort of knockabout spirit you are liable to encounter in Christie's live performances—but the recitatives are handled with great intelligence, as ever, while the airs are propelled with impressive energy (and that doesn't mean too fast), helped by a 34-piece orchestra which is bigger than one has come to expect in this kind of opera. The four singers are typical Christie voices and they perform well, though none is outstanding and indeed listeners may find difficulty in telling the two men and the two women apart.
An extremely welcome release then; and there is even a filler, in the form of one of Dauvergne's four multi-movement Concerts de simphonies, that hints at another large and neglected area: French late-eighteenth-century orchestral music. We can only hope for more in both fields. '
Dauvergne Les Troqueurs
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