Gustave Charpentier's 'Louise,'
produced in 1900, hit the taste of the Parisian public immediately and
decisively. It tells the story of the loves of Louise, a Montmartre
work-girl, and Julien, a poet of Bohemian tendencies. Louise's parents
refuse their consent to the marriage, whereupon Louise quits her home
and her work and follows Julien. Together they plunge into the whirl of
Parisian life. Louise's mother appears, and persuades her daughter to
come home and nurse her sick father. In the last act, the parents,
having, as they think, snatched their child from destruction, do all in
their power to keep her at home. At first she is resigned, but
afterwards revolts, and the curtain falls as she rushes out to rejoin
Julien with her father's curses ringing in her ears. The strongly marked
Parisian flavour of the libretto ensured the success of 'Louise' in
Paris, but the music counts for a good deal too. Charpentier owes much
to Bruneau, but his music is more organic in quality, and his
orchestration is infinitely superior. Nothing could be more brilliant
than his translation into music of the sights and sounds of Parisian
street life. The vocal parts of 'Louise' are often ugly and
expressionless, but they are framed in an orchestral setting of curious
alertness and vivacity. It remains to be seen how Charpentier's
unquestionable talent will adapt itself to work of a wider scope than
'Louise.
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