Daniel-François-Esprit Auber’s operas cover a significant period of French history—from the Restoration, through the July Monarchy and the Second Republic, to the Second Empire. With 38 libretti by his lifelong collaborator, the famous dramatist Eugene Scribe, this oeuvre presents a remarkable artistic reflection on many contemporary social and historical issues. These thematic preoccupations fall into several distinct fields that throw light on many of the interests and concerns of the age. The use of recurring concepts, imagery and symbols are resources in exploring the intellectual and musical milieu of this remarkable period of 50 years. Scribe’s ideas reflect these matters, a situation adumbrated in the composer’s responses to such literary stimuli. Great themes of history echo the political tumult of the times (La Muette de Portici), as do social values and bourgeois rectitude (Le Maçon); the serious implications of the artistic life and its vicissitudes (L’Ambassadrice); the notion of the rebel outlaw (Fra Diavolo); enterprising womanhood; (Le Domino noir) the realms of fairy tale (Le Cheval de bronze); and dance as socially endemic to the age (Gustave III).These various collective themes are investigated in terms of narrative art, musical characterization, genre and social concerns. Musical examples and detailed iconography are integral to the discussion.
