''Phaëton'' (LWV 61) is a '' tragédie en musique'' in a prologue and five acts 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 ...

. Philippe Quinault wrote the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

libretto after a story from

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 ...

'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 ...

''. It can be read as an allegorical depiction of the punishment awaiting those mortals who dare to raise themselves as high as the "sun" (i.e. the Sun King). ''Phaëton'' was the first lyric tragedy of Lully and Quinault to receive its world premiere at the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

, where it was given without stage machinery on or about 6 January 1683. The

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...

also performed it at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal (beginning on 27 April), where it was very successful with the general public. The performances ceased for thirty days of mourning following the death of the queen on 30 July 1683, but resumed thereafter and continued until 12 or 13 January 1684. The opera was revived at the Palais-Royal in 1692, 1702, 1710, 1721, 1730, and 1742. It was sometimes referred to as "the people's opera", just as Lully's ''

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic language, Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician language, Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major ancient Egyptian deities, goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughou ...

'' came to be called "the musician's opera" (because of its score), and his '' Atys'', as "the king's opera" (one 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 ...

's favorite works).Pitou 1983, vol. 1, p. 290; Lajarte 1878
pp. 44–45

Roles

Synopsis

Phaëton, the prideful and reckless son of the Sun and the ocean nymph Clymene, is driven to abandon his lover Theona by his ambition for the hand of Libya, daughter of the king of Egypt. On the day of the wedding, Libya's enraged lover Epaphus, himself the son of

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandt ...

, disputes Phaëton's claim to divine lineage. Desiring to prove himself, Phaëton convinces his father to allow him to drive the sun-chariot for one day. In the course of his flight he loses control of the horses, threatening the earth beneath with fiery destruction; Epaphus entreats his father to put an end to the danger, and Jupiter strikes the chariot down with a thunderbolt. Phaëton falls to his death.

Recordings

* Lully: ''Phaéton'' /

Marc Minkowski Marc Minkowski (born 4 October 1962) is a French conductor of classical music, especially known for his interpretations of French Baroque works, and is the current general director of Opéra national de Bordeaux. His mother, Mary Anne (Wade), i ...

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 ...

Erato In Greek mythology, Erato (; grc, Ἐρατώ) is one of the Greek Muses, which were inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. The name would mean "desired" or "lovely", if derived from the same root as Eros, as Apollonius ...

(1993). Catalogue# 91737 (2 CDs) *

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 1 ...

Aparté, 2 CDs, 2011

References

Notes Sources * 1742 libretto: ''Phaeton, Tragedie représentée pour la première fois à Versailles devant le Roi, le mercredi 6 janvier 1683 et à Paris (...) Remise au théâtre le mardi 13 novembre 1742''. Paris: Ballard (accessible for free online a
Gallica - B.N.F.
* Brenac, Jean-Claude

''Le magazine de l'opéra baroque'' website (Accessed 6 September 2006), (French only) * La Gorce, Jérôme de (2001). "Lully. (1) Jean-Baptiste Lully ulli, Giovanni Battista(i)" in Sadie 2001. * Lajarte, Théodore (1878). ''Bibliothèque musicale du Théâtre de l'Opéra'', volume 1 671–1791 Paris: Librairie des Bibliophiles (copy a
Internet Archive
* "Phaëton (1683)" pages, ''The Jean-Baptiste Lully Collection'' website, University of North Texas Music Library (Accessed 6 September 2006)

* Parvopassu, Clelia, ''Phaéton'', in Gelli, Piero & Poletti, Filippo (ed), ''Dizionario dell'opera 2008'', Milan, Baldini Castoldi Dalai, 2007, pp. 1015-1016, (reproduced online a
Opera Manager
* Pitou, Spire (1983–1990). ''The Paris Opéra: An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers'' (3 volumes). Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. . * Rosow, Lois (1992). "''Phaëton''" in Sadie 1992, vol. 3, p. 991. * Sadie, Stanley, editor (1992). '' The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' (4 volumes). London: Macmillan. . * Sadie, Stanley, editor (2001). ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and the ...

'', 2nd edition. London: Macmillan. (hardcover), (eBook), and

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and the ...

External links

*
''Phaëton'' at the University of North Texas Digital Collections website
High-resolution images of the 1683 edition *
''Phaëton'' at the University of North Texas Digital Collections website
High-resolution images of the 1709 edition * {{DEFAULTSORT:Phaeton, Lully Operas by Jean-Baptiste Lully Tragédies en musique French-language operas Operas 1683 operas Operas based on Metamorphoses