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Cendrillon (1759) - Jean-Louis Laruette
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Background
This version of Cendrillon is a pastiche style opèra comique with airs by Laruette and Egidio Duni on many familiar tunes adapted to Anseaume’s libretto. Subsequent to the premiere in 1759, the opera underwent two revisions before the definitive version of 1764. Laruette worked with Anseaume on at least four other operas (a fifth libretto is possibly by Anseaume); one of those, Le docteur Sangrado, was also a collaboration with Duni.
The plot of Cendrillon (Cinderella in English) was taken from Charles Perrault’s fairy tale, which was printed in 1698. Later operatic renditions of the story include: Nicolas Isouard’s Cendrillon (1810), Gioachino Rossini’s La Cenerentola (1817), and Jules Massanet’s Cendrillon (1899).
In addition to his compositions, Laruette was known for his operatic performances, including Azor in Cendrillon. His distinctive voice type and performance style resulted in the French fach category “laruette,” used to describe elderly comic roles for high tenors.
The item in the UNT collection begins with the libretto, and is followed by the music score for the airs. The instrumental parts are not included in the music score.
Bibliography
Title from title page: CENDRILLON / OPERA-COMIQUE
Genre: Opéra-comique
Composer: Jean-Louis Laruette
Librettist: Louis Anseaume, ca. 1721-ca. 1784
Libretto based on: Charles Perrault’s fairy tale Cendrillon, from Contes de ma mère l’oye (1698)
Setting: The house of Cendrillon, and then in the palace of Azor
Premiere: Paris, Foire St-Germain, 21 February 1759
First published: Paris: N. B. Duchesne, 1759
Volume in the UNT Lully Collection: First edition; Paris: N. B. Duchesne, 1759
For further reading on Cendrillon, see:
Letailleur, P. “Jean-Louis Laruette: chanteur et compositeur.” Recherches sur la musique francaise classique 8 (1968): 161-89, 9 (1969): 145-61, and 10 (1970): 57-86.
Noiray, Michel. “Laruette, Jean-Louis.” Grove Music Online, ed. Laura Macy. [Accessed 6 July 2005]. <http://www.grovemusic.com>
Smith, Kent M. Egidio Duni and the Development of the Opéra-comique from 1753 to 1770. Ph.D. diss.: Cornell University, 1980.
Physical
Dimensions: 10.6 x 18.2 cm.
Conservation: Heavy foxing; very light bleed-across, bleed-through; frass, cockling.
Binding: Green buckram binding; call number and composer name stamped on front cover; binding in good condition.
Comments: Front pastedown contains Ex Libris Isaac Lloyd Hibberd, first page has pencil marking reading, "$15 1963."