Léo Delibes
Léo Delibes was born in St. Germain-du-Val, France, on February 21, 1836. After attending the Paris Conservatory from 1848 on, he became an accompanist for the Théâtre Lyrique and organist of the Church of St.-Jean et St.-François in Paris in 1853. Between 1855 and 1865 he wrote a dozen operas, none of them successful. In 1865 he was appointed chorusmaster of the Grand Opéra where he was encouraged to write music for ballet; the first of these was La Source in 1866 (renamed Naila when later given in Vienna). His most successful ballets were Coppélia in 1870 and Sylvia in 1876, both still vital in the repertory. In 1873 his most important opéra-comique, Le Roi l’a Dit, was introduced by the Opéra-Comique; Delibes’ most important opera, Lakmé, was first performed on April 14, 1883 by the Paris Opéra. Meanwhile, in 1881, Delibes was appointed professor of composition at the Conservatory. Three years after that he became a member of the French Academy. He died in Paris on January 16, 1891.
Delibes is often described as the creator of modern ballet music. He was the first composer to write symphonically for the dance, to bring to ballet music the fullest creative and technical resources of the skilled serious composer. Thus he opened a new field of compositions which later composers (Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, and Ravel among many others) cultivated with fertility. The elegance of Delibes’ style, the caressing warmth of his lyricism, the richness of his harmonic and rhythmic language, the delicacy of his orchestration endow his ballet music with interest even when it is divorced from its choreography.
Coppélia is a staple in the classic ballet repertory. It was introduced at the Paris Opéra on May 25, 1870, choreography by A. Saint-Léon, and scenario by C. Nuitter and A. Saint-Léon based upon The Sandman, a story by E. T. A. Hoffmann. Coppélia is the first successful ballet to utilize the subject of a doll become human. Coppélia is a doll created by Dr. Coppélius. She comes to life and gets out of control. Franz, thinking she is human, falls in love with her. But when he realizes she is but a doll he becomes reconciled with his former sweetheart, Swanilda.
Delibes’ score is one of the earliest in ballet to make successful use of such folk dances as the Mazurka and the Czardas; because of his success in this direction, many later composers of ballet music were encouraged to follow suit.
An orchestral suite adapted from the score never ceases to delight audiences at both symphonic and semi-classical concerts. It opens with the “Valse lente,” a suave waltz to which Swanilda dances as she strives to attract the attention of Coppélia, of whom she is jealous. This is followed by the “Mazurka,” a gay episode danced by a group of villagers after Franz has mistaken Coppélia for a human and salutes her. The “Ballade” then comes as a pensive interlude; to this music Swanilda puts a stalk of wheat to her ear, following a long existing superstition, to discover if Franz has been faithful to her. When the answer is in the negative, she breaks the stalk savagely before his very eyes. “Theme Slave Varié” is danced by Swanilda; this section comprises a tuneful Polish melody and five variations. The stately and at times fiery “Czardas” which concludes the first act is a corybantic in which all villagers join. “Valse de la poupée” (or “Dance of the Doll”) is probably the most familiar musical number in the entire ballet, an elegant waltz danced by Swanilda as she assumes the dress, and imitates the actions, of Coppélia.
The Naila Waltz (or Pas des Fleurs) was written by Delibes in 1867 as an intermezzo for the revival in Paris of Adolph Adam’s opera Le Corsaire, in Paris. When Delibes’ early ballet, La Source, was introduced in Vienna as Naila, this waltz was interpolated into the production. A short, vigorous introduction for full orchestra and several notes in the basses lead to the lilting waltz melody in strings, with the woodwinds soon joining in. Ernst von Dohnányi made an effective transcription of this waltz for the piano.
Le Roi l’a dit (The King Said So) is an opéra-comique with libretto by Edmond Gondinet, introduced at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on May 24, 1873. The plot revolves around a peasant boy whom a Marquis is trying to pass off before the king as his own son. The peasant makes the most of this situation to the continual embarrassment and chagrin of the Marquis who finally manages to get rid of him by marrying him off to a maid with whom the boy is in love.
The popular overture to this light opera opens with a brisk march in full chords. A gracious little melody then unfolds in the strings. After a return of the march music in a more subdued vein, a romantic song is offered by the clarinets against plucked strings. The music now grows livelier as a principal thought is given by chattering strings and woodwind. Extended use is now made of the first graceful melody. The opening march is at last recalled to bring the overture to a boisterous end.
The second of Delibes’ famous ballets, Sylvia, was introduced at the Paris Opéra on June 14, 1876. The choreography was by Louis Mérante, and the text by Jules Barbier and Baron de Reinach. The classical subject is derived from mythology. Aminta, a shepherd, comes to a sacred grove seeking a huntress he had once seen there. She is Sylvia, who soon appears with her nymphs. She is later captured by Orion, the black huntsman. But her escape is effected by Eros, and she and Aminta are reunited in love.
Like Coppélia, Sylvia has a popular orchestral suite adapted from the ballet score. After a brief Prelude comes “Les Chasseresses” (“The Huntresses”), sprightly music with which Sylvia and her nymphs make their first appearance; to its rhythmic strains they dance before a statue of Eros. A gentle “Intermezzo” follows, describing the nymphs as they rest near a stream. In the “Valse lente” Sylvia dances to a graceful musical episode. The “Barcarolle” highlights a saxophone solo; to this background music appears a ship bearing Eros, disguised as a pirate. The most celebrated single number in the entire suite comes next, the “Pizzicato,” a delicate dance performed by Sylvia disguised as a slave. The “Cortège de Bacchus” (“March of Bacchus”) is the dynamic music with which a bacchanalian rite is being celebrated.