Lully - Isis - score, Paris 1719 - title page

''Isis'' is a French opera (''

tragédie en musique Tragédie en musique (, ''musical tragedy''), also known as tragédie lyrique (, ''lyric tragedy''), is a genre of French opera introduced by Jean-Baptiste Lully and used by his followers until the second half of the eighteenth century. Operas in t ...

'') in a prologue and five acts with music by

Jean-Baptiste Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he ...

and a libretto by

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 ...

, based on 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 w ...

''. The fifth of Lully's collaborations with Quinault, it was first performed on 5 January 1677 before the royal court of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ve ...

at the

Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye The Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a former royal palace in the commune of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in the ''département'' of Yvelines, about 19 km west of Paris, France. Today, it houses the ''musée d'Archéologie nationale'' (Natio ...

and in August received a run of public performances 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 ...

.Pitou 1983, pp. 239–241; Lajarte 1878
pp. 31–32
It was Lully's first published score (partbooks in 1677); a full score was published in 1719.

Performance history

''Isis'' was revived only once during the remaining 38 years of Louis XIV's reign, on 14 February 1704. It was revived again in 1717–1718 and 1732–1733.

Roles

The ballets were danced by

Pierre Beauchamp Pierre Beauchamp or Beauchamps (; 30 October 1631 – February 1705) was a French choreographer, dancer and composer, and the probable inventor of Beauchamp–Feuillet notation. His grand-father was called Christophe (a musician) and his f ...

, Louis Pécourt, Magny, and Boutteville.

Synopsis

Prologue

The prologue, which includes the usual

paean A paean () is a song or lyric poem expressing triumph or thanksgiving. In classical antiquity, it is usually performed by a chorus, but some examples seem intended for an individual voice (monody). It comes from the Greek παιάν (also πα ...

, takes place in the palace of Fame (''La Renommée'') with Rumors (''Rumeurs'') and Noises (''Bruits'') dancing in attendance to the goddess. When Fame sings of "the glory and triumphant valor of the greatest of heroes," she is referring to Louis XIV. She is visited by

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

with his retinue of

Muses In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

, who arrive from the sky, and

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...

with his retinue of Tritons, who arrive from the sea. Both groups are equipped with

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can re ...

s, and

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

s. When Neptune sings of the conqueror's recent adventures at sea, he is referring to the French naval victory over the Dutch and Spanish in 1676 in the

Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, also known as the Dutch War (french: Guerre de Hollande; nl, Hollandse Oorlog), was fought between France and the Dutch Republic, supported by its allies the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark-Nor ...

Acts 1–5

The plot of the tragedy of ''Isis'' is loosely adapted from one of the episodes in

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the t ...

's ''

''. Its plot parallels that of Lully's previous opera, '' Atys'' (in which Sangaride, promised to Celoenus, is pursued by another and acquires a goddess as a rival). 'Isis'' centers around the

god In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

Jupiter's love for the

nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are typ ...

Io and the jealousy of

Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods * ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film '' Jenny, Juno'' *Juno, in the ...

. Io, daughter of

Inachus In Greek mythology, Inachus, Inachos or Inakhos (Ancient Greek: Ἴναχος) was the first king of Argos after whom a river was called Inachus River, Apollodorus2.1.1/ref> that drains the western margin of the Argive plain. Biography For ...

, is promised in marriage to Hierax, but is pursued by Jupiter, and yields to this love in spite of her feelings of guilt. Juno has Io imprisoned and tortured, leading Io to cry out to Jupiter for help. He swears faithfulness to Juno if she will spare Io, and Juno turns Io into a goddess:

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...

, the Egyptian goddess.

Scandal

Lully's contemporaries interpreted this story as representing the volatile situation between two of the King's mistresses. The character of Io was equated with Madame de Ludres, Louis XIV's new favorite at court, to whom he had given lavish gifts. His long-time mistress,

Madame de Montespan Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ( ...

, "was furious and did everything she could to humiliate her."Pitou 1983, p. 241. The subsequent ''scandale'' of the premiere ended the collaboration between Lully and Quinault for a time, and led to the dismissal of a number of members of Lully's artistic circle.

Recordings

*''Isis'' Soloists,

La Simphonie du Marais La Simphonie du Marais is a French music ensemble established in 1987 by recorder player Hugo Reyne. Today, it is located in the Logis de la Chabotterie of Saint-Sulpice-le-Verdon in Vendée. It performs exclusively vocal and instrumental Bar ...

, conducted by

Hugo Reyne Hugo Reyne (born in 1961) is a contemporary French recorder player, oboist and conductor. He is the founder and music director of La Simphonie du Marais. Biography Born in Paris, Hugo Reyne began learning the flute and oboe at a very young age ...

(Accord, 3 CDs, 2005) *''Isis'' Soloists,

Les Talens Lyriques The French musical ensemble Les Talens Lyriques was created in 1991 in Paris, France, by the harpsichordist and orchestral conductor Christophe Rousset. This instrumental and vocal formation derives its name from the subtitle of '' Les fêtes d'H� ...

, conducted by

Christophe Rousset Christophe Rousset (; born 12 April 1961) is a French harpsichordist and conductor, who specializes in the performance of Baroque music on period instruments. He is also a musicologist, particularly of opera and European music of the 17th and 18 ...

(Aparte, 2 CDs, 2019)

References

Notes Sources * ''The New Grove French Baroque Masters'', ed. Graham Sadler (Macmillan, 1986) * ''The Viking Opera Guide'' ed. Holden (Viking, 1993)
Le magazine de l'opéra baroque by Jean-Claude Brenac (in French)
* Parvopassu, Clelia ''Isis'', in Gelli, Piero & Poletti, Filippo (ed), ''Dizionario dell'opera 2008'', Milan, Baldini Castoldi Dalai, 2007, pp. 671–672 * Pitou, Spire (1983). ''The Paris Opéra: An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers. Genesis and Glory, 1671–1715''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. . * Rosow, Lois (1992). "''Isis'' (ii)", vol. 2, p. 827, in ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...

'' (4 volumes), edited by

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the ''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...

. London: Macmillan. . * Sadie, Stanley (ed.), ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Grove (Oxford University Press), New York, 1997 ()

External links

* ''Isis'
libretto of 1677a different edition of the 1677 libretto
(mentioning the names of performers)
printed partbooks of 1677
(for performances at the Palais-Royal)
period printed score, s.d.
(but 1700 according to Gallica), an
score of 1719
at Gallica
''Isis''
High-resolution images of a 1677 manuscript copy of ''Isis''
''Isis''
High-resolution images of the first edition of ''Isis'' (1719) *

Libretto {{italic title Operas by Jean-Baptiste Lully Tragédies en musique French-language operas Operas 1677 operas Operas based on Metamorphoses Egyptian mythology in music