''Médée'' is a '' tragédie mise en musique'' in five acts and a prologue by

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'', ''Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still u ...

to a French libretto by Thomas Corneille. It was premiered at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris on December 4, 1693. ''Médée'' is the only opera Charpentier wrote for the

Académie Royale de Musique 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 ...

. The opera was well reviewed by contemporary critics and commentators, including

Sébastien de Brossard Sébastien de Brossard, pronounced e.bɑs.tjẽ də brɔ.saːr (12 September 1655 – 10 August 1730) was a French music theorist, composer and collector. Life Brossard was born in Dompierre, Orne. After studying philosophy and theology a ...

and Évrard Titon du Tillet, as well as

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ve ...

whose brother attended several performances, as did his son; however, the opera only ran until March 15, 1694, although it was later revived at Lille.Powell

Roles

Synopsis

Prologue

A celebration of the glory of

King Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

Act 1

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek mythology, mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was marri ...

and Médée (

Medea In Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the ...

), pursued by the people of

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...

because of Médée's crimes, have sought refuge in

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part ...

. Médée is worried that Jason is growing distant from her. Jason claims he needs to win the good graces of the princess Créuse so her doting father, King Créon, will protect them. He suggests that Médée should give Créuse a beautiful robe as a present. After Médée leaves, Jason confides that he is really in love with Créuse but fears Médée's reaction. Créuse is due to be married to Oronte, prince of Argos, who now arrives in Corinth with his army. However, King Créon tells Jason that he would prefer him as a son-in-law. Jason leads the combined Corinthian and Argive army to victory against the Thessalians.

Act 2

Créon tells Médée he will not hand her over to her enemies but she must leave Corinth. Jason and his children by her will stay. Médée protests that she only committed those crimes out of love for Jason, but Créon replies that the Corinthian people want her to leave. Médée hands over her children to Créuse. Créuse confesses her love to Jason.

Act 3

Oronte promises Médée refuge in Argos if she can arrange a marriage between him and Créuse. She tells him that the only reason she is being banished is so Jason can be free to marry Créuse. They must combine forces to prevent this happening. Jason pleads with Médée that he is only acting in the best interests of their children. Left alone, Médée resorts to witchcraft and summons demons from the underworld who bring her a poisoned robe for Créuse.

Act 4

Jason admires the beauty of Créuse's new robe. Oronte finally realises that what Médée had said is true: Créuse will marry Jason, not him. Médée vows that Créuse will never be Jason's bride. Créon arrives and is angered that Médée has not yet left Corinth. He orders his guards to seize her but she conjures up spirits of beautiful women who seduce the guards away. Then she uses her magic powers to drive the king insane.

Act 5

Médée rejoices at her success and plans to take her vengeance to an extreme by murdering her own children by Jason. Créuse begs her to spare Corinth, even pledging to renounce her wedding to Jason if she does so. News arrives of Créon's madness and death. Médée touches Créuse's poisoned robe with her wand and it bursts into flame. Créuse dies in Jason's arms. Jason swears revenge on Médée, who now appears in a flying chariot pulled by dragons to announce she has stabbed their children. She leaves as the palace of Corinth bursts into flames.

Selected recordings

* "Charpentier - Médée" with

Irma Kolassi Irma may refer to: People * Irma (name), a female given name * Irma (singer), full name Irma Pany, a Cameroonian female singer-songwriter Places * Irma, Alberta, Canada, a village * Irma, Lombardy, Italy, a ''comune'' * Irma, Wisconsin, USA ...

, Médée, Nadine Sautereau, Créuse, Paul Derenne, Jason, Doda Conrad, Créon, Flora Wend, Cléone, Ensemble vocal et instrumental, dir.

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

. recorded in 1953, report CD IDIS 6493 2006 & DG 2021 (extracts) *"Charpentier - Médée" with Les Arts Florissants William Christie (conductor),

Jill Feldman Jill Feldman (born 21 April 1952 in Los Angeles) is an American soprano who has acquired an international reputation for her interpretation of medieval, baroque and classical repertoires. Her highly expressive singing art combines great vocal agi ...

, Médée, Gilles Ragon, Jason, Jacques Bona, Créon, Sophie Boulin, Nérine, Agnès Mellon, Créuse, Philippe Cantor, Oronte. 3 CD Harmonia Mundi (901139.41), recorded in 1984 report 2019 **Grand Prix du Disque Académie Charles Cros 1985, La Référence Compact magazine, Sélection Télérama ''ffff'', Diapason d'or, Le Timbre d'Argent de la revue Opéra, Diamant de Harmonie panorama musique,

Gramophone award The Gramophone Classical Music Awards, launched in 1977, are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry. They are often viewed as equivalent to or surpassing the American Grammy award, and refer ...

1985, International Record Critics Award Montreux 1985, Prix Opus 1985 USA. Choc de Classica 2019. *"Charpentier - Médée" with Les Arts Florissants William Christie (conductor),

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (March 1, 1954 – July 3, 2006) was an American mezzo-soprano. She was noted for her performances of both Baroque era and contemporary works. Her career path to becoming a singer was unconventional – formerly a pr ...

, Médée, Mark Padmore, Jason, Bernard Deletré, Créon, Monique Zanetti, Créuse, Jean-Marc Salzmann, Oronte, Noémie Rime, Nérine, Sophie Daneman. 3 CD

Erato Records Erato Records is a record label founded in 1953 as Disques Erato by Philippe Loury to promote French classical music. Loury was head of éditions musicales Costallat. His first releases in France were licensed from the Haydn Society of Boston, ...

, recorded in 1994 **10 de Répertoire, Choc du Monde de la Musique, Diapason d'or, Diamant Opéra magazine. *"Charpentier - Médée" (

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

) with Le Concert Spirituel -

Hervé Niquet Hervé Niquet (born 28 October 1957) is a French conductor, harpsichordist, tenor, and the director of Le Concert Spirituel, specializing in French Baroque music. Biography Born on 28 October 1957, Hervé Niquet was raised at Abbeville in t ...

(conductor),

Stéphanie d'Oustrac Stéphanie d'Oustrac (born 1974, in Rennes) is a French mezzo-soprano. Biography Stéphanie d'Oustrac was born in Rennes in 1974. She is the great great niece of Francis Poulenc and Jacques La Presle. She was part of the '' Maîtrise de Bretagne ...

, Médée, François-Nicolas Geslot, Jason,

Renaud Delaigue Renaud Pierre Manuel Séchan (), known as Renaud (), born 11 May 1952, is a French singer, songwriter and actor. His characteristically 'broken' voice makes for a very distinctive vocal style. Several of his songs are popular classics in F ...

, Créon Gaëlle Mechaly, Créuse, Bertrand Chuberre, Oronte, Caroline Mutel, Nérine, Hanna Bayodi, Cléone, Anders J. Dahlin, stage Director, Olivier Simonet.

Vox Lucida - Armide Vox (Latin for 'voice') may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters * Vox (DC Universe character), Mal Duncan * Vox, several characters in the anime series '' Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne'' * Gleeman Vox, from the ''Ratchet ...

, filmed in 2004

Bibliography

*Original libretto: ''Medée, Tragedie en Musique, Representée par l'Academie Royale de Musique'', Paris, Ballard, 1693 (accessible for free online a
Gallica - B.N.F.
*Period printed score: ''Medée, Tragedie mise en Musique par Monsieur Charpentier'', Paris, Ballard, 1704 (accessible for free online a
Gallica - B.N.F.
*John S. Powell. "Médée (i)", ''

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and the ...

'', ed. L. Macy (accessed May 20, 2006)
grovemusic.com
(subscription access). *''Médée'' (Paperback) music by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, libretto by Thomas Corneille, edited by Edmond Lemaître, CNRS Editions (September 1, 1998)

References

External links

1694 Ballard edition
at

IMSLP The International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP), also known as the Petrucci Music Library after publisher Ottaviano Petrucci, is a subscription-based digital library of public-domain music scores. The project, which uses MediaWiki softwa ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medee French-language operas Tragédies en musique Operas by Marc-Antoine Charpentier Operas Opera world premieres at the Paris Opera Operas based on the Jason-Medea myth 1693 operas Works based on Medea (Euripides play) Operas based on works by Euripides