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L'amour au village (1754) - Charles-Simon Favart
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Background
Charles-Simon Favart gained prominence for his parodies of extant operas during the middle of the eighteenth century. His L’amour au village (1754), a typical example of the genre, was based on Carolet’s L’amour paysan (1737).
The parody technique consisted of setting new texts to existing melodies and writing new dialogue based on a familiar plot. L’amour au village includes a typical vaudeville finale. In the Virtual Rare Book Room’s volume, the melody is included along with the first verse’s text. Because vaudeville finales are strophic (with one repeated melody), the subsequent verses are numbered to indicate each time the melody should begin again.
Parodies of this sort were common during Favart’s lifetime, with the operas of composers such as Gluck, Rousseau, and Lully reworked in a comedic fashion. Although he composed music for the comédies mêlées d’ariettes of his late career, Favart is best known for his earlier parody and opéra-comique libretti.
Bibliography
Title from title page: L’AMOUR / AU VILLAGE, / OPERA-COMIQUE
Genre: Libretto – Opéra-comique
Composer: Charles-Simon Favart, 1710-1792
Librettist: Charles-Simon Favart, 1710-1792
Libretto (parody) based on: Carolet’s L’amour paysan
Premiere: Paris, Fauxbourg St. Germain, 3 February 1745
Print in the UNT Collection: Paris: Chez Duchesne, 1754
For further reading on L’amour au village, see:
Brown, Bruce Alan. “Favart, Charles-Simon.” In Grove Music Online, ed. Laura Macy. [Accessed 27 May 2004]. <http://www.grovemusic.com>
Karro, Françoise. “De la Querelle des Bouffons à la réforme de Gluck: Les lettres du Comte Giacomo Durazzo à Charles-Simon Favart conserves à la Bibliothèque de l’Opéra.” Mitteilungen des österreichischen Staatsarchivs 38 (1985): 163-96.
Iacuzzi, Alfred. The European Vogue of Favart: The Diffusion of the Opéra-Comique. New York: AMS, 1978. Reprint of New York, 1932 edition.
Salvatore, Paul John. Favart’s Unpublished Plays: The Rise of the Popular Comic Opera. New York: AMS, 1978. Reprint of New York, 1935 edition.
Physical
Dimensions: 17.4 x 11.8 cm
Collation: [80: A-C8, D2]
[$ 4 (-A1, A2, D1, D2)]
26 leaves, pp. [5] 6-48, 1-4
Conservation: Tape used to repair binding, small holes in paper.
Binding: Unbound.
Comments: Call number attached to title page.