Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (1782 - 1871)

Daniel François Esprit Auber (29 January 1782 ? 12/13 May 1871) was a French composer.
The son of a Paris print-seller, Auber was born in Caen in Normandy. Though his father expected him to continue in the print-selling business, he also allowed his son to learn how to play several musical instruments. His first teacher was the Tirolean composer, Josef Alois Ladurner (1769 ? 1851). At the age of 20 Auber was sent to London for business training, but he was obliged to leave England in 1804 when the Treaty of Amiens was breached in 1804.
Auber had already attempted musical composition, and at this period produced several concertos pour basse, modeled after violoncellist Lamarre, in whose name they were published. The praise given to his concerto for the violin, which was played at the Paris Conservatoire by Mazas, encouraged him to undertake a resetting of an old comic opera, Julie (1811). He also began to study with the renowned Luigi Cherubini.

In 1813 the unfavourable reception of his one-act debut opera Le Séjour militaire put an end for some years to his attempts as composer. But his failure in business, and the death of his father in 1819, compelled him once more to turn to music. He produced another opera, Le Testament et les billets-doux (1819), which was no better received than the former. But he persevered, and the next year was rewarded by the complete success of La Bergère châtelaine, an opera in three acts.
This was the first in a long series of brilliant successes. In 1822 began his long association with librettist Eugène Scribe. Their first opera, Leicester, shows evidence of the influence of Gioacchino Rossini in its musical style. Auber soon developed his own voice, however: light, vivacious, graceful, and melodious--characteristically French. Le maçon (1825) was his first major triumph, staying in the repertory until the 20th century, with 525 performances at the Opéra-Comique alone. An ensemble from the latter found its way into Herold's ballet La Somnambule (source of Bellini's La sonnambula) as an air parlante (a way of explicating the plot through the words of a relevant operatic aria or salon piece).
Auber achieved another triumph in La muette de Portici, also known as Masaniello after its hero. Produced in Paris in 1828, it rapidly became a European favorite, and the foundation work of a new genre, grand opera, that was consolidated by Rossini's Guillaume Tell the following year. Its characteristic features are a private drama staged in the context of a significant historical event in which the chorus is dramatically engaged as a representative of the people, varied and piquant musical textures, grandiloquent marches, spectacular scenic effects and a statutory ballet. The duet from La Muette, Amour sacré de la patrie (meaning 'Sacred Love of the Homeland'), was welcomed as a new Marseillaise; its performance at Brussels on 25 August 1830, in which Adolphe Nourrit sang the leading tenor role, engendered a riot that became the signal for the Belgian Revolution that drove out the Dutch. La Muette broke ground also in its use of a ballerina in a leading role (the eponymous mute), and includes long passages of mime music.

Official and other dignities testified to the public appreciation of Auber's works. In 1829 he was elected a member of the Institute. Fra Diavolo,which premiered on 28 January 1830, was his most successful opera. That same year, 1830, he was named director of the court concerts. Next year, on 20 June, 1831, he had another big success, with Le Philtre,starring the great tenor, Adolphe Nourrit. The libretto was translated into Italian and set by Donizetti as L'elisir d'amore, one of the most successful comic operas of all time.
Two years later, on 27 February 1833, Gustave III, his second grand opera, also triumphed and stayed in the repertory for years. The libretto was to be used twice more, first by Saverio Mercadante for Il reggente, with the action transferred to Scotland, and, next by Giuseppe Verdi, as Un ballo in maschera. He enjoyed several more successes, all at the Opéra-Comique. These were Le cheval de bronze (1835), L'Ambassadrice (1836), Le domino noir (1837), Les diamants de la couronne (1841) and La part du diable (1843). (Hide extended text) ... (Read all)
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