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

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

Jean-Baptiste Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( – 22 March 1687) was a French composer, dancer and instrumentalist of Italian birth, who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he spent most of his life working in the court o ...

. 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 in honor of Louis, ''le Grand Dauphin''. Lully did not work with his usual librettist Philippe Quinault, although the two men collaborated on '' Armide'', which premiered the same year as ''Acis et Galatée''. The duke considered giving the commission to Racine, but it went instead to his protege Jean Galbert de Campistron. The libretto is based on the story in Ovid's ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...

''. The same story was also to inspire a dramatic work by

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

, '' Acis and Galatea''.

Performance history

The opera was premiered by the Académie Royale de Musique (

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 kn ...

) at the Château d'Anet on 6 September 1686 (without machines) and later at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

on 17 September 1686. It was revived multiple times before the French Revolution and

Madame de Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and rema ...

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 In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; : gentes ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same ''nomen gentilicium'' and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens, sometimes identified by a distinct cognomen, was cal ...

, Naouri, Crook, Delunsch, Félix, Masset; Les Musiciens du Louvre; 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 ''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 t ...

'', 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 Polyphemus Neptune (mythology)