Justin, Arthur, Jordan MUS 220

Les Troyens - Hector Berlioz

Genre - French Grand Opera
Acts - 5
● 1 - 2 in Troy
● 3 - 5 in Carthage

About Berlioz
● Personality and character interwoven with his music
● Musical expression over anything
● Harmony means of expression, not function.
● Liked chromatic movements towards and out from the dominant.
● Big inspiration was Shakespeare. Provided a framework for pieces.

Origin
● Had a dream to write a large epic opera based on Aeneid by Virgil
● Didn’t consider composing it earlier because he viewed Aeneid very highly
● Prompted by Princess Carolyn de Sayn Wittgenstein and Liszt in 1855.
● Took him 3 years to complete, due to many interruptions.
● Completed April 1858
● No one willing to produce his opera, Opéra refused him due to difficulty and
length
● Reduced orchestra score to piano with Madame Viardot.
● Printed the piano score with his own money, and distributed them out to his
family, close friends and the Grand Duchess of Saxe - Weimar

Production
● Produced at Théâtre Lyrique, premiere on November 4, 1863
● Acts 3 - 5 were staged as Les Troyens à Carthage
● Very successful, Berlioz was proud
● Carvalho, the stage director, made cuts with and without consulting Berlioz
● Berlioz was furious
● Circulation of the incomplete vocal scores began
● Choudens, the publisher, never published it even with contract
● Complete version never performed in his lifetime
● Full scores appeared in late 1880s, but only vocal scores was for sale
● Somewhat complete version performed in Germany in 1890s
● Production at Covent Garden in 1957 created interest in study of Berlioz
● Publication of definitive score in 1969, Berlioz’s centennial year
Justin, Arthur, Jordan MUS 220

Genre and Form

● Also described as a Neo-classical epic, but not epic in form, but in spirit.
● Story gives it its epic quality.
● Models of Les Troyens included Gluck and Spontini’s operas.
● Number opera
● Had more interest in freer forms of opera, rather than fixed ones
● Hugh Macdonald commented that there are “no large-scale tonal schemes”
● Earlier comedic operas started and ending in the same keys.
● Directed Les Troyens towards the key of the Trojan March, B Flat Major.

Orchestration
● Supernatural reference using strings and stopped horns
● The full orchestra rarely plays at the same time
● Libretto and music written together.
Main Characters Minor Characters
● Aeneas - Trojan hero and ● Ascanius - 15-year-old son of
demigod Aeneas
● Dido - Queen of Carthage ● Hecuba - Queen of Troy
● Anna - Dido’s sister ● Coroebus - Cassandra’s fiance
● Priam - King of Troy ● Andromache - Hector’s widow
● Cassandra - Trojan prophetess, ● Astyanax - Hector and
Priam’s daughter Andromache’s 8-year-old son,
● Hector - deceased Trojan hero heir to Trojan throne
● Narbal - Dido’s minister
Justin, Arthur, Jordan MUS 220

Summary
Acts 1 & 2
● Trojans find a wooden horse after Greeks leave
● Cassandra (king’s daughter) sees the ghost of Hector (deceased hero) and
thinks something terrible will happen
● She fails to convince her fiance to leave the city
● At Hector’s funeral, Aeneas (hero) enters and together with Priam (the king) they
decide to bring the horse into Troy
● Ghost of Hector prophesies that Aeneas will bring the Trojan people to Italy and
found Rome
● Aeneas rushes to defend the palace, finds it indefensible, the Trojan people
leave for Italy
● Women commit suicide before Greek soldiers slaughter them
Acts 3, 4 & 5
● Dido (Queen of Carthage) prepares for war against the Numidians
● Anna (Dido’s sister) urges her to remarry
● Trojans arrive at Carthage, Dido immediately falls in love with Aeneas after
seeing him in armour
● Aeneas leads Carthage and Troy into battle
● After defeating the Numidians, Dido wants Aeneas to tell the story of the sad
story of Troy
● Aeneas tells Dido to let go of her feelings for her dead husband and together
they fall in love
● Aeneas wants to stay with Dido but the ghosts of Hector, the king and his royal
family tell him to leave for Italy
● Dido builds a pyre to burn all their love souvenirs and commit suicide
Justin, Arthur, Jordan MUS 220

Works Cited

Barzun, Jacques. Berlioz and the Romantic Century. Columbia University Press, 1969.

Berlioz, Hector, and Barzun, Jacques. New Letters of Berlioz, 1830-1868. Columbia
Bicentennial Editions and Studies. Greenwood Press, 1974.

Berlioz, Hector. Memoirs of Hector Berlioz : From 1803 to 1865 Comprising His Travels
in Germany, Italy, Russia and England. Dover Books on Music, Music History. Dover
Publications, 1966.

Berlioz, Hector, Virgil, and William Shakespeare. Les Troyens: The Trojans: Opera in French in
Five Acts. Opera Journeys Mini Guide Series. Miami: Opera Journeys Publishing, 2012.

Gottfried S. Fraenkel. “Berlioz, the Princess and ‘Les Troyens.’” Music & Letters vol. 44, no. 3
(1963): 249.

Gransden, K. W., and Harrison, S. J. Virgil: The Aeneid. 2nd edition by S. J. Harrison.
Landmarks of World Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Holoman, D. Kern. “Hector Berlioz: ‘Les Troyens’ Ian Kemp.” Music & Letters vol. 72 no. 4
(1991): 611.

Holoman, D. Kern, “Troyens, Les” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
Online, ed. Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. 2nd edition. London: MacMillan and
Company, 2001; https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/
9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-5000003352

Macdonald, Hugh, “Berlioz, (Louis-)Hector” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and
Musicians Online, ed. Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. 2nd edition. London: MacMillan
and Company, 2001; https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093
/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000051424?rskey=
KuSmRI&result=1

Penrose, James F. “Les Troyens. (Opera Note).” New Criterion no. 7 (2003): 57.

Rushton, Julian. “The Overture to ‘Les Troyens.’” Music Analysis vol. 4 no. 1/2 (1985): 119.

Sénécal, Caroline. The Aeneid by Virgil (Book Analysis) : Detailed Summary, Analysis and
Reading Guide. BrightSummaries.Com. France: BrightSummaries.com, 2016; https://
eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzEzNzk5ODhfX0FO0?sid=155
2110a-1103-4cbe-8ba0-46a0e80823d1@pdc-v-sessmgr04&vid=2&format=EK&rid=1