Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book assesses several enigmatic one-act works by Rameau which were never performed at the Academie Royale de Musique or at court and whose librettos are anonymous. It considers the creative re-use of Rameau’s music by others, and examines the career of composer’s brother-in-law, Jacques-Simon Mangot, focusing mainly on his years as music director at the Parma court from the 1750s. The book also examines how Candeille adapted and manipulated these Rameau borrowings, conscious that his audience would, to some extent, be aware of the stylistic discrepancy between the new music and the old. It also considers some of the practicalities and hazards of mounting an opera in Rameau’s day. The book analyses the changes of tonality that coincide with each change of decor, distinguishing between the tonal shifts at the beginning of each act and those in the course of the act.