Thecomédie en vaudevilles (French:[kɔmediɑ̃vodvil]) was a theatrical entertainment which began inParis towards the end of the 17th century, in whichcomedy was enlivened through lyrics using the melody of popularvaudeville songs.[1]
The annualfairs of Paris at St. Germain and St. Laurent had developed theatrical variety entertainments, with mixed plays,acrobatic displays, andpantomimes, typically featuring vaudevilles (seeThéâtre de la foire). Gradually these features began to invade established theatres. TheQuerelle des Bouffons (War of the Clowns), a dispute amongst theatrical factions in Paris in the 1750s, in part reflects the rivalry of this form, as it evolved intoopéra comique, with the Italianopera buffa.Comédie en vaudevilles also seems to have influenced the Englishballad opera and the GermanSingspiel.[1]
One feature of thecomédie en vaudevilles which later found its way intoopera was the vaudeville final, astrophic finale in which the characters assemble at the end of the piece with each singing a short verse, often ending with a refrain which everyone would sing, and a final verse with the entire ensemble joining in. Typically the first verse provides the moral of the story, while the intervening verses comment on particular events in the plot, and the final verse appeals directly to audience for its indulgence.[2] Sometimes the verses were also interspersed with dances.[1]
It became a common feature of the earlieropéras comiques, such as those written byCharles Simon Favart[2] or composed byEgidio Duni,Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny, andFrançois-André Danican Philidor, and began to frequently utilize new music, although still labelled "vaudeville".[1] The vaudeville final was almost never used in works presented at theComédie-Française or theAcadémie Royale de Musique, and the exceptions are comedies, an example at the former being Pierre Beaumarchais's playLe mariage de Figaro (1784), which ends with a vaudeville, and at the latter, Jean-Jacques Rousseau'sLe devin du village (1752), which has a vaudeville final. Although it fell out of style at theComédie-Italienne around the time of theFrench Revolution,[2] the tradition was carried into the early 19th century at the popular theatres on theBoulevard du Temple, and elsewhere in Paris, in particular at theThéâtre du Vaudeville.[1]
The style can be discerned in many operas, although with newly composed music, including Gluck'sOrfeo ed Euridice (1762),[2] Haydn'sOrlando paladino (1782),[citation needed] and Mozart'sDie Entführung aus dem Serail (1782),[2]Der Schauspieldirektor (1786),[3] andDon Giovanni (1788),[1] as well as later works, such as Rossini'sIl barbiere di Siviglia (1816),[2]Gilbert and Sullivan'sTrial by Jury (1875),[citation needed] Verdi'sFalstaff (1893),[2] Ravel'sL'heure espagnole (1911)[2] and Stravinsky'sThe Rake's Progress (1951).[2]