Wagner in Exile: Paris, Halévy and theQueen

Abstract

Fromental Halévy’s five-act grand operaLa Reine de Chyprepremiered in Paris in 1841. Many critics viewed the work as a great success and seen as a true rival toLa Juive(1835). Wagner, who was in Paris at the time, even went so far as to claim the composition ‘a new step forward’ in the world of opera, evidenced in the many review articles and publications he wrote about the work. This article attempts to uncover what Wagner admired about Halévy’s composition, especially within the context of the German composer’s ‘artistic exile’ in France (1839–1842) and the completion of a new dramatic conception of German romantic opera inDer Fliegende Holländer(1843). The connections between the two works are explored, revealing an affinity for the exile and the desire for redemption.