Félicien David: Herculanum

Félicien David was already famous through his 'ode-symphonie' Le Désert (1844) when his opera Herculanum was first staged at the Paris Opéra in 1859. This ambitious work, later to gain him entrance to the Opéra-Comique and the Institut de France, also played a part in earning him the Légion d'Honneur. Leaving behind the Middle Eastern inflections of his earlier scores, Herculanum is a remarkably strong composition (vast, intensely dramatic scenes), impressive in the diversity of its style (including Verdian influences) and its vocal variety (including the rare coloratura contralto voice often used by Rossini).

Félicien David (1810-1876) (not to be confused with his near-exact German contemporary, violinist and composer Ferdinand David, 1810-1873) was French, and during his life better known for introducing a North-African and Middle-East-inspired exoticism (the so-called “Orientalism”) to choral and opera music (he had made a long journey to these regions from 1833 to 1835) than for his chamber music, paving the way for Delibe’s Lakmé, Bizet’s Djamileh, Gounod’s La Reine de Saba and Lalo’s Namouna.

Orfano fin dall’età di cinque anni, Félicien David cominciò la sua formazione nella cantoria della cattedrale di Aix-en-Provence prima di iscriversi al Conservatorio nel 1830. Qui frequenta le classi di Millault (armonia), Fétis (contrappunto) e Benoist (organo), seguendo contemporaneamente l’insegnamento di Reber. Periodo di breve durata tuttavia, poiché già nel 1831 abbandona l’istituzione senza aver ottenuto alcun premio e aderisce, sotto l’influsso del pittore Pol Justus, alla comunità saint-simoniana, della quale diventa il compositore ufficiale.