''Astarté'' 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 ...

in four acts and five scenes by

Xavier Leroux Xavier Henry Napoleón Leroux (; 11 October 1863 – 2 February 1919) was a French composer and a teacher at the Paris Conservatory. He was married to the famous soprano Meyrianne Héglon (1867–1942). Life Born in Italy at Velletri, 30 ...

to a

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

Louis de Gramont Louis Ferdinand de Gramont (1854 – 9 December 1912) was a French journalist, dramatist, and librettist. He was a son of Ferdinand de Gramont. Gramont was born in Sèvres and finished his studies at the college there, then entered the School of ...

. It was premiered at the

Opéra de Paris 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 ...

on 15 February 1901, directed by Pedro Gailhard. The protagonist is the hero

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

, who falls under the control of the

Lydia Lydia (; ) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom situated in western Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Later, it became an important province of the Achaemenid Empire and then the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sardis. At some point before 800 BC, ...

n queen

Omphale In Greek mythology, Omphale (; ) was princess of the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor. Diodorus Siculus provides the first appearance of the Omphale theme in literature, though Aeschylus was aware of the episode. The Greeks did not recognize her a ...

. Omphale is depicted as a cultist of

Astarte Astarte (; , ) is the Greek language, Hellenized form of the Religions of the ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern goddess ʿAṯtart. ʿAṯtart was the Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic equivalent of the East Semitic language ...

Roles

Synopsis

Act 1

, Duke of

Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece * Argus (Greek myth), several characters in Greek mythology * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer in the United Kingdom Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...

, plans to undertake a new campaign to destroy the infamous cult of the goddess

. He will go to

, in order to exterminate the queen

, a cruel and indecent sectarian of this goddess. Nothing can hold him back, not even the love of his wife

Deianira Deianira, Deïanira, or Deianeira ( ; , or , ), also known as Dejanira, is a Calydonian princess in Greek mythology whose name translates as "man-destroyer" or "destroyer of her husband". She was the wife of Heracles and, in late Classical acc ...

. She wants to use a

talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...

to warn him against Omphale's seductions, which she fears. This talisman is the famous tunic of the

centaur A centaur ( ; ; ), occasionally hippocentaur, also called Ixionidae (), is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse that was said to live in the mountains of Thessaly. In one version o ...

Nessos that the latter gave her, telling her that when Hercules put it on, he would never look at another woman again. She therefore instructs Iole, her ward, to follow in her husband's footsteps and give him the box containing the bloody tunic.

Act 2

Heracles arrives with his people in Lydia, under the walls of

Sardis Sardis ( ) or Sardes ( ; Lydian language, Lydian: , romanized: ; ; ) was an ancient city best known as the capital of the Lydian Empire. After the fall of the Lydian Empire, it became the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Lydia (satrapy) ...

. Hercules and his warriors are outside the city gates. Hercules leaves for a moment, then the women of Sardis take the opportunity to charm his soldiers, who follow them into the city singing and dancing, so that when Hercules returns he finds no one but the high priest Phur, who invites him to enter himself.

Act 3

Heracles is in the palace of Omphale, which he has come to destroy. However, when he is in the presence of Omphale, he throws down his weapons and falls to her knees, bewitched. Indeed, she, in love and pride, demands that the entire city witness such an astonishing submission. While Heracles remains prostrate, Phur performs the ceremony of the cult of Astarte. First there are serious rites, slow dances, then, little by little, an immense furious joy seizes the priests and priestesses, courtesans and guards and it is a mystical and frenetic orgy of passion and possession. Omphale extends her arms to Hercules who rushes into them.

Act 4

In the morning, Heracles and Omphale sing of their happiness in a triumphant way. The lover had never known such exhilaration; the lover had never shuddered under such an embrace. Phur disturbs this agreement. He shows Heracles the fragility of such ties that only marriage would make lasting. Omphale, to whom the marriage is proposed, does not want to consent to it and, in the face of the anger caused by her refusal, she asks Astarte to put an end to this embarrassing adventure. Iole is brought in, disguised as a boy. She explains the mission she is in charge of and Omphale, who guesses her sex and calls her Eros' sweet sister, allows her to accomplish it, on the condition that she stays with her and never leaves her. Their voices unite tenderly and Heracles, now dressed in the magical tunic and in the grip of the intolerable suffering of fire, screams and twists. He throws shreds of red cloth against the walls that are burning. And the city also burns and hearts and bodies are set on fire and it is to

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of , with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, eighth largest ...

that Omphale now returns to worship Astarte and glorify all lust.

Critics at the premiere

''Astarté'' was favourably received at its premiere.

Alfred Bruneau Louis Charles Bonaventure Alfred Bruneau (3 March 1857 – 15 June 1934) was a French composer who played a key role in the introduction of realism in French opera. Life Born in Paris, Bruneau studied the cello as a youth at the Paris Conservato ...

, the critic of ''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

'' applauded the work and wrote

Arthur Pougin Arthur Pougin ( 6 August 1834 – 8 August 1921) was a French musical and dramatic critic and writer. He was born at Châteauroux (Indre) and studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris under Alard (violin) and Reber (harmony). In 1855 he becam ...

is not kind and seemingly responding to Bruneau wrote in ''

Le Ménestrel ''Le Ménestrel'' (, ''The Minstrel'') was an influential French music journal published weekly from 1833 until 1940. It was founded by Joseph-Hippolyte l'Henry and originally printed by Poussièlgue. In 1840 it was acquired by the music publishe ...

'':

Paul Milliet Paul Milliet (14 February 1848 – 21 November 1924) was a French playwright and librettist of the Parisian Belle Époque. His opera librettos include Jules Massenet's ''Hérodiade'' (1881) and ''Werther'' (1892), Alfred Bruneau's ''Kérim'' ( ...

of ' was very favourable and wrote:

Modern analysis

Alex Ross Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book creator, comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which ...

of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' wrote and Ross indicates that the German magazine ''

Jahrbuch für sexuelle Zwischenstufen The Yearbook for Intermediate Sexual Types () was an annual publication of the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee (, WhK), the world's first LGBT rights organization founded by German sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld in 1897. The periodical featured a ...

'' noted: "''Astarté'' is probably the first opera to be performed, and generally the first theatre piece, in which lesbian love is represented."

References

Sources

''Astarté '' : partition intégrale (piano-chant)
on the site of the . *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Astarte Operas by Xavier Leroux 1901 operas French-language operas Operas based on classical mythology Opera world premieres at the Paris Opera Operas Astarte Heracles in fiction Lydia Operas set in Turkey