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 Contents

Introductionxiii
Acknowledgmentsxiv

PART I THE ANTECEDENTS TO THE GENRE

OF “MUSICAL THEATER” 1

1 The Birth of “Staged” Music3

Sidebar: The Florentine Camerata, Le nuove musiche, and Opera 3
Sidebar: Opera and the Castrati 7
Musical Example 1: The Coronation of Poppea, Act I, Scenes 3 and 4, “Tornerai?” 9

2 Developing Genres in the Eighteenth Century: Ballad Opera and Singspiel11

Musical Example 2: The Beggar’s Opera, Act I, Scene 1, No.VII, “Our Polly Is a Sad Slut” 14
Musical Example 3: Bastien und Bastienne, No. 10, “Diggi, Daggi” 17

3 Developing Genres in the Eighteenth Century: Opera Buffa and Dramma Giocoso19
Musical Example 4: Così fan tutte, Act I, Finale, “Dammi un bacio” 24

4 The Musical Stage in the American Colonies29

Musical Example 5a: “Alknomook:The Death Song of the Cherokee Indians” 33
Musical Example 5b: Tammany; or, The Indian Chief, Act III, “Alkmoonac, or The Death Song
of the Cherokee Indians” 34

PART II THE MUSICAL STAGE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 35

5 France and Spain in the Nineteenth Century37
Sidebar: Jacques Offenbach, the Mozart of the Champs-Élysées 38
Musical Example 6: Orphée aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld), Act IV, No. 28,
“Galop infernal” 40
viii Contents

6 The Serious and the Not-So-Serious: Italy, Germany, and Austria in

the Nineteenth Century46
Sidebar: The Strauss Family and the Waltz 50
Musical Example 7: Die Fledermaus, Act II, No. 9, “The Watch Duet” 52

7 England in the Nineteenth Century: Gilbert and Sullivan59

Musical Example 8: The Pirates of Penzance, “I Am the Very Model of a Modern
Major-General” 65

8 The United States in the Early Nineteenth Century70

Musical Example 9: “Camptown Races” 75

9 New American Genres of the Later Nineteenth Century78

Musical Example 10: The Black Crook, “Amazons’ March” 81
Musical Example 11: Evangeline, “My Heart” 84
Behind-the-Scenes: Buster Keaton in Vaudeville 87

10 Operetta in America, 1880–190389

Musical Example 12: Robin Hood, “Brown October Ale” 91
Sidebar: The Wizard of Oz—1903 versus 1939 92
Behind-the-Scenes: The Integrity of the Score 94
Musical Example 13: Babes in Toyland, “I Can’t Do the Sum” 97

PART III DIVERGING PATHS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 99

11 The Continuing Dominance of Operetta101

Sidebar: Women in the Creative Credits 103
Musical Example 14: Naughty Marietta, “Italian Street Song” 105
Sidebar: Victor Herbert and ASCAP 108

12 Challenges to Operetta110
Musical Example 15: In Dahomey, “(I Wants to Be) A Actor Lady” 113
Musical Example 16: Little Johnny Jones, “Yankee Doodle Boy” 118
Sidebar: Tin Pan Alley 120

13 The Princess Shows123

Sidebar: Jerome Kern and a Musical Chain 123
Sidebar: The “Princess Shows” 126
Musical Example 17: Leave It to Jane, “Cleopatterer” 128

14 Increasing Drama on the Stage132

Musical Example 18: Rose-Marie, “Indian Love Call” 134
Musical Example 19: The Vagabond King, “Song of the Vagabonds” 137
 Contents ix

15 Musical Theater of the Lighter Kind140

Sidebar: Youmans and Gershwin 140
Musical Example 20: No, No, Nanette, “Tea for Two” 142

PART IV BEGINNINGS OF A GOLDEN AGE: SYNTHESIS OF

STYLE AND SUBSTANCE 147

16 Great Partnerships of the Early Book Musical: Kern and Hammerstein149

Sidebar: Beyond Words 152
Musical Example 21: Show Boat, “Ol’ Man River” 154

17 Great Partnerships of the Early Book Musical: Rodgers and Hart158

Sidebar: Musicals and the Classics 160
Sidebar: The Great Mr. Abbott 162
Musical Example 22: On Your Toes, “The Three B’s” 165

18 Great Partnerships of the Early Book Musical: The Gershwins (1)169

Sidebar: All Jazzed Up—New Sounds on the Musical Stage 171
Musical Example 23: Girl Crazy, “I Got Rhythm” 174
Sidebar: The Role of the Book 176

19 Great Partnerships of the Early Book Musical: The Gershwins (2)181

Sidebar: Opera Versus Musical—The Porgy and Bess Debate 181
Musical Example 24: Porgy and Bess, “I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’” 184

20 Great Solo Acts: Irving Berlin188

Musical Example 25: As Thousands Cheer, “Supper Time” 191

21 Great Solo Acts: Cole Porter and Other Efforts in the 1930s194
Musical Example 26: Anything Goes, “Anything Goes” 197

PART V A GREATER MATURITY 203

22 New Achievements From Familiar Names: Rodgers and Hart, Irving Berlin205
Musical Example 27: Pal Joey, “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered” 208
Musical Example 28: Annie Get Your Gun, “Anything You Can Do” 215

23 A Cole Porter Renaissance and the Rise of Recognition221

Sidebar: Shakespeare on (and off ) Broadway 222
Musical Example 29: Kiss Me, Kate, “I Hate Men” 226
Behind-the-Scenes: Waiting in the Wings 228
x Contents

24 Politics and Social Commentary232

Sidebar: “Walking” on Broadway 233
Musical Example 30: The Threepenny Opera, “The Ballad of Mack the Knife (Moritat)” 237

PART VI NEW PARTNERSHIPS 239

25 Rodgers and Hammerstein: Oklahoma!241
Sidebar: The Rise of the Broadway Choreographer 242
Musical Example 31: Oklahoma!, “Pore Jud Is Daid” 246
Behind-the-Scenes: Oscar Hammerstein Has the Last Word 249

26 Rodgers and Hammerstein: Carousel and South Pacific251

Musical Example 32: Carousel, “What’s the Use of Wond’rin’?” 254
Musical Example 33: South Pacific, “Bali Ha’i” 258

27 Rodgers and Hammerstein: The King and I and The Sound of Music261
Musical Example 34: The King and I, “Hello,Young Lovers” 263
Musical Example 35: The Sound of Music, “Do-Re-Mi” 267
Behind-the-Scenes: Bessie Mae Sue Ella Yaeger 273
Sidebar: Rodgers and Hammerstein as a Legacy 275

28 Lerner and Loewe276

Behind-the-Scenes: A Theatrical Façade? 277
Sidebar: The Functions of Dance 278
Musical Example 36: Brigadoon, “Almost Like Being in Love” 279
Musical Example 37: My Fair Lady, “Just You Wait” 283

P A R T V I I NEW FACES OF THE 1940s AND 1950s 289

29 Leonard Bernstein291
Behind-the-Scenes: Getting Your Money’s Worth 296
Musical Example 38: West Side Story, “America” 297
Sidebar: The Role of the Theater Lyric 299
Musical Example 39: West Side Story, “Tonight (Quintet)” 301

30 Jule Styne and Frank Loesser305

Musical Example 40: Gypsy, “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” 307
Sidebar: The Role of the Overture 309
Musical Example 41: Guys and Dolls, “Fugue for Tinhorns” 313
Behind-the-Scenes: Think Before You Punch 315

31 Meredith Willson and Other Faces of the 1950s317

Musical Example 42: The Music Man, “Goodnight, My Someone” 318
Musical Example 43: Once Upon a Mattress, “Shy” 323
 Contents xi

P A R T V I I I NEW FACES OF THE 1960s AND 1970s 327

32 New Names in Lights in the 1960s329

Musical Example 44: 1776, “Momma, Look Sharp” 336

33 Sondheim in the 1960s: Flash in the Pan?338

Musical Example 45: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,
“Comedy Tonight” 342

34 New Partnerships: Bock and Harnick348

Musical Example 46: She Loves Me, “A Trip to the Library” 350
Behind-the-Scenes: A Message from Aleichem? 353
Musical Example 47: Fiddler on the Roof, “Do You Love Me?” 354

35 New Partnerships: Kander and Ebb358

Musical Example 48: Cabaret, “Tomorrow Belongs to Me” 361
Musical Example 49: Chicago, “The Cell Block Tango” 365

36 New Partnerships: Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice373

Musical Example 50: Jesus Christ Superstar, “Pilate’s Dream” 378
Musical Example 51: Evita, “Another Suitcase in Another Hall” 381

37 Wunderkinder of the 1970s384

Sidebar: Superstition and the Gypsy Robe 387
Musical Example 52: A Chorus Line, “I Can Do That” 390

38 Sondheim in the 1970s: The Endless Experiments393

Musical Example 53: Company, “Getting Married Today” 396
Behind-the-Scenes: Good Electronics Make Good Neighbors 400
Musical Example 54: Sweeney Todd, “A Little Priest” 404

PART IX THE LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY—AND BEYOND 411

39 Andrew Lloyd Webber Without Tim Rice: Cats and Starlight Express413
Musical Example 55: Cats, “Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer” 417
Musical Example 56: Starlight Express, “Poppa’s Blues” 420

40 The Luxuriant Lloyd Webber423

Musical Example 57: The Phantom of the Opera, “The Phantom of the Opera” 425
Musical Example 58: Sunset Boulevard, “The Lady’s Paying” 430
Sidebar: The Curse of the Cell Phone 435
Sidebar: The Frank Rich Fan Club 436
xii Contents

41 The New Team in Town: Schönberg and Boublil439

Musical Example 59: Les Misérables, “Castle on a Cloud” 443
Musical Example 60: Miss Saigon, “I Still Believe” 447

42 New Names, New Teams in the 1980s451

Musical Example 61: Chess, “One Night in Bangkok” 452
Sidebar: “If I Can Make It There . . .” 456

43 Stephen Sondheim: Never a Formula463

Musical Example 62: Into the Woods, “Agony” 465
Musical Example 63: Assassins, “The Ballad of Booth” 469

44 A Surge of “Soloists”474
Behind-the-Scenes: Producers in the News 477
Musical Example 64: The Last Five Years, “Climbing Uphill” 480
Musical Example 65: Wicked, “What Is This Feeling?” 485

45 Team Efforts—The 1990s and Beyond490

Sidebar: Broadway and the Tonys—“Firsts” for Female Composers 492
Musical Example 66: Avenue Q, “I Wish I Could Go Back to College” 498
Musical Example 67: next to normal, “Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I’m Falling” 502

46 Whither Musical Theater?507

Musical Example 68: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,
“I’ve Decided to Marry You” 513
Musical Example 69: Hamilton, “Alexander Hamilton” 520
Behind-the-Scenes: Easter Bonnets and Broadway 523

Glossary526
Credits541
Index546
 Introduction

Many artistic styles have resulted from the synthesis of various ingredients. Jazz is certainly the best-known
example, incorporating aspects of European art music with elements drawn from Africa and Latin America.
Multiple fusions have taken place on the musical stage as well, where long-standing operatic traditions have
repeatedly merged with various kinds of popular song and dance. Today’s musicals still reflect many of these
antecedents.
It can take time for each new “theatrical blend” to gain acceptance, but that process is not unique to musical
theater. For instance, because of jazz’s origins in the speakeasies and brothels of New Orleans’s red-light district,
it took many years for it to shake loose its immoral reputation. Similarly, musicals were long condemned as
“low-brow” thanks to the parts of their lineage that come from vaudeville, minstrel shows, and the music hall.
In recent years, however, musicals have gained increasing artistic respect, and scholars have discovered that even
lighthearted theatrical romps often mask surprisingly rich subtexts.
Musical theater’s current prominence in popular entertainment makes it a valuable tool in music education.
Thanks to the proliferation of movie and television musicals, community theaters, and school productions, most
people know what a musical is. Moreover, far more people have seen a performance of a musical than have ever
attended an opera. This familiarity makes the musical an effective tool for illustrating musical elements, tech-
niques, theatrical history, and artistic values.
This text, therefore, has two goals: it surveys the development of the musical at the same time that it builds
the vocabulary used to discuss music in general. As in a music appreciation textbook, the repertory examples
function on several levels: they illustrate particular musical elements (tempo, form, texture, and so forth), they
reflect individual artistry (of a composer, lyricist, librettist, and/or choreographer), and they demonstrate the
changes in style and technique from one era to the next. Learning to understand the interaction of these multiple
artistic considerations helps students to appreciate and value not only musicals, but also music as a whole.
 Acknowledgments

A book is never a solo endeavor, and this project is indebted to the assistance of many institutions and individ-
uals. I appreciate the support of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, which awarded me a sabbatical release to research
the first edition of this text. I also appreciate the support of my colleagues in the Cal Poly Music Department.
I thank the British Library, the University of London Senate House Library, the New York Public Library, and
Cal Poly’s Kennedy Library for the use of their materials. Like many scholars working outside of urban areas,
I am enormously indebted to the Interlibrary Loan system and to the California State University’s Link+ sys-
tem; my thanks to all those who keep these invaluable tools functioning.
I appreciate the comments, suggestions, and assistance of colleagues, particularly Clifton Swanson, Colleen
Reardon, Jennifer Judkins, and Russell Cummings; my editors Genevieve Aoki and Constance Ditzel, and
editorial assistant Pete Sheehy, at Routledge; Tina Cottone and her staff at Apex CoVantage; my previous edi-
torial teammates at Prentice Hall; and the reviewers who have provided feedback at various stages, including
Constance Cook Glen, Nan Childress Orchard, Dennis Davenport, and Stuart Hecht. My students, too, have
helped shape the dimensions of this text with their questions and their curiosity, and Sean Lang-Brown laid the
groundwork for several listening charts. My parents launched my own interest in musicals long ago by always
buying the cast recordings; I thank them as well as the many friends who endured endless hours of musicals on
the car stereo during road trips. I was wise enough to marry a man who loves this repertory, too, and he has
been an essential sounding-board (and domestic engineer) all through the writing and rewriting of this book:
thank you, W. Terrence Spiller. Most of all, I am so very, very grateful to all the composers, writers, producers,
directors, choreographers, designers, performers (on stage and in the pit), and stage crews of musical theater
productions, who labor so hard to entertain and enrich us. Truly, this book is an expression of appreciation for
their continual creativity.
The
Antecedents
PART

1
to the Genre
of “Musical
Theater”
 CHAPTER 1

The Birth of “Staged” Music

THE DEBUT OF OPERA

Where should we begin a study of musical theater—with ancient Greek plays, medieval dramas, Renaissance
intermedi? If we were to journey to Florence in the late sixteenth century, we would find two groups of people
cultivating new ideas about music-making—and their concepts can be traced forward through time to the
modern musical. Posterity has given the nickname “Florentine Camerata” to the earlier of these groups; like
the later group, it was an assembly of artists, writers, musicians, and aristocrats. (See the Sidebar: The Florentine
Camerata, Le nuove musiche, and Opera.) These Italians advocated a simpler, more expressive approach to mak-
ing music, and believed that they were reviving the singing and theatrical practices of the ancient Greeks. By
applying this “new” singing style to contemporary dramas, the participants created opera. The birth of opera
coincided with what many historians now call the Baroque period—an era beginning around 1600, and lasting
until the early eighteenth century.The first of the Florentine operas was Dafne, although scholars disagree about
the year of Dafne’s first performance; it may have been as early as 1594 or as late as 1598.

SIDEBAR: THE FLORENTINE CAMERATA, LE NUOVE MUSICHE, AND OPERA

Beginning around 1573, Count Giovanni Bardi di Vernio began to host gatherings of several Florentine scholars,
poets, artists, and musicians, including Giulio Caccini and Vincenzo Galilei (father of the famous astronomer Gali-
leo). The group became known as the Florentine Camerata because camerata—meaning “chamber” or “salon”—
described the type of room in which the group assembled. Gradually, after corresponding with other people
elsewhere in Italy, they conceived the idea for a new melodic style. The vocal music of the earlier sixteenth century
had become very complicated, sometimes with several melodies occurring simultaneously; the words often were
muddied and hard to understand. In the Camerata’s new style, the melody imitated the rhythm of speech, and the
accompaniment was designed to be simple and unobtrusive. The resulting singing style was called stile rappre-
sentativo (“dramatic style”) because of its expressive qualities. Using the new style, Caccini published a collection
of short pieces in 1602, which he called Le nuove musiche (“the new music”); the phrase caught on quickly as a
nickname for the Camerata’s efforts.
Bardi left Florence in 1592, and another nobleman, Jacopo Corsi, established a similar group. Like the earlier
Camerata, Corsi’s group wanted to make vocal music more dramatic, modeling their efforts on what they knew
(or thought they knew) of ancient Greek plays. When the technique of stile rappresentativo was applied to longer
dramas (not just poems), opera was born.
4 Chapter 1: Antecedents to “Musical Theater”

In 1600, when operas began to be printed, this

innovation quickly spread outside of Florence.
Other composers soon tried their hands at this
new genre. (Musicians use the French word genre
to mean “category” or “type.”) A composer’s con-
tribution to an opera is the score—the “music.”
An important early opera, L’Orfeo, debuted in 1607
in the ducal palace in Mantua, with a score by
Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643). The libret-
tist (poet) Alessandro Striggio (?1573–1630) wrote
the libretto (the opera’s poetry or text), basing his
story on the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus. Strig-
gio’s libretto related the myth’s sad tale: Orpheus’s
bride Eurydice dies after being bitten by a snake, so
Orpheus (a wonderful singer) travels to the under-
world to charm the gods into releasing her. The
gods agree—but on the condition that Orpheus
not look at Eurydice until they have returned to
the living world. Alas! En route, Orpheus looks
Photo 1.1 Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) composed L’Orfeo back at his wife, and thus she dies a second time.
(1607), which premiered in Mantua Although, according to legend, Orpheus starts to
Source: Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ hate all women, Striggio changed the ending so
File:Claudio_Monteverdi_2.jpg that Orpheus is taken to heaven and Eurydice’s
image appears in the stars.
Just like theatergoers today, the Mantuans felt pre-performance electricity before the debut of L’Orfeo. One
man explained the novelty to his brother in Rome: “Tomorrow evening the Most Serene Lord the Prince is to
sponsor a performance. . . . It should be most unusual, as all the actors are to sing their parts.” Monteverdi used
a large orchestra—in this instance, some forty instruments—to create distinctive accompanimental back-
ground sounds for different situations: he employed the louder instruments (including trombones) for scenes set
in the underworld, while quieter instruments usually supported Orpheus and his (human) friends. A group of
singers known as the chorus also appeared in many scenes.
L’Orfeo was not the first opera, but we regard it as the first operatic masterpiece: it was an expert demon-
stration of opera’s expressiveness, and it is still performed today. Although musical theater might seem far
removed from these early Baroque origins, L’Orfeo and its kindred works laid an important foundation. Not
only did opera demonstrate that it was possible for audiences to suspend disbelief and enjoy the phenomenon
of actors singing instead of speaking their roles, but it proved that a musical setting could intensify and enhance
the emotional reactions evoked by the story.

OPERA GOES PUBLIC

From Florence and Mantua, opera spread to other Italian cities. However, it was known as “the delight of
princes,” since early opera was the exclusive privilege of the nobility and the very wealthy. The powerful Bar-
berini family built a private theater that could hold more than 3,000 people.The first opera in their new theater,
Sant’ Alessio (1632), included some unexpected comic scenes. Comedy had not played any part in the very earli-
est operas; Italians laughed instead at the antics of the commedia dell’arte—skits enacted by traveling troupes
of actors portraying stock characters who behave in amusing ways. As humor found its way into opera plots,
however, the popularity of the commedia dell’arte waned. Eventually the troupes vanished, but their storylines
 Chapter 1: The Birth of “Staged” Music 5

lived on. (A twentieth-century musical, Pippin, incorporated aspects of the old commedia dell’arte tradition in
its costuming and, in part, via its antics.)
Not surprisingly, operas soon began to travel outside the borders of Italy—but it is more surprising that
one of the first “exported” Italian operas was composed by a woman, Francesca Caccini (1587–after 1641). She
was the daughter of Giulio Caccini, a member of the original Florentine Camerata. Her opera, La liberazione
di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina (Ruggiero’s Liberation from the Island of Alcina), had been written in 1625 to honor
Prince Władisław of Poland; it was performed in Warsaw in 1628.
Another exciting change took place in Venice, where the first public opera house opened in 1637. Suddenly,
an ordinary person did not have to be a guest of a wealthy aristocrat in order to hear opera; he or she needed only
to have the price of a ticket. Soon, rival public theaters were built, and between 1637 and 1700, 388 operas were
performed in Venice. During the 1680s, the Venetians—some 50,000 inhabitants—would support six opera troupes
continuously. By the turn of the eighteenth century, opera houses were as common as movie theaters are today.
When wealthy aristocrats sponsored operas in their private homes and palaces, performances were often
lavish. In Venice’s public opera houses, however, theater owners looked for ways to bring down expenses. They
reduced the size of the cast—the on-stage performers—with six or eight singers becoming the norm. (And,
by also eliminating the chorus, composers were leaving the Florentine Camerata’s “ancient Greek” models far
behind.) The orchestras grew smaller as well. Much of this economy was offset by the expense of machinery
because the Venetians loved elaborate stage effects. Technicians figured out ways for clouds or other objects to
transport the singers from location to location, and they devised many other “magical” transformations. For
instance, in one seventeenth-century opera, a scene ends with a fountain mutating into an eagle and flying away.
There are clear precedents for The Phantom of the Opera’s collapsing chandelier or Miss Saigon’s helicopter!

MONTEVERDI’S FINAL BOW

The music written for mid-seventeenth-century operas was changing as well: it started to perform contrasting
functions within the story. Monteverdi’s last opera, L’incoronazione di Poppea (The Coronation of Poppea),
illustrates how operatic style had evolved by 1642. Many years earlier, Monteverdi had left Mantua and had been
hired as the choirmaster at the prestigious St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. Despite that church job, he also “moon-
lighted” by composing several operas for the burgeoning Venetian opera houses. He wrote The Coronation of
Poppea at the age of seventy-five (perhaps with some assistance).
The Coronation of Poppea is somewhat unusual, because the librettist Giovanni Francesco Busenello
(1598–1659) based the plot on history rather than on myth (although Busenello did incorporate a healthy dose
of mythological additions; see the Online Plot Summary 1). There is humor, such as the chattering of the
guards who are trying to keep awake outside Poppea’s house, and the “disguise” scene in which Ottone wears
Drusilla’s garments. And, in contrast to most dramas, it is a surprise that “evil triumphs” in the story. Nero and
Poppea are not virtuous characters; they do not deserve the earthly rewards they receive. (A Roman historian
tells us that Nero later kicked a pregnant Poppea to death “in a fit of pique,” but the opera stops short of that
unsettling ending to the lovers’ story.)
During “Tornerai?” (Musical Example 1) in Act I, the primo uomo (“leading man”) Nero says a lei-
surely goodbye to the prima donna (“leading woman”) Poppea after a romantic night together. (Interestingly,
both roles were originally written for sopranos, since Monteverdi could draw upon the singing powers of cas-
trati; see the Sidebar: Opera and the Castrati.) The scene incorporates three kinds of singing, used for different
functions. The opening of this scene (1) uses a singing style called recitative. Recitative imitates the rhythms
(and speed) of speech in a fairly dry, businesslike way, without memorable melodies. In the background, a couple
of instruments play chords (groups of notes or pitches played simultaneously) to support the singers during
the recitative passages. Nero and Poppea can sing through their lines as quickly or slowly as they wish. Recita-
tive is often used for dialogue and narrative portions within operas, since the quick pace can seem very lifelike.
Photo 1.2 Poppea was the real-life seductress whose affair with Emperor Nero inspired the opera
The Coronation of Poppea (1642)
Source: Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Poppea_Sabina.jpg
 Chapter 1: The Birth of “Staged” Music 7

SIDEBAR: OPERA AND THE CASTRATI

There are thousands of compositions that call for instruments that have fallen into relative obscurity, such as the
basset horn or the hurdy-gurdy. Many recent musicians have developed an interest in performance practice—the
study of how earlier music was performed—and it is not uncommon now to hear concerts and recordings that
feature “forgotten” instruments. Some singers have studied the vocal techniques of the past—but one area of
vocal performance practice has been difficult to recreate, and that is the once-widespread use of high-pitched
male singers known as castrati.
Castrati were produced by castrating boys before they reached puberty, to prevent them from developing
secondary sexual characteristics. A castrato retained the high voice of his childhood, but it was coupled with
adult strength. As an adult, a castrato could sing in the same range as an adult woman, either a soprano range
(a high-pitched woman’s voice) or an alto range (a low-pitched woman’s voice). For about 200 years, from the

Photo 1.3 Farinelli (born Carlo Broschi, 1705–1782) was one of Europe’s
most famous castrato singers
Source: Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Farinelli_
engraving.jpg
8 Chapter 1: Antecedents to “Musical Theater”

SIDEBAR (CONTINUED)

mid-sixteenth century to the mid-eighteenth, castrati were in great demand. The castrato voice was powerful—an
asset in an era that did not have microphones—and its higher range allowed it to ring out clearly over accompany-
ing orchestras and other singers. Hundreds of opera roles were designed to be sung by castrati, such as the role
of Nero in The Coronation of Poppea. The greatest castrati were able to command huge salaries and were treated
much as rock stars are today.
For the Catholic Church, however, a castrato presented a moral dilemma. The church forbade female singers
in many chapels, and so castrati would sing the higher parts in sacred compositions—but the process of castra-
tion rendered boys infertile, and such procedures were against the teachings of the church. Gradually, demand
dropped for this peculiar voice type, and in 1903, Pope Pius X banned castrati from the papal chapel. Opera com-
posers had long since stopped writing for the voice type.
The question remains: what to do with the Baroque roles that were designed for castrati? Modern opera
directors generally choose one of three alternatives: they cast a woman in the role; they use a countertenor (a male
singer who uses a falsetto voice, an artificial boylike sound that is not as powerful as the castrato voice); or they
rewrite the castrato part for a tenor (the highest “normal” male voice). No solution is ideal—but all are considered
preferable to forcing men to readopt the original practice!

In contrast, section 2, labeled arioso, is somewhat more tuneful and melodic. Arioso seems more like singing
than speaking, whereas recitative seems more like speaking than singing. During this arioso passage, some words
are repeated in a songlike fashion, and you may feel a slight background pulse in the accompaniment (the
background musical support). Why does Nero switch to arioso singing at 2? He’s trying to distract Poppea by
­proclaiming—in a more flowery, arioso fashion—that he cannot live without her. Poppea is not too impressed by
Nero’s elaborate declaration, and she persistently repeats the same question—“Tornerai?”—yet again at 3. In section
4, they prolong their goodbyes in a way that would sound ridiculous if spoken, but “works” when sung as recitative.
Another distinctive singing style, labeled aria, appears at 6. The aria stands in marked contrast to the previ-
ous recitative; the aria is much more tuneful and memorable, and the accompaniment is provided by the whole
orchestra. Also, a steady background pulsation, or beat, has begun at 5—it is easier to clap and even sing along
as Poppea performs this section. Monteverdi uses this different singing style because the poetry of section 6 has
a different purpose. In general, an aria is used to express a character’s emotions; a composer tries to enhance
the mood by using suitable text expression in the musical setting. A sad song might be set to a slow speed; an
angry song might be particularly loud or fast. Since Nero has just departed, Poppea is nervous and excited at
the thought her schemes might work.The quicker singing reflects her tension. Moreover, when Poppea reminds
herself that she has the goddesses of Love and Fortune fighting on her behalf, the musical setting resembles a
military fanfare.
Characterization—helping an audience to understand a character’s personality—is also at work here.
The first four times Poppea is heard in this scene, she persistently asks the same thing (“Will you return?”),
a bit higher each time, until she at last gets Nero to promise that he will return (although she instantly snaps,
“When?”!). This repetition reveals her stubborn tenacity; she keeps asking until she gets her way. Nero, in con-
trast, has a changeable, almost neurotic nature—he can be quick to rage and cruelty. His responses to Poppea
reflect how he jumps from idea to idea (and from recitative to arioso). Characterization is an important tech-
nique for bringing the characters in an opera (or musical) “to life.”
Singers also make occasional use of ornamentation. Ornamentation is the technique of “decorating” or
embellishing the music. A common Baroque ornament is the trill, in which the singer wavers very rapidly
between two pitches. Poppea uses a trill to enhance the word “Speranza” (“Hope”) in section 6.The skillful use
of ornamentation is a sign of a virtuoso (or, if the singer is female, a virtuosa), since ornaments require a very
adept (and usually starring) performer. Ornamentation has often proven to be a bone of contention; composers
feel that too much ornamentation obscures the original melody and poetry, while singers want to seize every
opportunity they can to show off their vocal abilities. The battle continues.
 Chapter 1: The Birth of “Staged” Music 9

MUSICAL EXAMPLE 1

The Coronation of Poppea

Claudio Monteverdi/Giovanni Francesco Busenello, 1642
Act I, Scenes 3 and 4
“Tornerai?”
(see the Companion Website for link to recording)
Timeline

Section

Libretto Translation
Musical Features
(italicized text is repeated ) (italicized text is repeated )

[Spotify Track 4]
3:49 1 Poppea Poppea Recitative (sung slowly)
Tornerai? Will you return?
3:55 Nero Nero Recitative, but with
Se ben io vò, pur teco io stò Though I am leaving you, I am really faster, more agitated
staying notes
4:01 Poppea Poppea Recitative, slightly
Tornerai? Will you return? higher than the first time
she asked
4:04 Nero Nero Recitative, still fast-
Il cor dalle tue stelle mai mai non si My heart can never never be torn away moving
divelle from your eyes
4:14 Poppea Poppea Recitative, slightly
Tornerai? Will you return? higher still
4:23 2 Nero Nero Arioso
Io non posso da te viver disgiunto, I cannot live separated from you
Se non si smembra l’unita del punto Unless unity itself can be divided.
4:50 3 Poppea Poppea Recitative, even higher
Tornerai? Will you return?
4:54 Nero Nero
Tornerò. I will return.
4:56 Poppea Poppea
Quando? When?
4:58 Nero Nero
Ben tosto. Soon.
5:00 Poppea Poppea
Ben tosto, me’l prometti? Very soon—you promise me?
5:05 Nero Nero
Te’l giuro. I swear it to you!
— Poppea Poppea [Omitted in recording]
E me l’osserverai? And will you keep your promise to me?
Nero Nero
E s’a te non verrò, tu a me verrai! If I do not come to you, you’ll come to me!
Poppea Poppea
E me l’osserverai? And will you keep your promise to me?
Nero Nero
E s’a te non verrò, tu a me verrai! If I do not come to you, you’ll come to me!
10 Chapter 1: Antecedents to “Musical Theater”

MUSICAL EXAMPLE 1 (CONTINUED)

Timeline

Section Libretto Translation

Musical Features
(italicized text is repeated ) (italicized text is repeated )

[Spotify Track 4]
5:11 4 Poppea Poppea Recitative
Addio. Farewell.
Nero Nero
Addio. Farewell.
Poppea Poppea
Nerone, Nerone, addio. Nero, Nero, farewell.
Nero Nero
Poppea, Poppea, addio. Poppea, Poppea, farewell.
Poppea Poppea
Addio, Nerone, addio. Farewell, Nero, farewell.
Nero Nero
Addio, Poppea, addio. (he exits) Farewell, Poppea, farewell. (he exits)
[Spotify Track 5]
0:00 5 Orchestra introduces
the aria
0:33 6 Poppea Poppea Aria; trill on “-za” of
Speranza, tu mi vai il core O hope, you caress my heart; “Speranza”
accarezzando;
0:41 Orchestra
0:52 Speranza, tu mi vai il genio O hope, you encourage my talents; and Aria; trill on “-za” of
lusingando; e mi circondi intanto di meanwhile you drape around me a robe “Speranza”
regio sì, ma that is royal, yet
1:07 imaginario manto. remains imaginary. Slows as Poppea recalls
that royalty is still only
a dream
1:13 No, no, non temo, di noia alcuna: No, no, I will not be afraid of any troubles: Excited speed resumes
1:32 Per me guerreggia, guerreggia, Amor I have, fighting on my behalf, the gods of Fanfare-like
Love
1:44 e la Fortuna. and Fortune. Slower, more deliberate
1:52 Orchestra concludes

Further Reading—See the Companion Website (www.routledge.com/cw/McLamore) for a list of resources.

Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
certitude que mon mari n’était pas un assassin ? Car c’était pour
cela… seulement pour cela… Je ne savais plus maintenant ce
qu’avaient pu être mes craintes… — mes espérances !… — Je ne
savais plus si ma vie se nourrissait depuis quelques semaines
d’imaginations absurdes ou des plus profondes et poignantes
réalités sentimentales. Le fait seul m’apparaissait dans son
évidence, brutal et nu comme la lumière de cette lampe ; et ma
douleur devant lui ne pouvait être que grotesque ou que
monstrueuse. Je le compris… il ne me fut plus possible de
comprendre autre chose. Et, voulant me défendre de moi-même et
de tout ce que j’éprouvais d’effrayant, je criai presque :
— Triste ! moi !… après ce que tu viens de me dire !… Triste !…
ah ! par exemple !…
Et voici que, soudain, je me mis à rire. C’était un rire terrible et
violent qui ne pouvait plus s’apaiser. Je riais sur Fabien et sur son
visage satisfait. Je riais plus encore sur moi-même et sur mes
grandes émotions. Et ce rire, qui secouait convulsivement mes
épaules, faisait monter à mes yeux des larmes brûlantes tandis que
le spasme du sanglot serrait dans ma gorge son nœud dur et
douloureux.
— A la bonne heure, s’exclama Fabien tout épanoui. Vois-tu…
J’ai été comme toi d’abord… Le contentement semblait m’abrutir. Je
n’ai bien compris qu’au bout d’un instant. Mais alors, dame, j’ai été
pris d’une espèce de folie. Comme toi, vois-tu… tout à fait comme
toi.

*
* *

… Je ne sais plus le nom de ce restaurant vers lequel nous

allions par les petites rues obscures, ni tout ce que Fabien me
racontait de sa vieille renommée et des personnages importants de
la ville qui ont coutume d’y fréquenter. Mais je me rappelle bien
l’entrée dans la salle basse, pleine et chaude, le gros tapage des
voix et des vaisselles, l’odeur des nourritures dans laquelle se mêlait
à l’acidité des plats vinaigrés, le relent de l’huile bouillante et le
fumet lourd des gibiers. Je me rappelle cette vapeur qui flottait, faite
de l’exhalaison des plats et des haleines et de la fumée du tabac,
cette vapeur embuant aux murs les grandes glaces encadrées de
guirlandes peintes, de fruits, de jeunes femmes coiffées du ruban
provençal, et qui noyait également dans son opacité les figures
décoratives, aux couleurs crues, et les visages vivants, enluminés
avec violence. Et je me rappelle le soin que prit Fabien de choisir,
pour nous y installer, une table qui fût bien en vue, au beau milieu de
la salle.
Il appela le garçon ; il lui donna ses ordres à voix très haute,
satisfait de voir que la plupart des dîneurs se retournaient vers lui ; et
le regard qu’il promena sur tous, quand il fut assis, était un regard
triomphal. En ce moment il était plus heureux encore qu’il n’avait pu
l’être en recevant la lettre de Fardier, et plus heureux que tout à
l’heure, en me faisant son récit haletant de fièvre et de joie.
Véritablement son apparence était celle de la résurrection. Il
semblait de minute en minute s’épanouir davantage. Il prenait sa
revanche de ces quelques semaines pendant lesquelles il avait
vécu, terré, caché, se mourant de honte et de peur, à imaginer
autour de lui le sourire et la raillerie des hommes ; il la prenait avec
éclat, sans mesure et presque insolemment.
Je m’étais assise de façon à tourner le dos à la salle. Parmi tant
de visages qui nous entouraient je ne voyais devant moi que le
visage de Fabien ; parmi tant de gestes qui s’accomplissaient, je ne
voyais que ses gestes. Chacun exprimait l’orgueil, la satisfaction
absolue, la suffisance mesquine et profonde. La manière qu’il avait
de trancher son pain, d’attirer à lui la salière, de reposer fortement
son verre sur la table, révélait, me semblait-il, mieux qu’aucune
parole, de quelle étoffe grossière était faite sa joie… Et je pensais
que, dans la même étoffe, avait été taillé et façonné son désespoir,
ce désespoir sur lequel je m’étais penchée et dont j’avais nourri ma
vie la plus frémissante et la meilleure pendant tant d’heures qui me
paraissaient belles.
 Je commençais maintenant à me rappeler ces heures-là. Je ne
faisais que commencer… Dans cette salle bruyante et chaude, dont
l’air s’épaississait d’odeurs désagréables, je les retrouvais l’une
après l’autre, ces heures d’angoisse et de tourment, redoutées
d’abord, et qui peu à peu m’étaient devenues si chères… Je n’avais
devant moi que le visage de Fabien, mais quand il avançait ou
tournait la tête, ce qui, dans son agitation, lui arrivait à tout moment,
un autre visage m’apparaissait dans la glace étroite, gravée d’étoiles
mates, qui décorait derrière lui le pilier octogone, un visage pâle,
avec des yeux un peu élargis et fixes. Ces yeux, qui étaient les
miens, étaient aussi les yeux de maman que je croyais revoir. Ils
contenaient ma vie tout entière, ils l’expliquaient toute. Ils étaient à la
fois avides et résignés, exigeants et craintifs. Et je n’avais jamais su
voir comme aujourd’hui qu’à leur humilité soumise pouvait se mêler
un désarroi infini et qu’ils se troublaient à la fois des plus étroits
scrupules et de passionnées inquiétudes.
La tête de Fabien, se tournant et s’agitant sans repos, me cachait
ces yeux un instant, et puis de nouveau, je les voyais m’apparaître
confusément dans l’eau de la glace obscurcie de vapeurs et de
fumées. Et ce qui vivait en eux maintenant, ce n’étaient plus que ces
dernières semaines, ce n’étaient que ces dernières heures de mon
existence… Un temps bien court, plus vaste cependant que tout le
reste des jours où j’avais respiré sur la terre. Je me souvenais… je
continuais de me souvenir… Il y avait eu cette nuit à Lagarde…
l’horreur de cette nuit ! Il y avait eu, mystérieuses, menant mes
gestes, dictant mes paroles et cependant comme inconnues à moi-
même, ma résolution soudaine de ne pas abandonner Fabien, ma
volonté de le suivre. Il y avait eu… Mais tant de choses
aboutissaient à une seule… — et c’est une pensée unique à présent
qui me torturait, c’est parmi tous ces souvenirs le souvenir d’une
seule minute — il y avait eu, devant cette douleur que je voyais si
grande, si absolue, capable d’enrichir de ses tourments l’âme la plus
misérable, il y avait eu mon amour, l’élan merveilleux de mon amour.
— Et maintenant il y avait cela seulement ; la révélation que cette
âme n’avait pas changé, la certitude qu’elle ne changerait pas. Il y
avait cela… rien que cela.
« Ah ! peut-être j’aurais préféré qu’il tuât réellement… qu’il tuât…
et qu’il ne fût pas ce qu’il est… »
A ce moment Fabien se redressa, et je ne vis plus mes yeux
dans la glace ; je n’eus plus devant moi que son regard à lui, un peu
vague et tout chavirant d’excitation et de plaisir.
— Garçon ! appela-t-il… Et jetant son ordre avant que l’autre fût
tout près de lui… Du châteauneuf des papes… Une bonne bouteille.
Il se pencha vers moi, ricanant et confidentiel :
— Ça va me coûter cher, ce petit dîner… Mais puisque ce sont
eux qui paient.
— Qui cela ? demandai-je.
— Mais, dit-il, les clients du père Fardier. D’où sors-tu donc ?…
Depuis une demi-heure, nous ne parlons pas d’autre chose.
Il disait : « nous ne parlons », sans remarquer qu’avant cette
brève question je n’avais encore prononcé aucune parole. Ma
distraction, qu’il crut soudaine, l’égaya. Il se servit pour la deuxième
fois des cailles placées devant nous, qui dressaient et
recroquevillaient sur des croûtons de pain gras leurs petites pattes
noires et métalliques, et il reprit cet entretien que je n’entendais pas.
Ne cessant de parler et de manger avec une égale abondance, il ne
cessait non plus de s’avancer de droite et de gauche, de se dresser,
de se pencher, d’observer qui le regardait. Et revoyant à tous
moments derrière lui, dans la glace, ces yeux qui me regardaient, je
continuais, tout éperdue, de leur répondre et de les interroger.
« N’eût-il pas mieux valu qu’il tuât réellement… qu’il tuât ?…
L’être est-il plus avili par l’acte passionné d’une seule minute, que
peuvent essayer de racheter tous les repentirs, ou par la continuité
paisible de la médiocrité et de la platitude ?… »
Mais de cette même façon réelle dont je voyais Fabien couper sa
viande et se verser du vin rouge, je voyais maintenant que le crime
même, s’il eût été commis, n’eût éveillé dans cette âme qu’un ennui,
qu’un repentir et que des craintes à sa taille. Et désespérément
alors, pour ne plus rien voir de lui ni de moi-même, me détournant
moins de ces deux visages dressés devant moi que de l’âme secrète
et trop douloureuse à connaître dont s’animait chacun d’eux, je
regardais la salle, moi aussi, j’attachais mon attention, toute mon
attention, au chapeau extravagant d’une jeune femme, aux
remarques faites par nos voisins, deux couples brésiliens, dans le
plus divertissant langage, aux courses des garçons glissant
prestement au milieu des tables serrées, à la caissière ronde et
brune qui paraissait tant s’ennuyer derrière son haut bureau fleuri de
roses. Je m’appliquais à écouter jusqu’au petit bruit de la monnaie
tombant dans les plateaux de métal, et j’entendais venir de la salle
voisine, où trois billards étalaient sous les lampes leurs tapis d’un
vert éclatant, le choc léger des boules d’ivoire, les voix des joueurs
annonçant les points, et quelquefois aussi s’élevant avec violence
pour discuter d’un « coulé » douteux ou pour applaudir un coup
difficile.
Dans un de ces moments où tous les secours m’étaient bons
pour échapper à moi-même, regardant une fois de plus, pour
regarder le plus loin qu’il me fût possible, dans cette salle où
s’agitaient les joueurs de billard, je vis un homme qui venait sur le
seuil, le chapeau sur la tête, boutonnant son pardessus, prêt à sortir,
un vieil homme robuste et grand dont l’aimable visage était tout
rayonnant sous d’épais cheveux blancs ; et je le reconnus
brusquement… Alors, me penchant vers Fabien, je me mis tout à
coup à répondre à chacune de ses phrases, à lui demander de petits
détails, à l’entretenir avec une animation fébrile de toutes ces
questions qui l’intéressaient. Il fallait que sa pensée en ce moment
s’attachât à moi seule, que son regard se fixât sur moi seule, car je
ne voulais pas qu’il vît cet homme à son tour et qu’il le reconnût, je
ne le voulais pas… Mais il ne remarqua pas plus mon attention qu’il
ne s’était inquiété de mon indifférence. Et malgré mes pressantes
paroles, mon visage tendu vers lui, mes yeux qui cherchaient les
siens, se tournant de tous les côtés comme il continuait de le faire, il
fallut bien enfin qu’il se tournât de ce côté.
 Aussitôt une rougeur plus violente monta à son visage déjà
empourpré. Il s’exclama ; il frappa joyeusement sur la table, et d’une
voix forte, à travers tout ce monde, il cria :
— Fabréjol !
Je vis le petit mouvement surpris de M. Fabréjol, je vis son
regard se promener de table en table, cherchant avec étonnement
qui pouvait l’interpeller ainsi, et je vis son sourire qui n’était peut-être
pas seulement de cordialité, tandis qu’ayant aperçu Fabien qui
s’était levé et lui faisait de grands gestes, il prenait le parti de venir
nous rejoindre. Aussitôt mon mari donna l’ordre que l’on apportât
des liqueurs, bouscula nos voisins afin de placer une chaise de plus
entre leur table et la nôtre, rappela le garçon pour demander des
cigarettes, et attira sur nous de telle sorte l’attention générale que M.
Fabréjol me parut un peu gêné.
— Mais je vous en prie, ne cessait-il de répéter, ne vous donnez
pas tant de mal… Ne dérangez pas ainsi tout le monde…
— Laissez donc, disait Fabien… laissez !… Ah ! mon ami, mon
cher ami, je suis si heureux de vous revoir… Quelle chance que
cette rencontre ! Justement, figurez-vous, je quitte Avignon demain.
M. Fabréjol m’avait saluée avec cette cordialité amicale, cette
bonté affectueuse et presque paternelle qu’il m’avait témoignées
déjà en me recevant chez lui. Et il allait me parler. Fabien ne lui en
laissa pas le temps.
— Hé ! oui, reprit-il, demain. Je ne pensais pas partir aussi
brusquement, mais que voulez-vous ! Les malades me réclament…
Les confrères aussi. C’est à croire vraiment qu’à Lagarde on ne peut
plus vivre — ni mourir, ajouta-t-il plaisamment — sans que je sois là.
Alors je repars, je sacrifie ma santé… mon repos… Il le faut bien.
— Votre santé, me semble-t-il, est meilleure maintenant,
remarqua M. Fabréjol.
— Meilleure, déclara Fabien, oh ! certes, et même aujourd’hui
tout à fait bonne. Ce n’est pas comme le jour où je vous ai rencontré,
Fabréjol, — avouez, mon ami, que j’avais une tête à faire peur — ni
comme cet autre jour où j’ai eu le grand regret de ne pouvoir
accompagner ma femme à votre déjeuner. Ah ! j’ai été vraiment très
mal… Mais c’est fini, bien fini… De la chartreuse, Fabréjol, ou de la
fine ?…
Jamais il n’avait parlé aussi familièrement à M. Fabréjol. Même
quand nous étions seuls et qu’il m’entretenait de lui, il le faisait avec
plus de déférence. Mais il se sentait aujourd’hui tout magnifique, il
était tout hors de lui-même, et je crois bien qu’il n’eût pas imaginé
sur la terre entière quelqu’un à qui il ne pût s’égaler.
— L’une et l’autre, ajouta-t-il en débouchant les flacons de
liqueurs. Et je vous ferai raison.
— Ni l’une ni l’autre, dit M. Fabréjol couvrant son verre de sa
main. Je vous remercie. D’ailleurs je vais être obligé de vous quitter.
Il est bien tard. J’ai six kilomètres à faire pour rentrer chez moi. Un
vieux cheval… un vieux cocher. Ma sœur qui s’inquiète et veille en
m’attendant. Mais j’ai voulu ce soir prendre congé de quelques amis.
— Allons donc !… s’exclama Fabien, vous repartez déjà ! Moi qui
comptais vous demander de venir nous voir un de ces jours à
Lagarde.
Il prononça ces derniers mots avec désinvolture. D’un trait il vida
son verre qu’il avait rempli de chartreuse. Et il éprouva le besoin
d’ajouter, important et confidentiel :
— Ma situation là-bas, vous savez, est en train de devenir
considérable !
Il répéta, tapotant la table de sa main ouverte, comme pour bien
pénétrer de ce mot le marbre lui-même :
— Considérable.
— Je n’en doute pas, dit M. Fabréjol avec politesse. J’ai toujours
pensé qu’il en serait ainsi. Et je vous félicite bien sincèrement.
Autant qu’il m’était en ce moment possible de remarquer quelque
chose, je remarquai que le ton de Fabien le surprenait ce soir, et
peut-être même l’agaçait un peu. Ce fut vers moi qu’il se tourna pour
ajouter :
 — J’ai conservé de Lagarde le meilleur souvenir… Et j’aurais eu
grand plaisir, madame, à vous y rendre de nouveau visite.
Malheureusement, je vous le répète, je pars, ou plutôt nous partons,
mon fils et moi.
J’acquiesçai de la tête. Je crois même que je souris. J’avais
tremblé en apercevant M. Fabréjol. J’avais souhaité qu’il ne nous vît
pas ce soir, qu’il ne vînt pas auprès de nous. Mais je ne savais plus
d’où m’était venue cette frayeur ; je ne me représentais pas bien en
ce moment ce fils qui devait partir avec lui ; je ne souffrais pas en
l’écoutant.
— Philippe, continua M. Fabréjol, était un peu hésitant. Il avait, je
crois, l’intention de prolonger son séjour en France d’un ou deux
mois. Et sa tante, ma pauvre vieille sœur, en eût été bien heureuse.
Mais vous savez comme sont les jeunes gens. Il a maintenant
changé d’avis. Et tout à l’heure même, il vient de me déclarer que sa
résolution était enfin prise et qu’il préférait m’accompagner.
— Quand partez-vous ? demanda Fabien.
— Le douze, dit Fabréjol.
— Le douze, répéta mon mari d’une façon machinale.
Ce fut ce petit mot qui réveilla tout. A cause de cette date qu’il
avait prononcée au musée Calvet et que j’avais répétée comme
Fabien venait de le faire, je revis le musée et Philippe devant moi.
J’entendis sa demande et mon refus. J’entendis ma voix sourde et
sincère qui prononçait : « J’ai l’amour… » Et voici que de nouveau,
comme tout à l’heure, rue des Trois-Faucons, dans la chambre
vilainement éclairée par la lumière nue de la lampe, j’éclatai de rire.
Et c’était comme tout à l’heure, un rire terrible, violent, qui ne cessait
plus de secouer mes épaules et faisait monter à mes yeux des
larmes brûlantes, tandis que le spasme du sanglot serrait dans ma
gorge son nœud dur et douloureux.
M. Fabréjol me considérait, étonné ; mais Fabien expliqua avec
une grande indulgence :
— Elle est très gaie… Que voulez-vous ! — (Et j’avais
l’impression précise que chacune de ses paroles serait répétée à
Philippe, et chacune de ses paroles me déchirait comme une lame
grinçante et froide.) — C’est que la journée d’aujourd’hui a été pour
elle une bonne journée.

*
* *

… Sur le toit de tuiles rousses que je vois de ma fenêtre, une

fumée voudrait monter, que rabat le grand vent. Elle bouillonne au
sortir de la cheminée comme un jet d’eau sans force ; elle se couche
et s’échevèle, et, comme le soir va venir, elle est blanche sur le ciel
gris.
Nous sommes en hiver, maintenant. Nous approchons de la
Noël. C’est le temps, à Lagarde, où l’on se rend des visites. J’ai été
très occupée à en faire, à en recevoir aussi. Et j’ai dû m’interrompre
souvent d’écrire, si souvent que quelquefois je ne savais vraiment
plus bien pourquoi j’avais entrepris de conter toutes ces choses…
A quoi bon l’avoir fait ? C’est fini d’ailleurs, c’est fini. Je n’ai plus
rien à dire. Je fréquente beaucoup de monde maintenant. Cela est
naturel. Je donne à goûter et quelquefois à dîner. La situation de
Fabien m’impose ces obligations, qui ne sont pas désagréables. Ce
dernier soir en Avignon, dont j’ai parlé pour finir, il avait bien raison
d’être si content. Tout s’est parfaitement arrangé. Le vieux Fardier a
commencé déjà de lui passer la plus grande partie de sa clientèle.
Nous le voyons assez souvent. Il dîne ici demain avec Romain de
Buires, qui est maintenant tout à fait de nos amis.
Bien entendu, on ne parlera de rien. Je veux dire : on ne parlera
pas de toute cette histoire. On n’en parle jamais. Elle est vieille
d’ailleurs : un an déjà. Personne n’y pense plus. Moi-même, bien
souvent, je crois l’avoir oubliée.
Quelquefois cependant… oui, quelquefois… je me rappelle. Cela
me vient tout à coup, d’une manière brusque que rien ne prépare et
qui me surprend. Cela me vient quand je suis seule dans ma
chambre ou bien assise près de Guicharde à coudre devant le feu,
ou encore, ce qui est plus singulier, quand je fais quelque visite
d’importance, au beau milieu d’une conversation, alors que je
m’applique à me tenir avec élégance et que je suis toute contente de
mon chapeau avec une plume brune qui vient de Paris, ou de mes
gants montant un peu haut et brodés de baguettes noires, à la
dernière mode. Je me rappelle…
Il semble que mon cœur tout à coup se réveille et supplie, qu’il
grandit et qu’il souffre. Ma gorge se serre. Je ne sais plus que dire.
Mes mains deviennent un peu froides. Et si j’ai une glace devant
moi, j’y vois aussitôt se lever ces yeux qui me regardèrent tout un
soir, du fond de la glace trouble, gravée d’étoiles mates, ces yeux
résignés et tout remplis cependant d’inquiètes exigences…
Mais ces moments tourmentés sont assez rares maintenant.
Peut-être vont-ils encore le devenir davantage. La vie passe. Elle
ordonne. J’ai toujours été pliée à l’obéissance et je ne fais que
continuer. J’accepte ce qu’elle entend faire de mon être soumis. Je
souris à la forme du visage qu’elle tourne vers moi. Oui, je souris…
Je suis heureuse. — Pourquoi pas ? La considération dont nous
entoure tout le pays est chaque jour plus grande. Mon mari chaque
jour gagne plus d’argent et la tendresse qu’il me témoigne est
raisonnable et fidèle. C’est Guicharde qui a raison. Il ne faut
considérer que l’apparence des choses et quand elle est excellente,
il est inutile et peut-être ridicule de rien chercher au delà.
C’est fini. Je vais faire un grand feu avec tous ces feuillets. Le
soir vient. Des femmes dans la rue vont à la fontaine. J’entends le
grincement de la pompe, le bruit sonore d’une anse retombant
contre un seau vide. Et j’entends au-dessous de moi tous les bruits
de ma maison : Guicharde met la table avec vivacité, Adélaïde fend
du bois dans la souillarde. Tout à l’heure, Fabien va rentrer dans sa
voiture grise et basse, pareille à quelque gros cloporte roulé dans la
poussière.
La vie est régulière, abondante et tranquille. Elle est bonne pour
moi en somme. Elle est très bonne. Je suis heureuse. Je puis l’être.
Je le serais tout à fait s’il n’y avait pas encore ces moments, tous
ces moments où il me semble que je m’éveille, et où je pense que
ces minutes paisibles et satisfaites sont peut-être les pires de
toutes…
 PARIS
IMPRIMERIE GAMBART & Cie
52, avenue du Maine, 52
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