L’Opéra au service de la Nation. La relecture rhétorique de la Guerre de l’Opéra de Jacques Cazotte

The premiere of Serva Padrona by Pergolese at the Paris Opera divided deeply the French society of the Age of Enlightenment. The famous Querelle des Bouff ons has become the nucleus of a lively debate, from which, what is to be emphasized, none of the sides was triumphant. In his treatise Guerre de l’Opéra, Jacques Cazotte, emphasizing his impartiality, stands in defense of French music. By proving the superiority of Mondonville’s works, Cazotte is aware that only strong arguments can convince the philosophers. Accused by many of being “scientific” and in consequence, being incapable of expressing all the nuances of human passions, the French music, thanks to the ability to perform rhetorical functions, reserved, as it may seemingly appear, for forewords and literature, can not only conform to the rules, but also can please and touch. The French Opera, as Cazotte poves, fills perfectly the rhetorical target of persuasio with an intelligent and effective rhetoric and expresses the spirit and sensitivity of France. The purpose of this article is to refl ect on how Cazotte defends French music from the fashion for Italian music, which had a strong infl uence on the French aesthetics of the Age of Enlightenment, as well as from the philosophers of the epoch who would discredit at all costs the work of French composers in the eyes of the audience.