Auber, Daniel 1782 - 1871
Author: Yokota, Yuki
Last updated：July 1, 2006
Author: Yokota, Yuki
French composer. He went to London to receive an education as a merchant, but there he immersed himself in music and composed several instrumental pieces. In 1804, he returned to Paris and composed cello concertos and violin concertos. From 1811, he began composing operas. At the Paris Conservatoire, he studied composition under Cherubini and Boieldieu.
In 1821, he achieved his first success with the opera Emma, ou la promesse imprudente, and from this period, he collaborated with librettist E. Scribe, leaving behind numerous excellent operas. Auber's five-act opera La muette de Portici (1829), which solidified his fame, is an exceptionally fine work both musically and dramatically, and from the perspective of opera genre history, it holds significant importance as a work at the pinnacle of grand opera. Following this work by Auber, Meyerbeer and others released outstanding works, and French grand opera reached its peak.
However, Auber himself subsequently pursued music as entertainment accessible to the bourgeois class through the composition of opéra comique. These works, characterized by simple harmonies and clear melodies, achieved great success despite receiving harsh criticism, and their overtures are still frequently performed today.
Works(23)
Piano Solo (5)
Chamber Music (1)
Various works (2)
etc (2)