Alfred Bruneau
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(Louis Charles Bonaventure) Alfred Bruneau
(b Paris, 3 March 1857; d there, 15 June 1934). French composer and critic. At the Paris Conservatoire he studied cello and composition (with Massenet). From 1887 he devoted himself mainly to composing for the stage. His Le rêve (1891) and L′attaque du moulin (1893), and the more symbolic Messidor (1897) and L′ouragan (1901), all to prose librettos by his friend Zola, were highly acclaimed. His music shows Italian verismo traits and the block triad sequences, whole-tone harmonies and use of plainsong that were to be developed in Debussy's works; it also displays a personal, not altogether happy, amalgamation of Wagnerian orchestration, suave, conventional lyricism and Berlioz-inspired harmonic boldness. Of his many songs, the Chants de la vie (1913) are his best. He was a regular contributor to French journals from 1890.
Oxford Companion to French Literature:
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Alfred Bruneau
Bruneau, Alfred (1857-1934). French composer of operas and pupil of Massenet, Bruneau was a close personal friend of Zola. All his libretti are either adapted from Zola novels, for instance, Le Rêve (1891), L'Attaque du moulin (1893), or as in the case of Messidor (1897) and L'Ouragan (1901) written specially for the composer. His operas have been termed ‘realist’ works.
— Kerry Murphy
AMG AllMusic Guide to Classical Music :
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Alfred Bruneau
Biography
Bruneau studied with Massenet at the Paris Conservatoire. He composed mainly for the stage, and all of the librettos for his operas were written in prose by Zola. He was influenced by Wagner and Berlioz, and his block triad sequences, whole tone harmonies and plainsong elements were later developed by Debussy. Bruneau also wrote many songs, among which the =Chants de la vie= (1913) are considered to be the best. He also contributed regularly to French journals. ~ Lynn Vought, RoviWikipedia on Answers.com:
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Alfred Bruneau
Louis-Charles-Bonaventure-Alfred Bruneau (3 March 1857, in Paris – 15 June 1934, in Paris) was a French composer who played a key role in the introduction of realism in French opera.
As a youth, Bruneau studied the cello at the Paris Conservatory, and played in the Pasdeloup orchestra. He soon began to compose, writing a cantata, 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 by Hans Christian Andersen (Le jardin du Paris in 1923) and Victor 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
- 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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The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music. Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved.
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Oxford Companion to French Literature
The New Oxford Companion to Literature in French. Copyright © 1995, 2005 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
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AMG AllMusic Guide to Classical Music
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