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Les Fêtes De Paphos
''Les fêtes de Paphos'' (''The Festivals of Paphos'') is an ''opéra-ballet'' in three acts (or ''entrées'') 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 libretto, librettist. ''Les fêtes de Paphos'' was first performed at the Académie royale de musique in 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. The title of the work is explained in the preface to the printed score. Paphos was a city in Cyprus sacred to Venus (goddess), Venus, the goddess of love. "Reunited on the island of Paphos, Venus, Bacchus and Cupid decide to enliven their leisure in such a pleasant location by celebrating their first loves, and this gives rise ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opéra-ballet
''Opéra-ballet'' (; plural: ''opéras-ballets'') is a genre of French Baroque lyric theatre that was most popular during the 18th century, combining elements of opera and ballet, "that grew out of the '' ballets à entrées'' of the early seventeenth century".Pitou 1983, p. 278 "''Opéra-ballet''". It differed from the more elevated ''tragédie en musique'' as practised by Jean-Baptiste Lully in several ways. It contained more dance music than the ''tragédie'', and the plots were not necessarily derived from classical mythology and allowed for the comic elements, which Lully had excluded from the ''tragédie en musique'' after ''Thésée'' (1675). The ''opéra-ballet'' consisted of a prologue followed by a number of self-contained acts (also known as ''entrées''), often loosely grouped around a single theme. The individual acts could also be performed independently, in which case they were known as ''actes de ballet''. The first work in the genre is generally held to be Andr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adonis
In Greek mythology, Adonis, ; derived from the Canaanite word ''ʼadōn'', meaning "lord". R. S. P. Beekes, ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 23. was the mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite. One day, Adonis was gored by a wild boar during a hunting trip and died in Aphrodite's arms as she wept. His blood mingled with her tears and became the anemone flower. Aphrodite declared the Adonia festival commemorating his tragic death, which was celebrated by women every year in midsummer. During this festival, Greek women would plant "gardens of Adonis", small pots containing fast-growing plants, which they would set on top of their houses in the hot sun. The plants would sprout, but soon wither and die. Then the women would mourn the death of Adonis, tearing their clothes and beating their breasts in a public display of grief. The Greeks considered Adonis's cult to be of Near Eastern origin. Adonis's name comes from a Canaanite word meaning "lord" and most mod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christophe Rousset
Christophe Rousset (; born 12 April 1961) is a French harpsichordist and conductor, who specializes in the performance of Baroque music on period instruments. He is also a musicologist, particularly of opera and European music of the 17th and 18th centuries and is the founder of the French music ensemble Les Talens Lyriques. Biography Rousset was born in Avignon, France on 12 April 1961. He studied harpsichord at La Schola Cantorum de Paris with Huguette Dreyfus, and subsequently at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague with Bob van Asperen winning the prestigious First Prize in the 7th Bruges Harpsichord Competition at the age of 22. This was followed by the creation of his own ensemble, Les Talens Lyriques, in 1991. At the heart of the ensemble is Rousset's research and expertise across the music of the Baroque, Classical and early Romantic periods. Having initially attracted the notice of the international press and record companies for his proficiency as a harpsichordist, he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sandrine Piau
Sandrine Piau (born 5 June 1965) is a French soprano. She is particularly renowned in Baroque music although also excels in Romantic and modernist art songs. She has the versatility to perform works from Vivaldi, Handel, Mozart to Schumann, Debussy, and Poulenc. In addition to an active career in concerts and operas, she is prolific in studio recordings, primarily with Harmonia Mundi, Naïve, and Alpha since 2018. Biography Born in Issy-les-Moulineaux, she initially studied harp and turned to singing at the Conservatoire de Paris. After meeting William Christie, she commenced her exposure to Baroque music and their collaboration notably at the Aix-en-Provence Festival. She proceeded further vocal studies with Rachel Yakar and René Jacobs. She collaborated with many of the leading European conductors of the Baroque revival, including Marc Minkowski, Philippe Herreweghe, Paul McCreesh, Alan Curtis, Christophe Rousset, René Jacobs, and Fabio Biondi. Piau also excels in opera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Véronique Gens
Véronique Gens (born 19 April 1966) is a French operatic soprano. She has spent much of her career recording and performing Baroque music, Baroque music. Gens was born in Orléans, France, and studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, winning first prize at the school. Her debut in 1986 was with William Christie (musician), William Christie and his Les Arts Florissants (ensemble), Les Arts Florissants. She has since worked with Marc Minkowski, René Jacobs, Christophe Rousset, Philippe Herreweghe, Martin Gester, and Jean-Claude Malgoire. While she started out as a Baroque specialist, Gens has also come into demand for roles in Mozart operas, and as an interpreter of songs by Hector Berlioz, Berlioz, Claude Debussy, Debussy (see also Beau Soir), Gabriel Fauré, Fauré and others. Her numerous recordings include many works by Mozart and Henry Purcell, Purcell, as well as Joseph Canteloube, Joseph Canteloube's ''Chants d'Auvergne'' and Berlioz's ''Les nuits d'été, Nuits d'été''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean-Paul Fouchécourt
file:JP Fouchécourt 03900.jpg, 2015 Jean-Paul Fouchécourt is a French people, French tenor, mostly as an opera singer. He was born on 30 August 1958 at Blanzy in the Bourgogne, Burgundy region. He is best known for singing French Baroque music, especially the parts called in French ''haute-contre'', written for a very high tenor voice with no falsetto singing. Life and career Specialist in French Baroque repertory, Jean-Paul Fouchécourt has gained his international reputation with his portrayal of the title role ''Platée'' by Rameau, Arnalta in ''l’Incoronazione di Poppea'' by Monteverdi, the four servants in the ''Tales of Hoffmann'' by Offenbach and le Mari in the ''Mamelles de Tirésias'' by Poulenc. He combines excellent musicality with a strong stage presence. After studying the classical saxophone and conducting, Jean-Paul Fouchécourt decided to become a singer after a workshop with Cathy Berberian in 1982. He began his career with Les Arts Florissants (ensemble), Les ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tisiphone
Tisiphone ( ; grc, Τισιφόνη, Tisiphónē), or Tilphousia, was one of the three Erinyes or Furies. Her sisters were Alecto and Megaera. She and her sisters punished crimes of murder: parricide, fratricide and homicide. In culture Literature * In Book VI of Virgil's ''Aeneid'', she is described as the guardian of the gates of Tartarus, "clothed in a blood-wet dress". * In Book X of the ''Aeneid'', she is described as "pale" and raging "among the warring thousands" during the battle between Mezentius and Aeneas's men. * In Book IV of Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'', she is described as a denizen of Dis who wears a dripping red robe and who has a serpent coiled around her waist. At the behest of Juno, Tisiphone drives Athamas and Ino mad with the breath of a serpent extracted from her hair and a poison made from froth from the mouth of Cerberus and Echidna's venom. * Tisiphone has a prominent role in Statius' ''Thebaid'', where she spurs on the war between Polynices and Eteocl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Furies
The Erinyes ( ; sing. Erinys ; grc, Ἐρινύες, pl. of ), also known as the Furies, and the Eumenides, were female chthonic deities of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the ''Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...'' invokes them as "the Erinyes, that under earth take vengeance on men, whosoever hath sworn a false oath". Walter Burkert suggests that they are "an embodiment of the act of self-cursing contained in the oath". They correspond to the Dirae in Roman mythology. The Roman writer Maurus Servius Honoratus wrote (ca. 400 AD) that they are called "Eumenides" in hell, "Furiae" on Earth, and "Dirae" in heaven. Erinyes are akin to some other Greek deities, called Poenai. According to Hesiod's ''Theogony'', when ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cupid And Psyche
Cupid and Psyche is a story originally from ''Metamorphoses'' (also called ''The Golden Ass''), written in the 2nd century AD by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (or Platonicus). The tale concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between Psyche (; , , "Soul" or "Breath of Life") and Cupid (Latin ''Cupido'', "Desire") or Amor ("Love", Greek Eros, Ἔρως), and their ultimate union in a sacred marriage. Although the only extended narrative from antiquity is that of Apuleius from 2nd century AD, Eros and Psyche appear in Greek art as early as the 4th century BC. The story's Neoplatonic elements and allusions to mystery religions accommodate multiple interpretations, and it has been analyzed as an allegory and in light of folktale, '' Märchen'' or fairy tale, and myth. The story of Cupid and Psyche was known to Boccaccio in c. 1370, but the '' editio princeps'' dates to 1469. Ever since, the reception of ''Cupid and Psyche'' in the classical tradition has been extensive. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nymph
A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are typically tied to a specific place or landform, and are usually depicted as maidens. They were not necessarily immortal, but lived much longer than human beings. They are often divided into various broad subgroups, such as the Meliae (ash tree nymphs), the Dryads (oak tree nymphs), the Naiads (freshwater nymphs), the Nereids (sea nymphs), and the Oreads (mountain nymphs). Nymphs are often featured in classic works of art, literature, mythology, and fiction. Since the Middle Ages, nymphs have been sometimes popularly associated or even confused with fairies. Etymology The Greek word has the primary meaning of "young woman; bride, young wife" but is not usually associated with deities in particular. Yet the etymology of the noun remains ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erigone (daughter Of Icarius)
In Greek mythology, Erigone ( grc, Ἠριγόνη) was the daughter of Icarius of Athens. Mythology Icarius was cordial towards Dionysus, who gave his shepherds wine. They became intoxicated and killed Icarius, thinking he had poisoned them. His daughter, Erigone, and her dog, Maera, found his body. Erigone hanged herself over her father's grave. Dionysus was angry and punished Athens by making all of the city's maidens commit suicide in the same way. Unfortunately, it was the instability of Dionysus who gave all the maidens alcohol as part of his cult. Erigone was placed in the stars as the constellation Virgo by Dionysus or Zeus who pitied their misfortune. According to Ovid, Dionysus "deceived Erigone with false grapes",Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' 6.125: ''Erigonen falsa decepit uva'' that is, assumed the shape of a grape cluster to approach and seduce her. Notes References * Apollodorus, ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dionysus
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans called him Bacchus ( or ; grc, Βάκχος ) for a frenzy he is said to induce called ''bakkheia''. As Dionysus Eleutherios ("the liberator"), his wine, music, and ecstatic dance free his followers from self-conscious fear and care, and subvert the oppressive restraints of the powerful. His ''thyrsus'', a fennel-stem sceptre, sometimes wound with ivy and dripping with honey, is both a beneficent wand and a weapon used to destroy those who oppose his cult and the freedoms he represents. Those who partake of his mysteries are believed to become possessed and empowered by the god himself. His origins are uncertain, and his cults took many forms; some are described by ancient sources as Thracian, others as Greek. In Orphic religion, he wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
