Opera no 101
Rousseau: le Devin du village
Soloists
Orchestra de chambre Louis de Froment
Louis de Fromet
I knew about this opera but I had never heard it. I has assumed that Rousseau would have been something of a dilettante as far as music was concerned and that this opera would be little more than a collection of very simple songs. So I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the music. It is no great masterpiece but it is well written and has considerable charm. It comes at an interesting time in musical history with the tension in France between Italian and French music. Certainly parts of the opera have Italianate influence and could be seen as being part of the classical tradition, but elsewhere we are in the world of Rameau - indeed quite a lot of the music could pass for minor Rameau. That’s something of a surprise considerating that Rousseau and Rameau were at either sides of the debate.
So an enjoyable start to this phrase in the project when I will be concentrating on 18th century opera.
