- Charlton, David. “Opéra-comiqueand the Computer.” In Grétry(#927),
367–378.
Describes the database established in 1989 at U. of East Anglia, in Norwich,
England. It offers a day-by-day repertoire, 1755–1815, with extensive infor-
mation about each work. The database will correct errors in standard sources,
such asNG.
2248.L’opéra-comique en France au XVIIIe siècle. Ed. P. Vendrix. Liège: Mardaga, - 377p. ISBN 2-8700-9482-5. ML1727 .O63.
A well-documented account of the origins of the genre, early librettists and
composers, stagings of 1762–1789, and the audiences. Useful comments on
opéra-comiqueas literature and as music, in German lands (especially Vienna),
in Scandinavia, the Low Countries, Britain, Italy, and Russia. Bibliography of
about 400 items, primary and secondary sources, name and title indexes.
2249.Dictionnaire de l’opéra-comique français, sous la direction de Francis
Claudon. Bern: Peter Lang, 1995. 533p. ISBN 3-906753-42-5. ML1727 .D53.
A history of the genre, not of the company, presenting “une approche esthé-
tique”; comparisons with Singspieland opera buffa. Pages 83–526 are on indi-
vidual composers and their works: historical backgrounds, plots, and program
notes. Footnoted but without bibliography or index. - Couvreur, Manuel. “La folie à l’Opéra-Comique: Des grelots de Momus aux
larmes de Nina.” In Grétry(#927), 201–219.
Foliewas a frequent theme in the ballet de courand comédie italien. The 18th-
century view of madness was that it resulted from excess passion. Opinion
moved from negative to positive about it—by 1745 Diderot found nobility in
madness. It ceased to be comical after midcentury, becoming instead attached
to love. This evolution is reflected in the opéra-comique.With 60 footnotes to
the relevant literature.
2251.L’opéra au XVIIIe siècle: Actes du colloque organisé à Aix-en-Provence par le
Centre Aixois d’Études et des Recherches sur le XVIIIe Siècle, 29 avril et 1er
mai, 1977. Aix-en-Provence: Publications Université de Provence, 1982. 578p.
ML1704 .O63.
Consists of 29 papers, mostly on aspects of opera in the second half of the cen-
tury. Three of the papers are entered separately in this guide: #901, #2292, and
#2294. Three others are summarized in Foster (#1535). - Demuth, Norman. French Opera: Its Development to the Revolution. Sussex,
England: Artemis, 1963. xii, 337p. Reprint, New York: Da Capo, 1982. ISBN
(Da Capo) 0-306-77576-X. ML1727 .D44.
A popular treatment with useful lists: documents held by the Académie Royale
de Musique, 1669–1802; all theaters occupied by the Académie, 1671–1794,
etc. With 19 plates, bibliography, and index.
France 421