''Acis et Galatée'' (''Acis and Galatea'') is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

by Jean-Baptiste Lully. Unlike most of his operas, which are designated '' tragédies en musique'', Lully called this work a '' pastorale-héroïque'', because it was on a pastoral theme and had only three acts (plus a prologue) compared to the usual five. Otherwise, there is little musically or dramatically to distinguish it from Lully's ''tragédies''. The opera was commissioned by

Louis Joseph, duc de Vendôme Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

in honor of Louis, ''le Grand Dauphin''. Lully did not work with his usual librettist

Philippe Quinault Philippe Quinault (; 3 June 1635 – 26 November 1688), French dramatist and librettist, was born in Paris. Biography Quinault was educated by the liberality of François Tristan l'Hermite, the author of ''Marianne''. Quinault's first play w ...

, although the two men collaborated on '' Armide'', which premiered the same year as ''Acis et Galatée''. The duke considered giving the commission to

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...

, but it went instead to his protege

Jean Galbert de Campistron Jean Galbert de Campistron (3 August 1656 – 11 May 1723) was a French dramatist. Biography Campistron was born in Toulouse, France to a noble family. At the age of seventeen he was wounded in a duel and sent to Paris. Here he became an ardent d ...

. The libretto is based on the story in Ovid's ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the ...

''. The same story was also to inspire a dramatic work by Handel, '' Acis and Galatea''.

Performance history

The opera was premiered by the Académie Royale de Musique ( Paris Opera) at the

Château d'Anet The Château d'Anet is a château near Dreux, in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France, built by Philibert de l'Orme from 1547 to 1552 for Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of Henry II of France. It was built on the former château at the ...

on 6 September 1686 (without machines) and later at the

Théâtre du Palais-Royal The Théâtre du Palais-Royal () is a 750-seat Parisian theatre at 38 rue de Montpensier, located at the northwest corner of the Palais-Royal in the Galerie de Montpensier at its intersection with the Galerie de Beaujolais. Brief history ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

on 17 September 1686. It was revived multiple times before the French Revolution and Madame de Pompadour appeared in one production.

Roles

Synopsis

The story is of a love triangle between the three main characters—Acis, Galatea, and Poliphème. Poliphème murders Acis out of jealousy, but Acis is revived and turned into a river by Neptune.Roscow

Selected recording

*''Lully: Acis & Galatée'' ( Fouchécourt, Gens, Naouri, Crook, Delunsch, Félix, Masset;

Les Musiciens du Louvre Les Musiciens du Louvre (literally ''The Musicians of the Louvre'') is a French period instrument ensemble, formed in 1982. Originally based in Paris, since 1996 it has been based in the Couvent des Minimes in Grenoble. ''The Guardian'' considers ...

; Conductor Minkowski). Archiv (1998). Lully: Acis et Galatée. Cyril Auvity (Acis/Apollon), Ambroisine Bré (Galatée/Diane), Edwin Crossley-Mercer (Polyphème), Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset. Aparte (2022).

References

*Lois Rosow. "Acis et Galatée", '' Grove Music Online'', ed. L. Macy (accessed July 23, 2006)
grovemusic.com
(subscription access). {{DEFAULTSORT:Acis et Galatée Operas by Jean-Baptiste Lully French-language operas 1686 operas Operas Operas based on Metamorphoses