''Le dilettante d'Avignon'' (English: ''The

Dilettante Dilettante or dilettantes may refer to: * Amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidactic ...

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

'') is an 1829

opéra comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular ''opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Théâtre de la foire, Fair Theatres of St Germain and S ...

in one act by

Fromental Halévy Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy (; 27 May 179917 March 1862), was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera ''La Juive''. Early career Halévy was born in Paris, son of the cantor ...

, to a

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

by his brother Léon Halévy, based on an uncompleted work by François-Benoit Hoffmann. It was the composer's first popular success, since it was his first venture into opera after the relative failure in the previous year of '' Clari''.

Composition history

Léon Halévy was offered the uncompleted libretto of ''Le dilettante'' by Hoffmann's son. He developed it into a witty satire on Italian music, and the work was premiered at the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...

on 7 November 1829. The libretto contains some sly fun about the composer; like the imposter 'Imbroglio', Fromental Halévy himself was a graduate of the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

, and was at the time of the premiere a 'chef du chant' (singing director), in this case at the

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

. It was well received by the critics, becoming the composer's first popular success, running for 119 performances. Moreover, the publisher Maurice Schlesinger was impressed by it, published the score and took Halévy into his stable.

Roles

Synopsis

:Place: The foyer of a theatre in Avignon :Time: The charlatan director 'Casanova' (in fact a Frenchman) claims to love only Italian music. In fact he is musically illiterate and cannot speak Italian. Having sacked his French musicians he calls for an audition by some 'Italian' singers (who are the same French singers in disguise). The singing director at the theatre, also posing as an Italian, is enamoured with the daughter of 'Casanova'. Eventually all is revealed, and everyone agrees that the best thing would be to use the best points of both the French and Italian traditions.Jourdan (1994), 31-2; Halevy (1829)

Recordings

*''Le dilettante d’Avignon'' Michel Piquemal 2CD 2019

References

Notes Sources * Halevy, Léon
''Le dilettante d'Avignon, opéra comique en un acte''
Paris, 1829. On

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* Halévy, Léon, ''F. Halévy: sa vie et ses oeuvres'', Paris: Heugel et cie, 1863. * Jordan, Ruth, ''Fromental Halévy: His Life and Music''. London: Kahn and Averill, 1994. {{DEFAULTSORT:dilettante d'Avignon, Le Operas 1829 operas Operas by Fromental Halévy Opéras comiques Operas set in France French-language operas Opera world premieres at the Opéra-Comique