Portrait of Jean-Philippe Rameau - Joseph Aved

''Daphnis et Eglé'' is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theory, music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of Fr ...

. It was due to appear on 30 October 1753 at

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...

, but the performance was cancelled. It takes the form of a ''

pastorale héroïque Pastorale héroïque was a type of ballet héroïque, a form of the opéra-ballet genre of French Baroque opera. The first work to bear the name was Jean-Baptiste Lully's final completed opera ''Acis et Galatée'' (1686), although musical works on ...

'' in one act. The

librettist 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. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

was

Charles Collé Charles Collé (14 April 1709 – 3 November 1783) was a French dramatist and songwriter. Biography The son of a notary, he was born in Paris. He became interested in the rhymes of Jean Heguanier, the most famous writer of couplets in Paris. Fr ...

Performance history

The opera was planned as part of the court of

King Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

's entertainments at Fontainebleau and was intended as an afterpiece to a play by Nivelle de la Chaussée, ''La fausse antipathie''. However, the dress rehearsal went so badly that the premiere was cancelled and the opera was never staged in Rameau's lifetime.Sadler (2014), p.71 This was the only artistic collaboration between Collé and Rameau. Paul F. Rice has commented that this collaboration was an unhappy one, and speculated that this was due to Rameau's demands that Collé edit his libretto. This caused Collé to harbor resentment towards Rameau, even after the composer's death.Rice, Paul F., "The Fontainebleau Operas of Jean-Philippe Rameau" (Spring, 1988). ''The Journal of Musicology'', 6 (2): pp. 227-244.

Music

The opera was the first which Rameau composed after the outbreak of the ''

Querelle des Bouffons The ("Quarrel of the Comic Actors"), also known as the ("War of the Comic Actors"), was the name given to a battle of musical philosophies that took place in Paris between 1752 and 1754. The controversy concerned the relative merits of French a ...

'' and some of the music shows Italian influence. The score contains 23 dance airs.

Roles

Synopsis

The opera tells the story of a shepherd, Daphnis, and a shepherdess, Eglé, who believe they are merely friends until

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, lust, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus (mythology), Venus and the god of war Mar ...

reveals they are really in love with each other.

Recordings

Video

*''Rameau, Maître à Danser'' (includes ''Daphnis et Eglé'' and '' La naissance d'Osiris''), Les Arts Florrisants, conducted by William Christie (1 DVD, Alpha, 2014)

References

Sources

*Original libretto: ''Daphnis et Églé; Pastorale Heroïque en un acte, Représentée devan le Roi à Fontainebleau, Le 30 Octobre 1753'', Paris, Ballard s.d. (accessible for free online a
books.google
* Girdlestone, Cuthbert, ''Jean-Philippe Rameau: His Life and Work'', New York: Dover, 1969 (paperback edition) *Holden, Amanda, (Ed.), ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001. *Sadler, Graham, (Ed.), ''The New Grove French Baroque Masters'' Grove/Macmillan, 1988 *Sadler, Graham ''The Rameau Compendium'' (Boydell Press, 2014) {{DEFAULTSORT:Daphnis Et Egle Operas by Jean-Philippe Rameau French-language operas One-act operas Operas 1753 operas Operas based on classical mythology