Persée (Lully)
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| Title: | Persée |
Title page of the libretto, Paris 1682 |
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| Shape: | “ Tragédie en musique ” in a prologue and five acts |
| Original language: | French |
| Music: | Jean-Baptiste Lully |
| Libretto : | Philippe Quinault |
| Literary source: | Ovid : 4th Book of Metamorphoses |
| Premiere: | April 17 or 18, 1682 |
| Place of premiere: | Paris Opera , Palais Royal |
| Playing time: | approx. 2 ½ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Mythical time |
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prolog
action
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Persée (LWV 60) is an opera (original name: " Tragédie en musique ") in a prologue and five acts (six images) by Jean-Baptiste Lully (music) with a libretto by Philippe Quinault based on the 4th book of Metamorphoses by Ovid . The first performance took place on April 17 or 18, 1682 in the Palais Royal of the Paris Opera .
action
prolog
A bocage
Phronimes and megathymes talk about their companion La Vertu (virtue), which they consider the basis of all happiness. La Vertu appears together with L'Innocence (the innocence), the Plaisirs innocents (innocent pleasures) and other entourage. She longs for a quiet retreat where she can escape the constant attacks of capricious fortune (happiness). Phronimes and Megathyme and the others extol La Vertu. All of a sudden, magnificent jewelry, statues, gilded flowers and fountains appear everywhere in rural areas. La Fortune arrives with La Magnificence (splendor), L'Abondance (abundance) and other richly dressed companions and asks La Vertu for peace, because a noble hero (King Louis XIV. ) Has ordered her to do so. La Vertue knows this hero too. Both now recognize their mutual virtues and praise the hero whom the gods sent to earth to bless humanity. They had previously created an image of this hero in Persée, and La Fortune asked Apollon to bring him back to life today.
short version
Act 1. The Ethiopian King Céphée , his wife Cassiope and their sister Mérope fear the wrath of the goddess Juno , who feels offended by Cassiope and has sent the Gorgon Méduse against the country in revenge . Anyone who looks at them will be instantly turned to stone. To appease Juno, games are held in her honor. In addition, the hero Persée , a son of Jupiter , has promised to fight Méduse. As a reward, Céphée promises him the hand of his daughter Andromède , who is engaged to his brother Phinée . Mérope, on the other hand, is in love with Persée. The games had to be stopped shortly after they began when news of Méduse's new victims arrived.
Act 2. Phinée does not want to give up Andromède. At first she sticks to him, but then declares her love for Persée. The divine messenger Mercure promises Persée divine help in his fight against Méduse. He receives a sword and winged shoes from Vulkan , a magic shield from Pallas and Pluto's helmet .
Act 3. Mercure puts Méduse and her two companions to sleep, and Persée separates her head from her body.
4th act. While the Aithiopians are waiting for Persée to return, the still angry Juno has Andromède kidnapped by tritons and nereids in order to throw them to a sea monster to eat. Persée can save her at the last moment.
Act 5. Phinée allies with Juno and unleashes an uprising to prevent Persée and Andromède from getting married. Mérope warns the others in time, and Persée defeats the outnumbered opponents by showing them the head of Méduse and turning them to stone. Finally, the goddess Vénus proclaims that Juno has given up her anger. Persée and Andromède can marry and, like Cassiope and Céphée, are transported to heaven as constellations.
first act
Magnificently decorated public square prepared for the Juno Games
Scene 1. The Ethiopian king Céphée, his wife Cassiope and their sister Mérope fear the wrath of the goddess Juno, who feels offended by Cassiope and has sent the Gorgon Méduse against the country in revenge. Anyone who looks at them will be instantly turned to stone. To appease Juno, games are held in her honor. Céphée also hopes for help from the hero Persée, a son of Jupiter.
Scene 2. Cassiope wishes to bring Persée closer to the family by marrying her daughter Andromède. However, she is already engaged to Céphée's brother Phinée. Mérope knows that Persée (whom she loves without much hope) has her eye on Andromède. The two women believe that only time can heal the wounds of love.
Scene 3. Mérope's last hope is the upcoming wedding of Phinée and Andromède (Arie Mérope: “Ah! Je garderai bien mon coeur”).
Scene 4. Phinée is jealous because Andromède has shown so much interest in Persée lately. He doesn't believe her assurances that she continues to love only him. Mérope supports Phinée (trio Mérope / Andromède / Phinée: “Ah! Que l'amour cause d'alarmes”).
Scene 5. Cassiope opens the games in front of the assembled people. Everyone begs the goddess Juno to let go of her anger. The games start with a dance competition.
Scene 6. The games have to be stopped when Amphimédon reports of new victims of Méduse. They all flee in horror.
Second act
The gardens of Céphées Palace
Scene 1. Cassiope tries in vain to persuade Phinée to give up Andromède. Mérope supports him by pointing out that Cassiope himself had initiated the engagement.
Scene 2. Phinée tries to win over Céphée as well. He doesn't believe that Persée is really the son of a god. However, Persée has already agreed to cut off Méduse's head, and Céphée has promised him his daughter's hand as a reward.
Scene 3. Céphée and the others ask the gods to support Jupiter's son in his fight against Méduse.
Scene 4. Although he does not return her love, Mérope worries about Persée's life.
Scene 5. Andromède and Mérope confess to each other that they both love Persée (Andromède: “Infortunées qu'un monstre affreux”). Without feeling jealous, they combine their worries about him.
Scene 6. Persée confesses his hitherto hopeless love to Andromède. He will always defend her, even if his only reward is to be allowed to see her. Andromède first assures him that her heart still belongs to Phinée. She believes that this will keep him from the dangerous fight. Only when this tactic is unsuccessful does she acknowledge her love for him.
Scene 7. The messenger of the gods, Mercure, tells Persée that at the request of his father Jupiter, all the gods, with the exception of Junos, have promised him their assistance.
Scene 8. On behalf of the god Vulcanus, a group of dancing cyclops presents Persée with a sword and winged shoes like those of Mercures.
Scene 9. A group of dancing warlike nymphs brings him a diamond shield from the goddess Pallas.
Scene 10. A group of dancing deities from the underworld gives him Pluto's helmet.
Third act
The Cave of the Gorgons
Scene 1. Méduse tells the other two Gorgons Euryale and Sténone ( Stheno ) their past: the goddess Pallas envied her beauty and turned her into this ugly monster. Now she is forced to be of service to the gods for her thirst for revenge. Now that she can no longer be loved, her only pleasure is to be hated.
Scene 2. Mercure enters the cave and puts the Gorgons to sleep with his wand.
Scene 3. Mercure calls in Persée, who holds the shield in front of his eyes and can safely cut off Méduse's head. He wraps him in a linen cloth to take with him.
Scene 4. The other gorgons wake up and try to attack Persée. However, Pluto's helmet makes him invisible. Chrysaor, Pegasus and other monsters arise from the blood of Méduse and search in vain for the invisible enemy.
Scene 5. Persée flies away with the head of Méduse. Mercure forces the Euryale, Sténone and the other monsters through a crack in the ground into the underworld.
Fourth act
Rocky coast by the sea
Scene 1. The Ethiopians longingly await the return of the hero Persée, whose victory they have already learned of. Only Phinée and Mérope now have to bury their hopes.
Scene 2. While Phinée and Mérope express their feelings, a terrible storm breaks out.
Scene 3. The courtier Idas tells Phinée and Mérope that Andromède was kidnapped by Tritons on Juno's orders and taken to a rock, where she is supposed to be eaten by a sea monster. The Ethiopians can only watch helplessly and complain about their princess. Only Phinée feels no sympathy (Aria Phinée: "L'Amour meurt dans mon coeur").
Scene 4. Céphée and Cassiope lament the cruel fate of their daughter. Cassiope begs the gods to spare the girl. She herself is the reason for Juno's hatred, while Andromède is innocent.
Scene 5. Nereids and Tritons chain Andromède to the rocks. This has surrendered to its fate and is ready to accept death for the rescue of its people. Her thoughts are directed towards her lover Persée.
Scene 6. When the sea monster emerges from the sea, Persée comes flying over and defeats it in battle. The Nereids and Tritons withdraw, and the storm also subsides (Chorus of the Tritonens and Nereids: “Descendons dans l'eau”).
Scene 7. The Ethiopians and sailors with their wives celebrate Persée's victory with dance and song.
Fifth act
The place prepared for the wedding of Persée and Andromède
Scene 1. Mérope suffers from their unhappy love.
Scene 2. Phinée tells Mérope that Juno, through her assistant Iris, ordered him to help her in her revenge.
Scene 3. The high priest of the god Hymenaios and his assistants prepare the wedding ceremony (high priest and choir: “Hymen! O doux Hymen”).
Scene 4. Mérope warns those present about Phinées' plans and advises them to flee. Persée is ready to await his opponent.
Scene 5. Phinée and his followers enter and threaten those present. Céphée, Persée and others oppose them.
Scene 6 [5f]. Cassiope and Andromède watch the scene with horror.
Scene 7 [6]. Céphée reports that Juno incited the people to revolts in which Mérope was killed by an arrow intended for Persée. Its supporters are outnumbered and have no hope of victory.
Scene 8 [7]. Persée destroys the enemy by showing them the head of Méduse.
The Venus Palace
Scene 9 [8]. The palace of Venus descends from the sky. The goddess announces to the Aithiopians that they will be under the protection of Jupiter in the future and that Juno has meanwhile also settled her grudges. Vénus, L'Hymenée and L'Amour unite Persée and Andromède and, together with Cassiope and Céphée, place them in the sky as constellations. The Ethiopians celebrate the happy ending.
layout
The orchestra consists of a recorder , a transverse flute , an oboe , a bassoon , strings and basso continuo .
Cuthbert Girdlestone thought Persée was "one of the best-constructed tragedies of Quinault". The external act, which describes a conflict between the Ethiopians and the gods, is contrasted with a love conflict. The title character Persée connects these two spheres, as he both belongs to the human world and is of divine descent.
Like the text, Lully's music is strictly organized. In all acts, including the prologue, it follows a carefully thought-out key sequence. In this opera, Lully enlarged the scope of the choir compared to his earlier works. For the first time there is also a solo scene accompanied by the orchestra (Andromède: “Infortunées qu'un monstre affreux”, II: 5).
The title character Persée is assigned the greatest number of heroic deeds shown on stage of any Lully opera. In the third act he kills Méduse, in the fourth he saves his lover Andromède from the sea monster and in the fifth he defeats Phinée and the rebels instigated by Juno. This opera is the first tragedy with dance scenes for women. There are mixed couples in the dance competition of the first act, warlike nymphs in the second, wives of sailors in the fourth, and Ethiopians in the fifth.
The Fury theme appears first in the prelude to the third act before Méduse's appearance and then a few more times, with a climax when her head is revealed during Phinée's attack in the fifth act. In the Gorgon trio of the third act, it offers a strong tonal and key Contrast to the slumber theme when Mercures arrived. Later in this act, storm music can be heard, characterized by fast eighth-note bass figures. It is the earliest known French storm music.
Méropes aria “Ah! Je garderai bien mon coeur ”(I: 3), the trio Mérope / Andromède / Phinée“ Ah! Que l'amour cause d'alarmes ”(I: 4), the Gorgon scene in the third act, Phinées aria“ L'Amour meurt dans mon coeur ”(IV: 3), the chorus of tritons and nereids“ Descendons dans l'eau “(IV: 6) as well as the chant of the high priest and his assistants“ Hymen! O doux hymen ”(V: 3).
Work history
Persée is the sixth work that Jean-Baptiste Lully created together with his librettist Philippe Quinault for the Académie Royale de musique . The content is based on the 4th book of Metamorphoses by Ovid . Quinault probably used Pierre Corneille's 1650 tragedy Andromède as a further model. According to the dedication in the printed score, King Louis XIV personally selected the subject because he saw in Perseus an ideal hero of divine descent and superior abilities, whose deeds served only the good of humanity. Lully equated these qualities with those of the king and explained that this is why he created this opera with particular devotion.
At the premiere on April 17 or 18, 1682 in the Palais Royal, Clément sang “aînée” (La Vertu), Jacques Cochereau (Phronime, high priest Hymenées and 1st Ethiopian), Pierre Chopelet (Megathyme, Mercure and Sailor), Lalleman (La Fortune), Dupeyré (La Magnificence and Vénus), Loignon (L'Abondance and L'Amour), Charles Hardouin (Céphée), Bluquette (Cassiope), Marthe Le Rochois (Mérope), Marie Aubry (Andromède), Gabriel-Vincent Thévenard (Phinée), Courteil (Amphimédon), Lebel [Labé] (Corité), Drot (Proténor and Triton), Louis Gaulard Dumesny (Persée), François Beumavielle (Cyclops, deity of the underworld, Idas, Thétis and 3rd Aithiopian), Marie -Louise-Antoinette Desmâtins (warlike nymph), Claude Desvoyes (Méduse), Prunier (Euryale), Marianval (Sténone and 2nd Aithiopier), de Saint-Christophe (L'Hymenée). According to the Journal de l'Opéra , only the king, queen and dauphin were present at the premiere.
Over a period of 88 years there were a total of 13 readmissions. In July and August 1682 the work was shown in Versailles, although Louis XIX. did not reside there permanently at the time. On August 6, there was a free public performance there on the occasion of the birth of the Duke of Burgundy , the grandson of Louis XIV. In Paris it was initially played until August 1682. There were revivals there or in Versailles in the years 1682, 1687, 1695, 1703, 1710, 1711, 1722/1723, 1735, 1737–1738, 1746, 1747 and 1770. Persée was in the repertoire of the Concerts de la reine from 1737 to 1742, 1746 and 1748. There were other performances in Brussels (1682, 1685, 1706 and 1707), Amsterdam (1688), Lyon (1696) and Marseille (1697).
In 1746, the prologue was greatly shortened and when the Versailles resumed on March 8, 1747, it was replaced by a completely new one by La Bruère (libretto) and Bernard de Bury (music). The text now extolled the deeds of Louis XV. The music has not been preserved.
Between 1709 and 1747 a total of seven parody versions appeared as opéra-comique , in the fair theater or in the Théâtre-Italien . Three of them came out in 1737.
In 1770, on the occasion of the celebration of the Dauphin (later Louis XVI ) with Marie-Antoinette, the work was heavily revised and reduced to four acts by combining the last two acts. The prologue was omitted. Only scenes 1 and 3-5 of the third act of Lully's opera were preserved. Scenes II: 4, IV: 7 and V: 2–4 have been deleted without replacement. The music has been newly composed for scenes I: 4-6, II: 5, II: 8, III: 2, IV: 4, IV: 7, V: 4, V: 7 and V: 8. Antoine Dauvergne was mainly responsible for the new first and fourth acts, François Rebel for the second and Bernard de Bury for the third. The text was written by Nicolas-René Joliveau. However, the highly ambitious plans for the production could not be fully implemented for financial and technical reasons. Instead of the originally planned 527 costumes, only 451 were newly sewn and 73 older costumes were adapted. The choirs could not be lowered from the clouds, and the monsters could not be moved as desired. In the rehearsal phase and before the second performance, some numbers were deleted. According to the text book, over 80 musicians, 90 choirs and 70 dancers participated in the production. In contrast to the petite press in the Journal de Bachaumont , the official report by the Mercure concealed that Marie-Antoinette did not like the opera.
In 1780 Jean-François Marmontel revised the libretto for a new setting by François-André Danican Philidor .
In 1997, at the Festival d'Ambronay, the opera was juxtaposed with a three-act parody version Polichinelle-Persée with baroque puppets.
In November 2000 there was a new production at the Elgin and Winter Garden Theater Center with the Ensemble Tafelmusik and members of the Concert Spirituel under Hervé Niquet . The production was done by Marshall Pynkoski, the choreography by Jeannette Zingg. The leading roles were sung by Rufus Müller (Persée), Mark Stone (Céphée), Laura Pudwell (Cassiope), Nathalie Paulin (Andromède), Alain Coulombe (Phinée) and Michael Chioldi (Méduse). Production was resumed there in 2004 and released on DVD.
In 2001 there were concert performances at the Festival International de Musique Baroque de Beaune and in the Paris Cité de la musique with the Chœur de la Chapelle Royale de Versailles and the Ensemble Les Talens Lyriques under Christophe Rousset , of which audio recordings exist.
Recordings
- July 13, 2001 - Christophe Rousset (conductor), Les Talens Lyriques , Les Chantres de la Chapelle Royal de Versailles, Maîtrise du Center de Musique Baroque de Versailles.
Béatrice Mayo (La Vertu, Vénus and L'Amour), Laurent Slaars (Phronime, Méduse and High Priest Hymenées), Robert Getchell (Megathyme and Mercure), Salomé Haller (La Fortune and Mérope), Vincent Billier (Céphée, Cyclops and Idas) , Monique Simon (Cassiope and L'Hymenée), Anna Maria Panzarella (Andromède and warlike nymph), Jérôme Corréas (Phinée), Cyril Auvity (Corité and Euryale), Paul Agnew (Persée), Bruno Rostand (Sténone and Triton).
Live, in concert from Beaune. - September 16, 2001 - Christophe Rousset (conductor), performers as on July 13, 2001.
Live, in concert from the Cité de la musique in Paris.
Astrée Naive E 8874 (3 CDs). - April 2004 - Hervé Niquet (conductor), Marshall Pynkoski (production), Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Tafelmusik Chamber Choir.
Olivier Laquerre (Céphée), Stéphanie Novacek (Cassiope), Monica Whicher (Mérope), Marie Lenormand (Andromède), Alain Coulombe (Phinée), Cyril Auvity (Persée), Colin Ainsworth (Mercure), Curtis Sullivan (Cyclops, Gorgone, Triton and High Priest Hymenées).
Video; live from the Elgin and Winter Garden Theater Center in Toronto; greatly shortened.
Euro Arts DVD 2054178 (1 DVD). - April 15 and 16, 2016 - Hervé Niquet (conductor), orchestra and choir Le Concert Spirituel.
Jean Teitgen (Céphée and deity of the underworld), Marie Lenormand (Cassiope), Katherine Watson (Mérope), Hélène Guilmette (Andromède), Tassis Christoyannis (Phinée), Mathias Vidal (Persée), Cyrille Dubois (Aithiopier, Mercure), Thomas Dolié (Aithiopian, Cyclops, Sténone, Triton), Chantal Santon-Jeffery (Aithiopian, warlike nymph, Vénus), Marie Kalinine (Méduse), Zachary Wilder (Euryale).
Version from 1770; from the Opéra Royal du Château de Versailles .
Alpha 967.
Digital copies
- Persée, LWV 60 : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Score. Ballard, Paris 1682. Digitized at Gallica
- Score. Baussen, Paris 1710. Digitized at Gallica
- Libretto (French), Ballard, Paris 1682. Digitized by Gallica
- Libretto (French), 1682. Digitized from the Library of Congress
Web links
- Discography on Persée at Operadis
- Work information (French) on operabaroque.fr
Remarks
- ^ Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater says Idas is a silent role. In the libretto, however, text is assigned to him. In Christophe Rousset's recording , his part is sung by the Céphée singer, a bass.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Herbert Schneider : Persée. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater . Volume 3: Works. Henze - Massine. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1989, ISBN 3-492-02413-0 , pp. 603-604.
- ^ A b Rebecca Harris-Warrick: Dance and Drama in French Baroque Opera. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2016, ISBN 978-1-107-13789-9 .
- ↑ a b c d Spire Pitou: The Paris Opéra. An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers - Genesis and Glory, 1661-1715. Greenwood Press: Westport / London 1983 ISBN 0-313-21420-4 , pp. 288-289.
- ↑ Lois Rosow: Persée. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
- ↑ April 18, 1682: “Persée”. In: L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia ..
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Herbert Schneider : The reception of Lully's operas in the France of the ancien régime (= Mainz studies on musicology. Volume 16). Hans Schneider, Tutzing 1982, ISBN 3-7952-0335-X .
- ↑ a b c Supplement to CD Lully - Persée 1770, Alpha 967 ( online at ISSUU).
- ^ Frédéric Gabriel: Persée et sa doublure: toujours plus loin. Review of the 1997 performance in Ambronay on concertonet.com, accessed June 13, 2020.
- ^ Antonia L. Banducci: The Opera Atelier Performance (Toronto, 2000): The Spirit of Lully on the Modern Stage . In: Journal of Seventeenth-Century Music, Volume 10 (2004) No. 1, accessed June 13, 2020.
- ↑ a b c d e Jean-Baptiste Lully. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all complete opera recordings (= Zeno.org . Volume 20). Directmedia, Berlin 2005.
Cadmus et Hermione (1673) | Alceste ou Le triomphe d'Alcide (1674) | Thésée (1675) | Atys (1676) | Isis (1677) | Psyché (1678) | Bellérophon (1679) | Proserpine (1680) | Persée (1682) | Phaëton (1683) | Amadis (1684) | Roland (1685) | Armide (1686) | Achille et Polyxène (1687, completed by Pascal Collasse )