Opéra comique
The genre originated in the early 18th century with humorous and satirical plays performed at the theatres of the Paris fairs which contained songs (vaudevilles), with new words set to already existing music.In the middle of the 18th century, composers began to write original music to replace the vaudevilles, under the influence of the lighter types of Italian opera (especially Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's La serva padrona).As Elizabeth Bartlet and Richard Langham Smith note in their Grove article on the subject, composers and librettists frequently rejected the use of the umbrella term opéra comique in favor of more precise labels.In spite of fierce opposition from rival theatres the venture flourished and leading playwrights of the time, including Alain-René Lesage and Alexis Piron, contributed works in the new form.The next year, the head of the Saint Laurent theatre, Jean Monnet, commissioned the composer Antoine Dauvergne to produce a French opera in the style of La serva padrona.Dauvergne's opera, with a simple plot, everyday characters, and Italianate melodies, had a huge influence on subsequent opéra comique, setting a fashion for composing new music, rather than recycling old tunes.He was a versatile composer who expanded the range of opéra comique to cover a wide variety of subjects from the Oriental fairy tale Zémire et Azor (1772) to the musical satire of Le jugement de Midas (1778) and the domestic farce of L'amant jaloux (also 1778).In 1793, the name of the Comédie-Italienne was changed to the Opéra-Comique, but it no longer had a monopoly on performing operas with spoken dialogue and faced serious rivalry from the Théâtre Feydeau, which also produced works in the opéra comique style.
Opera comiqueFrench operaopéras comiques en vaudevillesFair Theatres of St Germain and St LaurentComédie-Italienneof the same nameCarmentragedycomic operavaudevillesGiovanni Battista PergolesiLa serva padronacomédie mêlée d'ariettesOpéra-Comiquerecitative deliveryParis OpéraGeorges BizetElizabeth BartletRichard Langham SmithComédie-FrançaiseAlain-René LesageAlexis PironQuerelle des BouffonsJean-Jacques Rousseautragédies en musiqueJean-Philippe Rameauopera buffaPergolesiLe Devin du villageJean MonnetAntoine DauvergneLes troqueursLouis AnseaumeMichel-Jean SedaineCharles Simon FavartEgidio DuniPierre-Alexandre MonsignyFrançois-André Danican PhilidorLe peintre amoureux de son modèleLe roi et le fermierEnlightenmentLe déserteurTom JonesHenry FieldingAndré GrétryZémire et AzorLe jugement de MidasL'amant jalouxRichard Coeur-de-lionBostonHôtel de BourgogneSalle FavartFrench RevolutionThéâtre FeydeauRomanticismÉtienne MéhulNicolas DalayracRodolphe KreutzerHenri-Montan BertonLuigi CherubiniPierre GaveauxJean-François Le SueurFrançois DevienneStratoniceAriodantLodoïskaMédéeLes Deux journéesLa caverneMélidore et PhrosineNapoleonBoieldieuLe calife de BagdadIsouardCendrillonbel cantoRossiniLa dame blancheFra DiavoloLe domino noirFerdinand HéroldAdolphe AdamLe postillon de LonjumeauMusical theatreM. Elizabeth C. BartletGrove Music OnlineHolden, AmandaParker, RogerWarrack, JohnOpera genresActe de balletAfterpieceAzione sacraAzione teatraleBallad operaBallet héroïqueBühnenfestspielBühnenweihfestspielBurlettaChamber operaComédie en vaudevillesComédie lyriqueDrame lyriqueDramma eroicomicoDramma giocosoDramma pastoraleDramma per musicaDuodramaFairy-tale opera / MärchenoperFait historiqueFesta teatraleGénero chicoGénero grandeGrand operaHandlungIntermèdeLiederspielLiteraturoperMelodrammaMonodramaMusikdramaOpéraOpera balloOpéra-balletOpéra bouffeOpéra bouffon