Literary and Musical Aspects of the Hero's Romance in Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini

TO achieve a penetrating understanding of the unconventional hero's character in Hector Berlioz's first produced opera, Benvenuto Cellini, it is vital to consider the sources and circumstances pertinent to his atypically conventional romance, "La gloire était ma seule idole" (Fame was my only god). ¹ That Berlioz chose to compose it for the central figure during the week before its postponed premiere at the Académie Royale de Musique (Opéra) on 10 September 1838 suggests that in providing an additional solo for the celebrated tenor Gilbert-Louis Duprez, the composer was also choosing a genre for its capacity to affect that characterization. Its revelation of Cellini's inner world of feeling contributes significantly to a rich mixture of private and public concerns constituting an essential creative goal not only for Parisian grand opéra ² but also for this opera semiseria of hybrid character.

The romance opens the second tableau following a lively first one in which Cellini, the accomplished Italian Renaissance goldsmith and sculptor, decides to elope with his beloved, Teresa. This course of action will challenge the authority of Teresa's father, the papal treasurer Balducci, who has determined that she will marry Fieramosca, a mediocre sculptor whom she detests. Following a recitative in which Cellini anxiously awaits Teresa's arrival, he addresses the god of love to ruminate soberly about the sacrifices both lovers accept.

No. 7. Récitatif et Romance
Une heure encore, et ma belle	One more hour, and my lovely
maîtresse	mistress
Va venir dans ces lieux!	Will come here!
Une heure encore, amour, et, si tu	One more hour, Love, and, if you
veux,	wish it,
De tous ces coeurs fous d'allégresse	Of all these hearts mad with happiness
Le mien sera le plus joyeux!	Mine will be the most joyful!
Ah! Tu serais ingrat si tu trompais	Ah, you would be ungrateful if you
mes voeux!	deceived my hopes!

Romance
La gloire était ma seule idole;	Fame was my only god;
Un noble espoir que je n'ai plus	A noble hope that I possess no longer
Ceignait mon front de l'auréole	Wreathed my brow in the glory
Que l'art destine à ses élus.	That art reserves for its elect.
Mais cet honneur je le dédaigne;	But that honor I spurn;
Teresa seule en mon coeur règne.	Teresa alone rules my heart.
Vois donc, amour, ce que je fais	Behold, Love, what I do for you;
pour toi;
Protège-la, protège-moi!	Protect her, protect me!
Ma bien-aimée était heureuse;	My beloved was content;
Et, comme un fleuve, ses beaux jours,	Her young days, like a stream
Loin de la mer sombre, orageuse,	Far from the dark, stormy sea,
Paisiblement suivaient leur cours.	Passed quietly on their way.
Mais au repos elle préfère	But to this tranquillity she prefers
Ma vie errante et ma misère.	My wandering life and my troubles.
Vois donc, amour, ce qu'elle fait pour	Behold, Love, what she does for
toi;	you;
Protège-la, protège-moi!	Protect her, protect me! 3

In gauging the particular impact of this romance on Cellini's characterization, a nineteenth-century model of heroism may be considered in two categories. ⁴ Cellini is neither "the ultrasensitive Wertherian soul-searcher who shrinks from action" nor is he "the Byronic villain-hero, who on the contrary acts and lives to excess." ⁵ The opera's leading figure resembles the second type to a greater extent but, despite offenses, he is no villain. Given few occasions to search his soul, however, he is hardly "ultrasensitive"; the romance affords Cellini a rare opportunity for introspection. Its melancholy sentimentality shifts the heroic image in the direction of the first type by delineating his private amorous reason for prolonged delay in...