Cadmus et Hermione by Jean-Baptiste Lully

''Cadmus et Hermione'' is a ''

tragédie en musique ''Tragédie en musique'' (, musical tragedy), also known as ''tragédie lyrique'' (, lyric tragedy), is a genre of French opera introduced by Jean-Baptiste Lully and used by his followers until the second half of the eighteenth century. Operas i ...

'' in a prologue and five acts by

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 ...

. The

French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in ...

libretto is by Philippe Quinault, after

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

'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 ...

''. It was first performed on 27 April 1673 by the

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 Jeu de paume de Béquet. The prologue, in praise of King

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

, represents him as

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

slaying the Python of Delphi. The opera itself concerns the love story of

Cadmus In Greek mythology, Cadmus (; ) was the legendary Phoenician founder of Boeotian Thebes, Greece, Thebes. He was, alongside Perseus and Bellerophon, the greatest hero and slayer of monsters before the days of Heracles. Commonly stated to be a ...

, legendary founder and king of

Thebes, Greece Thebes ( ; , ''Thíva'' ; , ''Thêbai'' .) is a city in Boeotia, Central Greece (administrative region), Central Greece, and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is the largest city in Boeotia and a major cente ...

, and Hermione (

Harmonia In Greek mythology, Harmonia (; /Ancient Greek phonology, harmoˈnia/, "harmony", "agreement") is the goddess of harmony and concord. Her Greek opposite is Eris (mythology), Eris and her Roman mythology, Roman counterpart is Concordia (mythol ...

), daughter of

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

and

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

. Other characters include Pallas Athene,

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: ...

, Juno, and

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

. With ''Cadmus et Hermione'', Lully invented the form of the ''tragédie en musique'' (also known as ''tragédie lyrique''). From contemporary Venetian opera, Lully incorporated elements of comedy among the servants, elements which he would later avoid, as would subsequent reformers in Italian opera. A contemporary transcription of the overture by Jean-Henri d'Anglebert remains a possible part of the

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

repertoire. In early 2008, the French ensemble Le Poème Harmonique staged a performance of the opera in Paris and Rouen, among other places.

Recordings

* 2019: Le Poème Harmonique (orchestra), Ensemble Aedes (chorus),

Vincent Dumestre Vincent Dumestre (born 5 May 1968) is a French lutenist. In 1997 he founded the ensemble Le Poème Harmonique. Career He studied the classical guitar at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and art history at the École du Louvre. Afterwa ...

(conductor). Soloists: Thomas Dolié (Cadmus,

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

), Adèle Charvet (Hermione,

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

), Eva Zaïcik (Charite, mezzo-soprano),

Lisandro Abadie Lisandro Abadie (born 28 July 1974) is an Argentine bass-baritone. He studied in Switzerland, initially in Basel at the Schola Cantorum (music diploma in 2001) and subsequently at the Music School of Lucerne University, graduating with a solo-sin ...

(Arbas/Pan, baritone), Nicholas Scott (La Nourrice/Dieu Champêtre,

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

), Virgile Ancely (Draco/Mars,

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

), Guilhem Worms (Le Grand Sacrificateur/Jupiter,

bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three ...

), Marine Lafdal-Franc (Pallas/Aglante/L'Hymen/Palès,

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

), Enguerrand De Hys (Le Soleil/Premier Prince Tirien, tenor). Recorded 25 to 28 November 2019 at the Château de Versailles. Label: Château de Versailles Spectacles, 2 CDs..

References

Sources * Lois Rosow, "Cadmus et Hermione," ''Grove Music Online''
. *" target="_blank" class="mw-redirect" title="Centre de Musique Baroque Versailles website, [http://www.cmbv.com
ru

External links

*[http://www.naxos.com/NewDesign/fintro.files/bintro.files/operas/Cadmus_et_Hermione(Cadmus_and_Hermione)">Centre de Musique Baroque Versailles website
ru

External links

title French-language operas
Tragédies en musique
Operas by Jean-Baptiste Lully Operas Opera world premieres at the Paris Opera 1673 operas Operas based on Metamorphoses Libretti by Philippe Quinault