Thésée (Lully)
Template:Lully operas Thésée (Theseus) is a tragédie en musique, an early type of French opera, in a prologue and five acts with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully and a libretto by Philippe Quinault based on Ovid's Metamorphoses. It was first performed on 11 January 1675[1] by the Paris Opera for the royal court at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye and was first performed in public in April at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris.
Roles
| Cast | Voice type | Premiere, 11 January 1675 ( Conductor: – ) |
|---|---|---|
| Æglé | soprano | Marie Aubry |
| Médée | soprano | Saint-Christophe |
| Minerve | soprano | Des Fronteaux |
| Grande Prêtresse de Minerve | soprano | Marie Verdier |
| Thésée | haute-contre | Bernard Clédière |
| Egée | baritone | Jean Gaye |
| First Pleasure | baritenor | Langeais |
| Bacchus | taille | La Grille |
| Venus | soprano | Beaucreux |
| Cérès | soprano | de La Borde |
| Mars | bass | Godonesche |
| Cleone | soprano | Marie-Madeleine Brigogne |
| Arcas | bass | Antoine Morel |
| Dorine | soprano | Mlle Beaucreux |
| First old man | haute-contre | Tholet |
| Second old man | taille | Miracle |
Synopsis
The plot centers around a love triangle: Egée wants to marry his ward, princess Æglé, while the sorceress Médée wishes to marry the young warrior Thésée, but Thésée and Æglé love each other. Médée attempts to force the lovers to renounce each other: first by using her magic to bring Æglé to a place of torment, then by convincing Egée to have Thésée killed as a potential threat to his reign. But before Thésée can drink the poison he has been given, Egée realises that Thésée is his lost son. He then gives Æglé to Thésée. Médée takes vengeance by destroying the festive setting, but the goddess Minerve undoes this.
Recording
- Thésée, Howard Crook (Thésée), Laura Pudwell (Médée), Ellen Hargis (Æglé), Harry van der Kamp (Égée), Boston Early Music Festival Chorus and Orchestra, conducted by Paul O'Dette and Stephen Stubbs (CPO, 3 CDs, 2007)
References
- Notes
- Sources
- The New Grove French Baroque Masters, ed. Graham Sadler (Macmillan, 1986)
- The Viking Opera Guide ed. Holden (Viking, 1993)
- Template:Fr Le magazine de l'opéra baroque by Jean-Claude Brenac
External links
- Free scores by Thésée at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)