''Alcine'' (English: ''Alcina'') is an opera by the French composer
André Campra
André Campra (; baptized 4 December 1660 – 29 June 1744) was a French composer and conductor of the Baroque era. The leading French opera composer in the period between Jean-Baptiste Lully and Jean-Philippe Rameau, Campra wrote several '' tra ...
. It takes the form of a ''
tragédie en musique
Tragédie en musique (, ''musical tragedy''), also known as tragédie lyrique (, ''lyric tragedy''), is a genre of French opera introduced by Jean-Baptiste Lully and used by his followers until the second half of the eighteenth century. Operas in t ...
'' in a prologue and five acts. The
libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
, by
Antoine Danchet
Antoine Danchet (7 September 1671 – 21 February 1748) was a French playwright, librettist and dramatic poet.
Biography
Danchet was born in Riom, in the Auvergne, France. Having been a professor of rhetoric at Chartres and then a tutor at Par ...
, is based on cantos IV, VI and VII of
Ariosto
Ludovico Ariosto (; 8 September 1474 – 6 July 1533) was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic ''Orlando Furioso'' (1516). The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's ''Orlando Innamorato'', describes the ...
's
epic poem
An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants.
...
''
Orlando furioso
''Orlando furioso'' (; ''The Frenzy of Orlando'', more loosely ''Raging Roland'') is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was no ...
'' and tells of the love of the enchantress Alcine for the
paladin
The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers, are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, where ...
Astolphe (
Astolfo
Astolfo (also Astolpho, Estous, and Estouls) is a fictional character in the Matter of France where he is one of Charlemagne's paladins. He is the son of Otto, the King of England (possibly referring to Charles' contemporary Offa of Mercia), ...
).
Performance history
''Alcine'' was first performed on 15 January 1705
by the
Académie royale de musique
The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...
at the
Théâtre du Palais-Royal
The Théâtre du Palais-Royal () is a 750-seat Parisian theatre at 38 rue de Montpensier, located at the northwest corner of the Palais-Royal in the Galerie de Montpensier at its intersection with the Galerie de Beaujolais.
Brief history ...
in Paris. The opera was a failure at its first performance.
Roles
Sources
Further reading
''Alcine, Tragédie; représentée pour la prémiere fois par l'Académie Royale de Musique, Le Quinziéme jour de Janvier 1705'' Paris, Ballard, 1705 (original libretto)
Gallica, Bibliothèque Nationale de France
''Alcine, tragédie mise en musique par Mr Campra''(Partition in Folio), Paris, H. de Baussen, 1705 (original score) Gallica, Bibliothèque Nationale de France
*''The Viking Opera Guide'', ed.
Amanda Holden
Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English actress, media personality, and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent show competition ''Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the ''Heart Brea ...
(Viking, 1993)
''Le magazine de l'opéra baroque''
Tragédies en musique
Operas by André Campra
French-language operas
Operas
Opera world premieres at the Paris Opera
Operas based on works by Ludovico Ariosto
1705 operas
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