''Astrée'' is an opera by the French composer
Pascal Collasse
Pascal Collasse (or Colasse) (22 January 1649 (baptism, baptised) – 17 July 1709) was a French composer of the Baroque era. Born in Rheims, Collasse became a disciple of Jean-Baptiste Lully during the latter's domination of the French operati ...
, first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique (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 kn ...
) on 25 November 1691. It takes the form of a ''
tragédie lyrique
This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names.
"Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most co ...
'' in three acts. The libretto, by
Jean de La Fontaine
Jean de La Fontaine (, ; ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French Fable, fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his ''La Fontaine's Fables, Fables'', which provided a model for subs ...
, is based on the romance ''
L'Astrée
''L'Astrée'' is a pastoral novel by Honoré d'Urfé, published between 1607 and 1627.
Possibly the single most influential work of 17th-century French literature, ''L'Astrée'' has been called the "novel of novels", partly for its immense le ...
'' by
Honoré d'Urfé
Honoré d'Urfé, marquis de Valromey, comte de Châteauneuf (11 February 15681 June 1625) was a French novelist and miscellaneous writer.
Life
He was born at Marseille, the grandson of Claude d'Urfé, and was educated at the Collège de T ...
. The opera was a failure.
Sources
Libretto at "Livrets baroques"
Félix Clément and Pierre Larousse ''Dictionnaire des Opéras'', Paris, 1881.
Operas
Tragédies en musique
French-language operas
1691 operas
Operas by Pascal Collasse
Works based on L'Astrée
Operas based on novels
Works by Jean de La Fontaine
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