Author Description

Opéra De Salon Emerged In The Early 1850s Out Of A Much Longer Tradition Of Théâtre De Société: The Cultivation Of Performing Plays In Aristocratic Town Houses And Châteaux Which Continued Into The Second Empire Of The 1850s And 1860s And Beyond. It Consisted Of A One-act Opérette With Between Six And Nine Musical Compositions Separated By Spoken Dialogue That Carried The Action In The Same Way As Opéra-comique Or Opérette Itself. Opéra De Salon Was Separated From Opérette And Related Genres By Its Performance Context: Never Shared With The Regulated Theatre, Opéra De Salon Was Cultivated In Domestic Living Spaces That Were Repurposed In Ways That Ranged From Simply Pushing Back The Furniture To Building A Fully-fledged Theatre In One's Own Home. Opéra De Salon Furthermore Found Its Way Into The Concert Culture Hosted By Parisian Piano Manufacturers (herz, Erard, Pleyel And So On). The C120 Opéras De Salon That Were Composed And Performed Up To Around 1875 Represent A Significant Generic Trajectory In The History Of Nineteenth Century Music And Theatre. Composed By The Major Composers And Librettists Of The Day, Opéra De Salon Plays Into Questions Of Gender, Age And Urban Topography In Ways That Illuminate The Culture Of The Nineteenth-century In Ways Impossible For Other Musical And Theatrical Genres-- Provided By Publisher.