- Les Boréades
"Les Boréades" ("The Descendants of Boreas") or "Abaris" is an opera in five acts by
Jean-Philippe Rameau . It was the last of Rameau's five tragédies en musique. Thelibretto , attributed toLouis de Cahusac (died 1759), is loosely based on the Greek legend ofAbaris the Hyperborean and includes Masonic elements.Background
There were no known performances of this opera in Rameau's lifetime. The work was in rehearsal in 1763 at the Paris Opéra, probably for a private performance at the court at Choisy. It is not known why the performance was abandoned, though many theories have been put forward, including that factions at court fought over it, the music was too difficult, there were subversive plot elements, and that the Opéra was burnt down in the month of rehearsals. The first known performance of the work was in 1770 in a concert performance at
Lille . J.J.M. Lacroix had collected Rameau's works after the composer's death, and thus ensured survival of this score. The Bibliothèque Nationale housed the collected works, including various manuscripts related to this opera. [Sadler, Graham, "Rameau's Last Opera: "Abaris, ou Les Boréades" (April 1975). "The Musical Times", 116 (1586): pp. 327–329.]Modern performance history
The first modern performance of the work was by the ORTF in 1963. It owes its modern revival to the conductor
John Eliot Gardiner , who gave a concert version of the piece (in whichTrevor Pinnock played continuo) at theQueen Elizabeth Hall , London, on Date|1974-04-14, for which he had prepared the orchestral material from the original manuscripts over the preceding year. In July 1982, Gardiner gave the first fully staged performance at theAix-en-Provence Festival . [Modern performance information: notes to Gardiner's recording of "Les Boréades".] Since then, the opera's reputation and popularity have grown considerably.Roles
ynopsis
Alphise, Queen of
Bactria , is in love with Abaris, whose origins are unknown. According to the traditions of her country, Alphise must marry a Boread, one of the descendants ofBoreas , the god of the North Wind. Determined to marry Abaris, Alphise abdicates, angering Boreas who storms into the wedding and abducts Alphise to his kingdom. With the help ofApollo and the musePolyhymnia , Abaris sets off to rescue her. He challenges Boreas and his sons with a magic golden arrow. Apollo descends asdeus ex machina and reveals that Abaris is really his son by a Boread nymph. Therefore, there is no longer any obstacle to Abaris and Alphise's marriage.elected recordings
*Erato (1982 recording): Monteverdi Orchestra and Choir;
John Eliot Gardiner , conductor
*Opus Arte DVD (2004 recording); Les Arts Florissants/Opéra National de Paris , William Christie, conductorReferences
ources
Graham Sadler. "Les Boréades", "Grove Music Online", ed. L. Macy (accessed
May 20 2006 ), [http://www.grovemusic.com/ grovemusic.com] (subscription access).
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