|
|
|
|||||||||
 |
||||||||||
| ◄◄◄ | ||||||||||
| Alfred
Bruneau
(1857–1934) Other names: Louis-Charles-Bonaventure-Alfred Bruneau Biographical Bruneau began studying music as a cellist at the Paris Conservatoire from 1873 to 1876. From 1879 to 1881 he studied composition with Jules Massenet at the same institution. In 1881, he won second prize in the Prix de Rome for his cantata Geneviève. He later worked as a copyist for the music publisher Georges Hartmann. Bruneau's early compositions included three choral symphonies and the opera Kérim, completed in 1887; its success led him to focus on opera. In 1888, he met Émile Zola, whose naturalistic works became the basis for eight of Bruneau’s operas. Their first collaboration, Le Rêve, appeared in 1891 and was criticised for its Wagnerian tone, though later works revealed a more distinctive dramatic style. His aim to create music that was both realistic and symbolic came to fruition in 1907 with the incidental music for La Faute de l’abbé Mouret. Bruneau’s public support for Zola during the Dreyfus Affair, which began in 1894, contributed to the political failure of some of his operas. After Zola’s death in 1902, Bruneau turned to ballets and continued composing operas. He also wrote music criticism for various publications and published works on contemporary French and Russian music. His music, noted for its dramatic use of dissonance, was widely performed during his lifetime. Many of his operas blend folk melodies with contemporary French styles in the manner of Massenet and Gounod. Bruneau was an ardent admirer of Wagner, but despite this, his music showed less of his influence than that of many other composers of the time. Place of birth: Paris Place of death: Paris |
||||||||||
| |
||||||||||
 |
||||||||||
| |
||||||||||
 |
||||||||||
