Sources
- Félix Clément and Pierre Larousse Dictionnaire des Opéras, Paris, 1881, page 134.
- (in French) Libretto at "Livrets baroques"
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Canente (English: Canens) is an opera by the French composer Pascal Collasse, first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique (the Paris Opéra) on 4 November 1700. It takes the form of a tragédie lyrique in a prologue and five acts. The libretto is by Antoine Houdar de la Motte. A new setting by the composer Antoine Dauvergne appeared in 1760.
| Cast | Voice type | Premiere |
|---|---|---|
| Circé (Circe), enchantress and daughter of the Sun | ||
| Tiber | ||
| Picus, the first king of Italy | ||
| Canente (Canens), a nymph | ||
| Saturne (Saturn) | ||
| Nérine, Circe's confidante | ||
| La Nuit (Night) | ||
| L'Amour (Cupid) | ||
| Saturn's followers, representing the four ages | ||
| Une bergère (a shepherdess) | ||
| Une fleuve (a river, follower of Tiber) | ||
| The Furies: Alecton (Alecto), Erinnis, Mégere (Megaera) | ||
| Chorus: Divinities of the waters, followers of Tiber; magicians and ministers of Circe; Games, Pleasures and Graces, followers of Cupid; peoples. | ||
The enchantress Circe has helped Picus become King of Latium because she is in love with him. But Picus is in love with the nymph Canens. However, the River Tiber is also in love with Canens and threatens to flood Latium if she marries Picus. Circe abducts the nymph and orders her demons to torment Canens, but she manages to win them over and is rescued by a group of Cupids. Circe tells Picus that Canens is going to marry Tiber, but all her magic cannot alter his love for the nymph. Circe resorts to revenge and sends the Furies to destroy the wedding of Picus and Canens. But the Furies are thwarted by Cupid, Circe admits defeat and the lovers are finally married.
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Circe is an enchantress and a minor goddess in Greek mythology. She is either a daughter of the god Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse or the goddess Hecate and Aeetes. Circe was renowned for her vast knowledge of potions and herbs. Through the use of these and a magic wand or staff, she would transform her enemies, or those who offended her, into animals.
Picus was a figure in Roman mythology, the first king of Latium. He was the son of Saturn, also known as Stercutus. He was the founder of the first Latin tribe and settlement, Laurentum, located a few miles to the Southeast of the site of the later city of Rome. He was known for his skill at augury and horsemanship. According to Festus he got his name as a consequence of the fact that he used to rely on a woodpecker for the purpose of divination. Picus was also described to be quite handsome, sought after by nymphs and naiads. The witch Circe attempted to seduce him with her charms and herbs while he was on a hunting trip, but he savagely rejected her. She turned him into a woodpecker for scorning her love. When his comrades accused Circe of her crime and demanded Picus' release, she turned them too into a variety of beasts. Picus' wife was Canens, a nymph. After Picus' transformation she wandered madly through the forest for 6 days until finally she lay down on the bank of the Tiber and died. They had one son, Faunus.
In Roman mythology, Canens was the personification of song. A nymph from Latium, she was the daughter of Janus and Venilia.
Henri Desmarets was a French composer of the Baroque period primarily known for his stage works, although he also composed sacred music as well as secular cantatas, songs and instrumental works.
Platée (Plataea) is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Jean-Philippe Rameau with a libretto by Adrien-Joseph Le Valois d'Orville. Rameau bought the rights to the libretto Platée ou Junon Jalouse by Jacques Autreau (1657–1745) and had d'Orville modify it. The ultimate source of the story is a myth related by the Greek writer Pausanias in his Guide to Greece.
Psyché is an opera in a prologue and five acts composed by Jean-Baptiste Lully to a libretto by Thomas Corneille. Based on the love story of Cupid and Psyche, Psyché was premiered on April 19, 1678 by the Académie Royale de Musique at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris.
Scylla et Glaucus is a tragédie en musique with a prologue and five acts, the only surviving full-length opera by Jean-Marie Leclair. The French-language libretto by d'Albaret is based on Ovid's Metamorphoses, books 10, 13 and 14. It was first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique in Paris on 4 October 1746.
Sémélé is an opera by Marin Marais with a libretto by Antoine Houdar de la Motte first performed on April 9, 1709, by the Paris Opera at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal. The opera is in the form of a tragédie en musique with a prologue and five acts.
Les surprises de l'Amour is an opéra-ballet in two entrées and a prologue by the French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau. It was first performed in Versailles on 27 November 1748. The opera is set to a libretto by Gentil-Bernard. According to the usage of the time, it was originally just billed as a ballet and was only later classified by scholars as an opéra-ballet, although its content might more precisely ascribe it to the ballet héroïque genre.
Titon et l'Aurore is an opera in three acts and a prologue by the French composer Jean-Joseph de Mondonville which was first performed at the Académie royale de musique, Paris on 9 January 1753. The authorship of the libretto has been subject to debate; Mondonville's contemporaries ascribed the prologue to Antoine Houdar de la Motte and the three acts of the opera to the Abbé de La Marre. Titon et l'Aurore belongs to the genre known as the pastorale héroïque. The work played an important role in the so-called Querelle des Bouffons, a dispute over the relative merits of the French and Italian operatic traditions which dominated the intellectual life of Paris in the early 1750s. The tremendous success of Mondonville's opera at its premiere was an important victory for the French camp. Titon was one of Mondonville's most popular works and went on to enjoy several revivals during his lifetime.
Idoménée is an opera by the French composer André Campra. It takes the form of a tragédie en musique in a prologue and five acts. Idoménée was first performed on 12 January 1712 by the Académie royale de musique at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris. The libretto, by Antoine Danchet, is based on a stage play by Crébillon père. It later formed the basis of Giambattista Varesco's libretto for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera Idomeneo.
Les fêtes de Paphos is an opéra-ballet in three acts by the French composer Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville. The work was described as a ballet héroïque on the title page of the printed score. Each act had a different librettist. Les fêtes de Paphos was first performed at the Académie royale de musique, Paris on 9 May 1758 and was a popular success. Mondonville recycled material from two of his previous operas for the first two acts, namely Erigone (1747) and Vénus et Adonis (1752), both originally composed for Madame de Pompadour's Théâtre des Petits Cabinets.
Énée et Lavinie is an opera by the French composer Antoine Dauvergne, first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique on 14 February 1758. It takes the form of a tragédie lyrique in five acts.
Canente is an opera by the French composer Antoine Dauvergne, first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique on 11 November 1760. It takes the form of a tragédie lyrique in five acts. It was Dauvergne's second work in the genre, following Énée et Lavinie (1758). Canente enjoyed 22 performances between its premiere and 11 January 1761.
Énée et Lavinie is an opera by the French composer Pascal Collasse, first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique on 7 November 1690. It takes the form of a tragédie lyrique in a prologue and five acts.
Circé (Circe) is an opera composed by Henri Desmarets to a libretto by Louise-Geneviève Gillot de Saintonge and first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique on 1 October 1694. It takes the form of a tragédie en musique in a prologue and five acts. The piece concerns the sorceress Circe who appears in Greek mythology and in Homer's Odyssey.
Orion is an opera by the French composer Louis Lacoste on a libretto by Joseph de Lafont and Simon-Joseph Pellegrin. It was first performed at the Paris Opera on 19 February 1728 and was performed for the last time on 12 March 1728. The reduced score was printed in quarto by Christophe Ballard and is today available for consulting on the website of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Orion only received a modest success and was never staged nor performed again for another season. However, extracts have already been played by the ensemble Fuoco e Cenere in 2019.
Télémaque, ou Les fragments des modernes is an opera by the French composer André Campra, first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique on 11 November 1704. It is a pastichetragédie en musique in a prologue and five acts with a libretto by Antoine Danchet.
Bion is an opera by the French composer Étienne Méhul. It takes the form of a comédie en vers mêlée de musique in one act. It premiered at the Opéra-Comique, Paris on 27 December 1800. The libretto, by François-Benoît Hoffman, is based on Les voyages d'Anténor by Étienne-François de Lantier. The opera was revived on 15 November 1802.
Louise-Geneviève Gillot de Saintonge , born Gillot de Beaucourt, was a French femme de lettres and celebrated librettist. She was also the first woman to have a work performed at the Royal Academy of Music in France.