- Cadmus et Hermione
"Cadmus et Hermione" is a "tragédie en musique" in a prologue and five acts by
Jean-Baptiste Lully . TheFrench-language libretto is byPhilippe Quinault , afterOvid ’s "Metamorphoses ". It was first performed onApril 27 ,1673 , at the Paris Jeu de Béquet.The prologue, in praise of King
Louis XIV , represents him asApollo slaying the Python of Delphi. The opera itself concerns the love story ofCadmus , legendary founder and king ofThebes, Greece , and Hermione (Harmonia), daughter of Venus and Mars. Other characters includePallas Athene ,Cupid , Juno, and Jupiter.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 repertoire.In early 2008, the French ensemble
Le Poème Harmonique staged a performance of the opera in Paris and Rouen, among other places.ources
Lois Rosow, "Cadmus et Hermione," "Grove Music Online", [http://www.grovemusic.com] .
Centre de Musique Baroque Versailles website, [http://www.cmbv.com] .
External links
* [http://www.naxos.com/NewDesign/fintro.files/bintro.files/operas/Cadmus_et_Hermione(Cadmus_and_Hermione).htm Naxos.com]
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