Of Cicada's and Ducks: Humor in Emmanuel Chabrier's "Les cigales" and "Villanelle des petits canards"

The goal of this performing arts presentation is to analyze the use and presentation of humor in Emmanuel Chabrier’s “Les cigales” and “Villanelle des petits canards,” two French mélodies. The program notes that accompany the performance detail the historical context of Chabrier’s work and give a brief summary of the mélodie genre. In addition, they trace the steps inherent in presenting a work of performance art. The primary research question behind the study is, “How can a vocalist successfully portray the humorous qualities of Chabrier’s work through performance art?” Subquestions include the following, “In what ways, if any, is the performance enhanced by the interplay between vocalist and pianist?” and “What influence, if any, did Chabrier’s work have on other composers of French mélodie (accompanied art song) composers?” These questions are answered through a thorough literature and performance review culminating in a synthesized final performance.