- Didon (Desmarets)
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Didon is a tragédie en musique or opera in 1 prologue and 5 Acts by composer Henri Desmarets. The work uses a French language libretto by Louise-Geneviève Gillot de Saintonge. The opera was heavily influenced by Jean-Baptiste Lully's Armide and the music of both Marc-Antoine Charpentier and Henri Dumont.
Contents
Performance history
Didon premiered successfully at the Académie Royale de Musique in Paris on 5 June 1693. The work was reprised on the following 11 September in the presence of Louis, Grand Dauphin, and revived again on the Paris stage in 1704 and 1705.[1]
On 10 July 1999 the first modern revival of the opera was mounted at the Festival de Beaune by Les Talens Lyriques with conductor and harpsichordist Christophe Rousset. They presented the opera later that year at the Arsenal de Metz and the L'Opéra of the Palace of Versailles. The performance from Versailles on 9 October 1999 was broadcast live on France Musique, and a CD of the live recording was later issued. The German premiere of the opera took place at the Kiel Opera House in 2007.[2]
Roles
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 5 June 1693[3] Didon, Queen of Carthage soprano Marie Le Rochois Énée haute-contre Louis Gaulard Dumesny Iarbe, King of Gaetulia bass Jean Dun Anne soprano Fanchon Moreau Barcé soprano Françoise Dujardin Magician soprano Julie d'Aubigny Pleasure haute-contre Antoine Boutelou Glory soprano Fame soprano Marie-Catherine Poussin Jupiter bass Labbé Mercure haute-contre Claude Desvoyes Mars bass Charles Hardouin Vénus soprano Françoise Dujardin Servant of Sychée bass Arcas haute-contre Poussin Acate bass Moreau Furie soprano Three nymphs sopranos Two dryads sopranos Two Carthaginians hautes-contres A faun bass Synopsis
Although betrothed to Iarbe, Didon is in preparation to wed Énée. Humiliated and dreading the impending wedding, Iarbe contacts his father, the god Jupiter. Jupiter promises him vengeance and Énée is forced to leave for the conquest of Italy. Didon and Énée lament their parting. Carthage comes under the pressure of the god Mercury. Didon loses all hope, becomes insane, and commits suicide.
References
- ^ *Thompson, Shirley (2010). New Perspectives on Marc-Antoine Charpentier. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing. p. 259. http://books.google.com/books?id=Q8cq4vip7RIC&pg=PA259&dq=Didon+Desmarets&hl=en&ei=8NteTaDNKom-sAPZx8DaCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CE0Q6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=Didon%20Desmarets&f=false.
- ^ "Didon". operabaroque.fr. http://operabaroque.fr/DESMARET_DIDON.htm.
- ^ "Didon, 1693". www.amadeusonline.net. http://www.amadeusonline.net/almanacco.php?Start=0&Giorno=&Mese=06&Anno=1693&Giornata=&Testo=Didon&Parola=Stringa.
Categories:- 1693 operas
- Operas
- Paris Opera world premieres
- Operas by Henri Desmarets
- French-language operas
- Operas based on Greco-Roman mythology
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