- Alfred Bruneau
Louis-Charles-Bonaventure-Alfred Bruneau (
3 March 1857 , inParis -15 June 1934 , in Paris) was a Frenchcomposer who played a key role in the introduction of realism in Frenchopera .As a youth, Bruneau studied the
cello at theParis Conservatory , and played in the Pasdeloup orchestra. He soon began to compose, writing acantata , "Genevieve de Paris" while still a young man. In 1884 his "Ouverture heroique" was performed, followed by the choral symphonies, "Lida" (1884), "La Belle au bois dormant" (1886). In 1887, he produced his first opera, "Kérim".The following year, Bruneau met
Émile Zola , launching a collaboration between the two men that would last for two decades. Bruneau's 1891 opera "Le rêve" was based on the Zola story of the same name, and in the coming years Zola would provide the subject matter for many of Bruneau's works, including "L'attaque du moulin " (1893). Zola himself wrote the libretti for the operas "Messidor" (1897) and "L'Ouragan" (1901). Other works influenced by Zola include "L'enfant roi" (1905), "Naïs Micoulin (1907), "Les quatres journées (1916), and "Lazare" (produced posthumously in 1954). Other operatic works by Bruneau contained themes byHans Christian Andersen ("Le jardin du Paris" in 1923) andVictor Hugo ("Angelo, tyran de Padoue" in 1928). Bruneau's orchestral works show the influence of Wagner. His other works include his "Requiem" (1896) and two collections of songs, "Lieds de France" and "Chansons à danser".Bruneau was decorated with the
Legion of Honor in 1895. He died in Paris in 1934.References and further reading
* [http://www.james-ross.com/ James Ross] , '"Messidor": Republican Patriotism and the French Revolutionary Tradition in Third Republic Opera'; in Barbara Kelly (ed.), 'French Music, Culture and National Identity, 1870-1939' (Rochester, 2008), pp.112-130. ISBN 978-1-58046-272-3
*Steven Huebner, 'Alfred Bruneau and Émile Zola' and 'L'Attaque du moulin', "French Opera at the Fin de Siècle" (Oxford, 1999), pp.395-425. ISBN 0-19-816280-4
*Manfred Kelkel, 'Naturalisme, Vérisme et Réalisme dans l'opéra' (Paris, 1984). ISBN 2-7116-4253-4
*"Viking Opera Guide" ed. Holden (1993)
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