''Bion'' is an opera by the French composer

Étienne Méhul Étienne Nicolas Méhul (; 22 June 1763 – 18 October 1817) was a French composer of the late Classical period (music), classical and early Romantic period (music), romantic periods. He was known as "the most important opera composer in France ...

. It takes the form of a ''comédie en vers mêlée de musique'' (an ''

opéra comique ''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular ''opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Théâtre de la foire, Fair Theatres of St Germain and S ...

'') in one act. It premiered at the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...

in Paris on 27 December 1800. The libretto, by

François-Benoît Hoffman François-Benoît Hoffman (; 11 July 1760 – 25 April 1828) was a French playwright and critic, best known today for his operatic librettos, including those set to music by Étienne Méhul and Luigi Cherubini (most notably Cherubini's ''Médée' ...

, is based on ''Les voyages d'Anténor'' by Étienne-François de Lantier. The opera was revived on 15 November 1802.Wild and Charlton, p.164

Roles

Synopsis

''Scene: the island of Salamis'' The middle-aged poet Bion is the guardian of young Nysa whom he has freed from slavery. He welcomes the travellers Cratès and Agénor, a young philosopher and pupil of Plato, as guests in his house. Agénor and Nysa fall in love, although Nysa does so reluctantly as she believes she owes a debt of gratitude to Bion. Bion pretends to go on a journey, saying he plans to marry Nysa on his return. During his absence, Nysa and Agénor declare their love for one another and decide to marry. Bion suddenly reappears leading a child disguised as

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid ( , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and the god of war Mars. He is also known as Amor (Latin: ...

and interrupts the wedding ceremony. He teases Agénor by pretending that the celebrations are for his marriage to Nysa. Agénor, overcome with shame at betraying Bion's hospitality, prepares to leave, but Bion tells the young couple he has known of their love all along and has engineered events to test them. He gives his blessing to their marriage.

Recordings

The overture appears on: Méhul ''Overtures'', Orchestre de Bretagne, conducted by Stefan Sanderling (ASV, 2002).

References

Sources

* Arthur Pougin ''Méhul: sa vie, son génie, son caractère'' (Fischbacher, 1889) * General introduction to Méhul's operas in the introduction to the edition of '' Stratonice'' by M. Elizabeth C. Bartlet (Pendragon Press, 1997) * Nicole Wild and David Charlton, ''Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique Paris: Répertoire 1762-1972'' (Mardaga, 2005) {{portal bar, Opera, France Operas by Étienne Méhul 1800 operas Opéras comiques French-language operas One-act operas Operas Opera world premieres at the Opéra-Comique