Dardanus

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Work data
Title: Dardanus
Original title: Dardanus
Shape: Tragédie lyrique
Original language: French
Music: Jean-Philippe Rameau
Libretto : Charles-Antoine Leclerc de La Bruère
Premiere: November 19, 1739
Place of premiere: Paris
Playing time: approx. 2½ hours
people
  • Vénus ( soprano )
  • Amour , her son
  • Iphise , daughter of Teucer (soprano)
  • Dardanus , son of Zeus and Electra ( tenor )
  • Anténor , Prince and Teucer's ally ( bass baritone )
  • Teucer , King of Phrygia (bass baritone)
  • Isménor , magician and priest of Zeus ( bass )

Dardanus is an opera in a prologue and five acts by Jean-Philippe Rameau ( music ) with a libretto by Charles-Antoine Leclerc de La Bruère .

action

Dardanus is at war with King Teucer , who has promised to give his daughter Iphise to Prince Anténor as a wife. Dardanus and Iphise get to know each other through the mediation of the magician Isménor and fall in love. Dardanus battles a monster that threatens Teucer's kingdom, saving the life of Anténor in his unsuccessful attempt to kill the monster. Teucer and Dardanus make peace and Dardanus marries Iphise.

Emergence

The original libretto of the diplomat and poet opportunity Leclerc de La Bruère loosely based on the Greek myth of Dardanos . The first version of the opera from 1739 saw only a few performances because of the weaknesses of the plot. Rameau then radically reworked the opera in 1744: only the first two acts remained largely unchanged, while the rest of the piece was loaded with much more drama. Rameau consequently referred to the second version as nouvelle trágedie . In 1760 there was a second, smaller revision, in which the prologue was omitted.

music

While the action of Dardanus was criticized by Rameau's contemporaries because of its weaknesses, the opera is considered to be one of the highlights of the tragédie lyrique because of its differentiated music .

Reception history

In the 20th century, opera was initially reluctant to take to the stage. It was performed in Dijon in 1907 and in Paris in 1979 under Raymond Leppard . Performances in Basel (1981) and Wuppertal (1984) followed. The new edition of the opera by Mary Elizabeth C. Bartlet and Sylvie Bouissou , which is based on the 1739 version but integrates two scenes from the 1744 version, formed the basis of a concert performance and a CD recording in 1998 under the direction of Marc Minkowski . In 2004 a scenic production followed in Freiburg im Breisgau , 2006 in London and 2008 in Trier.

Recordings / sound carriers

  • Choeur et Orchester du Théâtre National de l'Opéra de Paris, Raymond Leppard (cond.); Georges Gautier (Dardanus), Frederica von Stade (Iphise), Christiane Eda-Pierre (Vénus), Michaël Devlin (Anténor), Roger Soyer (Teucer), José Van Dam (Isménor). Erato 1980 (mixed version 1739/44, without prologue)
  • Les Musiciens du Louvre, Marc Minkowski (cond.); John Mark Ainsley (Dardanus), Véronique Gens (Iphise), Laurent Naouri (Anténor), Mireille Delunsch (Vénus), Jean-Philippe Courtis (Isménor), Russell Smythe (Teucer). Deutsche Grammophon / Archiv Produktion 1998 (version from 1739 with additions from the version from 1744)
  • Bernard Richter , Gaëlle Arquez , João Fernandes, Benoît Arnould, Alain Buet, conductor: Raphaël Pichon, Ensemble Pygmalion (Live) (version from 1744)

There are also a number of recordings of the instrumental orchestra suite , which consists of excerpts from the opera.

Web links