Armide (Lully)

"Armide" is an opera by Jean-Baptiste Lully. The libretto was written by Philippe Quinault, based on Torquato Tasso's "La Gerusalemme liberata" ("Jerusalem Delivered").

Critics in the 18th century regarded "Armide" as Lully's masterpiece. Unlike most of his operas, "Armide" concentrates on the sustained psychological development of a character — not Renaud, whose supposed heroic conflict between love and duty disappears the moment his enchantment is broken — but Armide, who repeatedly tries without success to choose vengeance over love and ultimately achieves neither.

The work is in the form of a tragédie en musique, a genre invented by Lully and Quinault.

Performance history

Lully's "Armide" was first performed in Paris at the Paris Opera on February 15, 1686.

Roles

Allegorical Prologue:
*La Gloire (soprano)
*La Sagesse (soprano)

Main Plot:
*Armide (soprano) Marie Le Rochois
*Aronte (bass)
*Artémidore (tenor)
*La Haine (tenor)
*Hidraot (bass)
*Phénice (soprano)
*Renaud (countertenor) - Louis Gaulard Dumesny
*Sidonie (soprano)
*Ubalde (bass)

ynopsis

Set during the First Crusade, this is the love story of the sorceress Armide and the Christian knight Renaud. At war with the Christian Crusaders, Armide ensnares her enemy Renaud with her magic spells, but at the moment she raises her dagger to kill him, she finds herself falling in love with him. She casts a spell to make him fall in love with her in return, but two of his fellow soldiers find their way to Renaud, and break her spell. Renaud is thus able to escape from Armide, who is left in enraged despair.

History and Analysis

Roughly eight decades following Monteverdi's "L’Orfeo," Jean-Baptiste Lully produced "Armide" with his longtime collaborator, playwright Jean-Philippe Quinault. Together they had developed the "tragédie en musique/tragédie lyrique," which served as a new form of opera that combined elements of classical French drama with ballet, the French song tradition and a new form of recitative. "Armide" was one of Lully’s last operas and is therefore extremely developed in style.

The opera's instrumental overture is divided into two parts, all with the same highly professional sound, as if to accompany the entrance of a highly revered authority. It is in fact, according to the "Norton Anthology of Western Music," a “majesty suitable to the king of France, whose entrance into the theater the overture usually accompanied when he was in attendance” (NAWM p. 520). At points it is playful and bouncy, but while always remaining ceremonious. The first section of the overture is in fact slower than the second, which speeds up the rhythm, before returning to the slower pace of the beginning.

The most famous moment in the opera is Act II, scene 5, a monologue by the enchantress Armide, considered “one of the most impressive recitatives in all of Lully’s operas” (NAWM p 520). Armide, accompanied by only a continuo, alternates between glorying in her own power and succumbing to piercing angst. Clutching a dagger, she expresses to us her unyielding desire to kill the knight Renaud, who has foiled her plan to keep captive the knights of the Crusades, whom she had imprisoned for the sake of her own pleasure. Though not orchestrally elaborate, the techniques of dramatic interpretation of rhythm, impressive use of stressing on downbeats, and exaggerated use of rests beautifully complicate this piece.

Renaud had taken on the heroic and courageous duty of freeing these knights, much to the vexation of Armide, who now plans to murder him as quickly and swiftly as she can, while he is fast asleep under her magical spell. A stark sense of hesitation washes over her, and her voice grows softer and more full of doubt as she finds herself unexpectedly falling in love with her sworn enemy. Her passion for revenge, to which she was originally so committed, gives way to her newfound love: “Let us get on with it… I tremble! Let us avenge… I sigh! / My rage is extinguished when I approach him / He seems to be made for love.” The exaggerated use of rests is exemplified perfectly here, in measures 38-42, admist her rage and vengefulness. Armide is struck by her contradictory/confusing feelings of love, and the fantastic use of ellipses conveys this dramatic hestation and inner turmoil.

She reaches a decision far more humane than murdering Renaud, by casting a further spell to make him fall in love with her. The bass amplifies and is much more emphatic in this part, while the supporting dynamic harmony permits a more melodic style. The idea is elaborated with accompanying music that evokes love and idealism, similar to the structure of a minuet. Repetition is also prevalent with the orchestra first introducing the entire melody, and Armide echoing its sentiment. A variation begins with Armide’s changing emotions, resulting in a dance-like feel that contains orchestral preludes and a pair of recitative styles.

External links

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