Beaumarchais and Voltaire's Samson

Abstract

Beaumarchais and Voltaire's Samson M. ELIZABETH C. BARTLET The acclaim accorded Voltaire in the late ancien regime was little short of veneration. Beaumarchais had hoped to capitalize on this situation when he decided to publish Voltaire's Oeuvres —the Kehl edition.1 He took great pride in citing the difficulties he overcame to produce an edi­ tion of the highest technical achievement.2 Even when the enterprise proved to be a financial disaster, Beaumarchais considered this "immense et belle collection des chefs-d'oeuvres"3 an homage worthy of the "plus beau genie de la litterature frangaise."4 Beaumarchais's admiration of Voltaire also took another form. More than a century ago Querard mentioned that in June 1782 he presented to the Academie Royale de Musique (the Paris Opera) a revised version of Voltaire's Samson, a libretto originally written for Jean-Philippe Rameau fifty years before.5 Later Desnoiresterres discovered two documents at the Archives Nationales to support Querard's contention, although he did not attempt to trace the history of the Beaumarchais arrangement.6 None­ theless, subsequent Beaumarchais scholars, even those writing on his in­ terest in music, have ignored it or mistakenly referred to it merely as a project not completed.7 Up till now no one has succeeded in finding a copy.8 Before turning our attention directly to the latter problem, we must examine the information that the Archives yield; this proves to be more extensive than Desnoiresterres indicated. And in order to assess the docu­ ments it is first necessary to understand the current administrative proce­ dures regarding the acceptance of new works at the Opera. The obstacle course set for would-be authors of operas was long and difficult.9 In the early 1780s the librettist first submitted a copy of his poem to the secretary of the Opera committee (formed of the chief admin­ 33 34 / BARTLET istrative officers, representatives of the singers and orchestra, and others connected with the theater). Shortly afterwards at their invitation he read it at one of their meetings. If approved, the libretto was enregistre; that is, the date of its acceptance was noted, as sometimes precedence later deter­ mined which one among completed works of otherwise equal merit would be given its premiere first (although the principle was even less rig­ idly applied at the Opera than at other theaters such as the Comedie Fran-£aise). Usually only once the text was approved would a composer begin serious work. If the libretto were rejected — and most were — there was no point in wasting time setting it, for the Opera had a monopoly on serious operas in France and prided itself, rightly or wrongly, on producing works of literary merit. But acceptance at this point was no guarantee that the work would ultimately be performed; it merely granted the right to proceed to the next step.10 The Opera was the Academie Royale de Musique, a royal institution with a substantial state subsidy. The libretto then went to the surinten­ dant du spectacle, Denis-Pierre-Jean Papillon de La Ferte,11 and finally to the minister of the maison du roi, Amelot. Either could examine it himself or have it read by others. Their approbation was not automatic; both government officials had an effective power of veto, although it was so seldom used that the Opera committee and authors alike tended to treat submission to higher levels as a mere formality — sometimes with unfortu­ nate consequences. After the music was finished, it was subjected to a similar examination. First a subcommittee of musicians studied the composers autograph score,12 and if it passed their inspection, parts for principal scenes were copied, rehearsed by a few soloists accompanied by strings, and per­ formed for the whole committee. On acceptance and with the approval of the surintendant du spectacle and the minister, the Opera's copyist pre­ pared the entire score and a full set of parts. Finally, perhaps years later, rehearsals as preparation for performance began, scenery and costumes were done, ballets were written and choreographed, and so on. At any stage, opposition of either government official (and the withholding of the necessary funds) could put an...