Daniel-François-Esprit Auber: Le Philtre
Editor: Robert Ignatius Letellier
Date Of Publication: May 2011
Isbn13: 978-1-4438-2880-2
Isbn: 1-4438-2880-7
Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (1782–1871) was long considered one of the most typically French as well as one of the most successful of the opera composers of the 19th century. Although musically gifted, he initially chose commerce as a career, but soon realized that his future lay in music. He studied under Cherubini, and it was not long before his opéra-comique La Bergère Châteleine (1820), written at the age of 38, established him as an operatic composer. Perhaps the greatest turning point in Auber’s life was his meeting with the librettist Eugène Scribe (1791–1861), with whom he developed a long and illustrious working partnership that ended only with Scribe’s death. Success followed success; works such as Le Maçon (1825) and La Muette de Portici (1828) brought Auber public fame and official recognition. In 1829 he was appointed a member of the Institut, in 1839 Director of Concerts at Court, in 1842 Director of the Conservatoire, in 1852 Musical Director of the Imperial Chapel, and in 1861 Grand Officer of the Légion d’Honneur.

Auber seems to have been fated to live in revolutionary times; during his long life no less than four revolutions took place in France (1789, 1830, 1848, 1870). Auber’s famous historical grand opera La Muette de Portici (also known by its hero’s name as Masaniello) is perhaps unsurprisingly based on revolution, depicting the 1647 Neapolitan uprising against Spanish rule. It is a key work in operatic history, and has a revolutionary history itself: it was a performance of this work in Brussels in 1830 that helped spark the revolution that led to the separation of Belgium from Holland. It was a revolution that hastened Auber’s death at the old age of 89. He died on 12 May 1871 as a result of a long illness aggravated by the privations and dangers of the Siege of Paris. He had refused to leave the city he had always loved, even after his house had been set on fire by the petroleurs et petroleuses. In a twist of fate, a mark had been placed on the house of the composer of Masaniello, the very voice of Romantic liberty!

Auber’s overtures were once instantly recognizable, favourites of the light Classical repertoire. His gracious melodies and dance rhythms had a huge influence, both on piano and instrumental music, and on the genre of Romantic comic opera, especially in Germany. Musical tastes and fashions have changed, and contemporary audiences are more accustomed to the heavier fare of verismo, Wagnerian transcendentalism, and 20th-century experimentalism. The operas themselves, apart from Fra Diavolo (1830), are seldom performed, yet Auber’s elegant, delicate and restrained art remains as appealing to the discerning listener as ever it was.

Le Philtre, an opera in two acts with libretto by Eugène Scribe, was premiered at the Académie Royale de Musique (Salle de la rue Le Peletier) on 20 June 1831. The work was an immediate success and remained in the repertoire of the Opéra until 1862.

The story is set in Mauléon, in the 18th century. Guillaume, a young farmhand, is in love with Thérèsine, the beautiful but aloof lady of the manor. He and his rival, the swaggering Sergeant Jolicoeur, both try in vain to persuade Thérèsine to marry them. In despair, Guillaume buys what he thinks is a love potion from Doctor Fontanarose, a travelling vendor of patent medicines and a charlatan. In order to pay for the potion, Guillaume joins Sergeant Jolicoeur’s regiment. Meanwhile the villagers find out that Guillaume’s uncle has died and left the young man all his money. Guillaume becomes instantly popular with all the girls, and is convinced that the potion is working. Thérèsine then discovers Guillaume has enlisted in order to gain enough money to buy a love potion. She realizes how much he must love her and buys back his enlistment papers. When Jolicoeur returns, Thérèsine explains to him that she is going to marry Guillaume. Thérèsine and Guillaume then learn that the latter is rich. As the couple rejoice over their good fortune, Fontanarose leaves town with honour and gratitude from all sides.

There is less action and a simpler plot than in most of the opéras-comiques despite a similarity of structural elements. Hence there is less need for recitative, with more of the action incorporated into the musical numbers which are in turn able to unfold at a more leisurely pace. This situation is underlined by the prevalence of arioso writing in the course of these longer musical numbers, which necessitate more complex musical forms. While none of these would be out of place in an opéra-comique, there are fewer strophic forms like couplets, more arias and ensembles, and concerted pieces involving the chorus. Both librettist and composer have subtly but formally demonstrated their awareness of generic distinction: they are promoting the same message, but this time as a comic opera not an opéra-comique.

The pastoral atmosphere is developed and sustained from the very beginning. The melodies are graceful and fresh, none more so than those written for the star tenor. Adolphe Nourrit played the role of the naive villager with a perfect naturalness. Julie Dorus-Gras and Laure Cinti-Damoreau took turns in playing the role of Thérèsine. Jolicoeur is depicted as strutting military man, and Dr Fontanarose is a particularly amusing comic creation, his irresistible vending couplets burlesques a comic tour de force.

The original cast was: Adolphe Nourrit (Guillaume); Julie Dorus-Gras and Laure Cinti-Damoreau (Thérèsine); Henri-Bernard Dabadie (Jolicoeur); Nicholas Prosper Levasseur (Fontanarose); Elie (Fontanarose’s valet); and Constance Jaruwek (Jeannette, a villager). The décor by Pierre-Luc-Charles Cicéri was much applauded. The work enjoyed great success, and was given from 1831 until 1862, with 243 performances altogether. The opera was translated into German, Danish, English and Italian.

Robert Ignatius Letellier has specialized in the music and literature of the Romantic Period. He has studied the work of Giacomo Meyerbeer (a four-volume English edition of his diaries, a collection of critical and biographical studies, a guide to research, two readings of the operas, as well as compiling and introducing editions of the complete libretti and non-operatic texts, and a selection of manuscripts facsimiles). He has also written on the ballets of Ludwig Minkus, compiled a series of scores on the Romantic Ballet, and produced studies of the opéra-comique and Daniel-François-Esprit Auber.

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