Jean-Auguste-Dominique_Ingres_-_Luigi_Cherubini_-_Google_Art_Project

''Anacréon, ou L'amour fugitif'' 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 libre ...

-ballet in two acts by

Luigi Cherubini Luigi Cherubini ( ; ; 8 or 14 SeptemberWillis, in Sadie (Ed.), p. 833 1760 – 15 March 1842) was an Italian Classical and Romantic composer. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethoven regarded Cherubini as the grea ...

with a French libretto by C. R. Mendouze. It was premiered on 4 October 1803 by the

Paris Opéra 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 ...

at the Salle Montansier. The choreography was by

Pierre-Gabriel Gardel Pierre-Gabriel Gardel (4 February 1758, in Nancy, France – 18 October 1840, in Paris) was a French ballet dancer, ballet master, violinist, and composer., 2007. He was the younger brother of Maximilien Gardel, seventeen years his senior. In 1795 ...

. The work proved to be a complete failure, ending its run on 1 January 1804 after only seven performances. The subject matter, a love affair of the Ancient Greek poet

Anacreon Anacreon (; grc-gre, Ἀνακρέων ὁ Τήϊος; BC) was a Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and erotic poems. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets. Anacreon wrote all of his poetry in the ...

, was completely alien to the spirit of the time. One critic complained that in his protagonist Cherubini had represented ''"un vieux debauché déguisé en héros d'opéra"'' ("an old debauchee disguised as an opera hero"). The

overture Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed over ...

was praised by Weber and Berlioz and has frequently been recorded. The complete opera was revived by the Italian radio company

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terr ...

in 1973 and on stage at La Scala in 1983 with

Gianandrea Gavazzeni Gianandrea Gavazzeni (25 July 19095 February 1996) was an Italian pianist, conductor (especially of opera), composer and musicologist. Gavazzeni was born in Bergamo. For almost 50 years, starting from 1948, he was principal conductor at La Sc ...

conducting.

Roles

Synopsis

:Place: The Greek city of

Teos Teos ( grc, Τέως) or Teo was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, on a peninsula between Chytrium and Myonnesus. It was founded by Minyans from Orchomenus, Ionians and Boeotians, but the date of its foundation is unknown. Teos wa ...

in ancient

Ionia Ionia () was an ancient region on the western coast of Anatolia, to the south of present-day Izmir. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionian ...

Act 1

The young

hetaira Hetaira (plural hetairai (), also hetaera (plural hetaerae ), ( grc, ἑταίρα, "companion", pl. , la, hetaera, pl. ) was a type of prostitute in ancient Greece, who served as an artist, entertainer and conversationalist in addition to pro ...

Corine is in love with the poet Anacréon, unaware that he shares the same feelings for her. As she prepares for Anacréon's fiftieth birthday celebrations, she prays to Cupid to bring her and the poet together in spite of the difference in age between them. There is a storm outside and a tiny guest arrives at Anacréon's house, soaked to the skin. It is Cupid in disguise, on the run from his mother

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

. He uses his powers to charm all those present.

Act 2

Cupid moves Anacréon with the tale of his unhappy childhood. Then he plays a prank by making Glycère and Bathille renew their unhappy love affair. At this point a message arrives from Venus, who has just learned of her son's escape. She promises a prize to anyone who captures him: the fulfillment of every wish. The guests soon see through Cupid's disguise and tie him up, but his laments lead them to release him again. Once he begins to play more tricks, however, they capture him again and bind him to the statue of Wisdom. Venus is happy to fulfill Anacréon's two wishes: that the rest of his life should be devoted to the cult of beauty; and that Corine should return his love.

Reception

In a treatise titled "Rudiments of Thorough Bass" by respected English composer

William Shield William Shield (5 March 1748 – 25 January 1829) was an English composer, violinist and violist. His music earned the respect of Haydn and Beethoven. Life and musical career Shield was born in Swalwell near Gateshead, County Durham, the son o ...

(1815), the author includes an excerpt of the overture to convey the "taste, spirit, and brilliant effects of a composition so full of contrast, without confusion." The crescendo from the overture was noted particularly for being "universally admitted to be the most effective instrumental CRESCENDO that ever was perform'd in a grand Orchestra: 'Still rising in a climax till the last, surpassing all, is not to be surpast.'" Praise was given for Cherubini's choice of notes for the trills, with Shield writing that the "open strings of the violins greatly assist the intonation and excite strong vibrations."

References

Notes Sources * Printed score: ''Anacréon, ou L'Amour Fugitif, Opéra ballet en deux actes'', Paris/Lyon, Magasin Cherubini, Méhul, Kreutzer, Rode, Isouard et Boildieu/Garnier, s.d. (accessible online a
IMSLP
* * Lajarte, Théodore (1878). ''Bibliothèque musicale du Théâtre de l'Opéra'', volume 2 793–1876 Paris: Librairie des Bibliophiles
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. * Pitou, Spire (1985). ''The Paris Opera: An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers. Rococo and Romantic, 1715-1815''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Anacreon Cherubini Operas by Luigi Cherubini 1803 operas French-language operas Operas Opéras-ballets Opera world premieres at the Paris Opera