Last week, Canto Vocal Programs treated Loudoun County to a lecture on French opera with some musical surprises. Maurice Lugassy, professor of French culture, was invited by the faculty to provide some more background for the participants of the program. The idea was to make the students’ understanding of what they are singing in opera more well-rounded.
The focus of the lecture was on 19th-century French opera. Lugassy began by explaining that, in this time period, operas and opera production were quite conservative, because opera was expensive. Therefore, it was necessary to conform to conservative values in order to ensure that productions would be paid for and mounted. This resulted in women being written as archetypal victims. In French operas of this time period, the women either die, or they have to accept whatever fate men put on them. They don’t get to do what they want.
Press Illustration of Act 1 of the Premiere of Jacques Offenbach’s Operetta La Grande-duchesse De Gérolstein at the Théâtre Des Variétés in Paris on 12 April 1867 from L’univers Illlustré (27 April 1867) by Edouard Riou
The first example of this that Lugassy provided was the character of Charlotte from the opera Werther. In the story, she has to marry the character of Albert because of a promise she made to her mother, but she is really in love with Werther. At first, she doesn’t want to keep her promise after falling in love with Werther, but the opera in effect is required to teach a lesson. So, what does Charlotte do? She falls in line, and in the end, Werther commits suicide. This, as Lugassy explained, was the purpose behind these operas, the concept of “placere et docere,” “to please and to teach.” The audience is meant to get artistic fulfillment while learning life lessons.
The second opera Lugassy discussed was Massenet’s Manon. In contrast to Werther’s Charlotte, the character of Manon lives the way she wants, but in the end, she dies. Why? Because she ends up being responsible for both herself and her lover, Des Grieux, tempting him away from the priesthood to be with her. Despite her and other women characters in French opera meeting a sad fate, Lugassy pointed out that composers did what they could to make the women sympathetic to the audience.
One must needs discuss Charles Gounod when discussing French opera in any capacity. Lugassy explained that Gounod was the most Catholic composer of the bunch, as he wanted to be a priest and ended up composing exclusively church music for the last 15 years of his life. But even his ostensibly secular operas showed a love of God above all. Central to the discussion of this composer were Roméo et Juliette, where Friar Lawrence helps the young couple get married so that their relationship can be legitimate in the eyes of God, to Faust, where Méfistofélès is literally trying to steal Faust and Marguerite’s souls. Particularly fascinating as part of the history here was learning about Marguerite’s “Jewel Song” in French pop culture, namely, in the comic series Tintin.
“Samson et Dalila” by Domenico Fiasella (1625-1635)
It came as no surprise that Bizet’s Carmen was next on the list of operas to discuss. Mezzo-soprano Caroline Yergeau sang Carmen’s “Seguidilla” as part of the presentation. Most remarkably, Lugassy talked about how Carmen is not a femme fatale. Rather, she is a woman who knows what she wants. This was downright refreshing to hear after having heard misinterpretations of this character before. “Carmen dies because she is too much. She is free, she wants to live as she wants,” said Lugassy. By contrast, he talked about how Micaëla ends up being the strongest character in the opera because she is afraid, she is right to be afraid, but she goes through with her plan anyway to find Don Jose in the mountains. She is also important because she is not weak and she does not die. Think about that the next time you see Carmen.
The next opera to be discussed was Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila. Here Yergeau sang a wonderful “Amour, Viens Aider Ma Faiblesse,” and it was noted that Dalila, though she gets a bad reputation, above all wants to save her people, the Philistines, and she doesn’t necessarily want to kill Samson. Therefore, there is something relatable and sympathetic about her. Of note, too, was that Saint-Saëns created the role of Dalila for Pauline Viardot-Garcia, but she never sang it publicly. However, she was a central figure in this discussion not only because she herself was a composer at a time when women could not be composers, but also because she hosted salons that every prominent musician in Europe came to attend.
The conclusion? Women in French society were free in real life, just not in opera. The discussion ended with Offenbach and a rousing rendition from Yergeau of The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein’s “Ah! Que j’aime les militaires.” This hidden gem of an opera, featured in not one but two productions in the D.C. area last season, was used by Lugassy to illustrate the satire that was possible in the time period, despite the conservative values opera companies and composers had to espouse. The grand duchess might be in charge at the beginning, but her character still revolves around the men in her circle, and in the end, she has to marry the prince she was originally betrothed to.
Kudos to Canto for opening this lecture to the public. Although its primary purpose was to help round out the education of the students, any opera lover would enjoy an event like this that included both scholasticism and musical excerpts. Hopefully there will be more such sessions publicly available next year.
Maggie Ramsey
Canto Vocal Programs: The Women of French Opera
Maurice Lugassy, Professor of French Culture, lecturer. Caroline Yergeau, Mezzo-Soprano
Sterling, VA, July 23, 2025
Top image: “Faust and Marguerite in the Garden” by James Tissot (1861)
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French Culture Professor Gives Lecture on Women in French Opera for Canto Vocal Programs
Last week, Canto Vocal Programs treated Loudoun County to a lecture on French opera with some musical surprises. Maurice Lugassy, professor of French culture, was invited by the faculty to provide some more background for the participants of the program. The idea was to make the students’ understanding of what they are singing in opera more well-rounded.
The focus of the lecture was on 19th-century French opera. Lugassy began by explaining that, in this time period, operas and opera production were quite conservative, because opera was expensive. Therefore, it was necessary to conform to conservative values in order to ensure that productions would be paid for and mounted. This resulted in women being written as archetypal victims. In French operas of this time period, the women either die, or they have to accept whatever fate men put on them. They don’t get to do what they want.
The first example of this that Lugassy provided was the character of Charlotte from the opera Werther. In the story, she has to marry the character of Albert because of a promise she made to her mother, but she is really in love with Werther. At first, she doesn’t want to keep her promise after falling in love with Werther, but the opera in effect is required to teach a lesson. So, what does Charlotte do? She falls in line, and in the end, Werther commits suicide. This, as Lugassy explained, was the purpose behind these operas, the concept of “placere et docere,” “to please and to teach.” The audience is meant to get artistic fulfillment while learning life lessons.
The second opera Lugassy discussed was Massenet’s Manon. In contrast to Werther’s Charlotte, the character of Manon lives the way she wants, but in the end, she dies. Why? Because she ends up being responsible for both herself and her lover, Des Grieux, tempting him away from the priesthood to be with her. Despite her and other women characters in French opera meeting a sad fate, Lugassy pointed out that composers did what they could to make the women sympathetic to the audience.
One must needs discuss Charles Gounod when discussing French opera in any capacity. Lugassy explained that Gounod was the most Catholic composer of the bunch, as he wanted to be a priest and ended up composing exclusively church music for the last 15 years of his life. But even his ostensibly secular operas showed a love of God above all. Central to the discussion of this composer were Roméo et Juliette, where Friar Lawrence helps the young couple get married so that their relationship can be legitimate in the eyes of God, to Faust, where Méfistofélès is literally trying to steal Faust and Marguerite’s souls. Particularly fascinating as part of the history here was learning about Marguerite’s “Jewel Song” in French pop culture, namely, in the comic series Tintin.
It came as no surprise that Bizet’s Carmen was next on the list of operas to discuss. Mezzo-soprano Caroline Yergeau sang Carmen’s “Seguidilla” as part of the presentation. Most remarkably, Lugassy talked about how Carmen is not a femme fatale. Rather, she is a woman who knows what she wants. This was downright refreshing to hear after having heard misinterpretations of this character before. “Carmen dies because she is too much. She is free, she wants to live as she wants,” said Lugassy. By contrast, he talked about how Micaëla ends up being the strongest character in the opera because she is afraid, she is right to be afraid, but she goes through with her plan anyway to find Don Jose in the mountains. She is also important because she is not weak and she does not die. Think about that the next time you see Carmen.
The next opera to be discussed was Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila. Here Yergeau sang a wonderful “Amour, Viens Aider Ma Faiblesse,” and it was noted that Dalila, though she gets a bad reputation, above all wants to save her people, the Philistines, and she doesn’t necessarily want to kill Samson. Therefore, there is something relatable and sympathetic about her. Of note, too, was that Saint-Saëns created the role of Dalila for Pauline Viardot-Garcia, but she never sang it publicly. However, she was a central figure in this discussion not only because she herself was a composer at a time when women could not be composers, but also because she hosted salons that every prominent musician in Europe came to attend.
The conclusion? Women in French society were free in real life, just not in opera. The discussion ended with Offenbach and a rousing rendition from Yergeau of The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein’s “Ah! Que j’aime les militaires.” This hidden gem of an opera, featured in not one but two productions in the D.C. area last season, was used by Lugassy to illustrate the satire that was possible in the time period, despite the conservative values opera companies and composers had to espouse. The grand duchess might be in charge at the beginning, but her character still revolves around the men in her circle, and in the end, she has to marry the prince she was originally betrothed to.
Kudos to Canto for opening this lecture to the public. Although its primary purpose was to help round out the education of the students, any opera lover would enjoy an event like this that included both scholasticism and musical excerpts. Hopefully there will be more such sessions publicly available next year.
Maggie Ramsey
Canto Vocal Programs: The Women of French Opera
Maurice Lugassy, Professor of French Culture, lecturer. Caroline Yergeau, Mezzo-Soprano
Sterling, VA, July 23, 2025
Top image: “Faust and Marguerite in the Garden” by James Tissot (1861)
All images courtesy of WikiArt.