Portrait of Jean-Philippe Rameau - Joseph Aved

''Dardanus'' is an opera by

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 ...

with a French-language

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 Charles-Antoine Leclerc de La Bruère. 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. ''Dardanus'' premiered at the

Paris Opéra 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 k ...

on 19 November 1739 to mixed success, mainly because of the dramatic weakness of the libretto. This caused Rameau and La Bruère to rework the opera, completely rewriting the last three acts, for a revival in 1744. Only when ''Dardanus'' was again performed in 1760 did it win acclaim as one of Rameau's greatest works. The original story is loosely based on that of Dardanus, the son of

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

and

Electra Electra (; grc, Ήλέκτρα) is one of the most popular mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, '' Electra'' by Sophocles and '' Electra'' by Euripides. She is also the centra ...

, and ancestor of the

Trojans Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 1890 ...

. However, in the opera, Dardanus is at war with

King Teucer In Greek mythology, King Teucer (; Ancient Greek: Τεῦκρος ''Teûkros'') was said to have been the son of the river-god Scamander and the nymph Idaea. Mythology Before the arrival of Dardanus, the land that would eventually be called D ...

, who has promised to marry his daughter Iphise to King Anténor. Dardanus and Iphise meet through the intervention of the magician Isménor and fall in love. Dardanus attacks a monster ravaging Teucer's kingdom, saving the life of Anténor who is attempting, unsuccessfully, to kill it. Teucer and Dardanus make peace, the latter marrying Iphise.

Background and performance history

1739 premiere

''Dardanus'' appeared at a time when the quarrel between Rameau's supporters and those of the operas of

Jean-Baptiste Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he ...

had become ever more embittered. Rameau's stage music had been controversial since his debut in 1733 with ''

Hippolyte et Aricie ('' Hippolytus and Aricia'') was the first opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau. It was premiered to great controversy by the Académie Royale de Musique at its theatre in the Palais-Royal in Paris on October 1, 1733. The French libretto, by Abbé Sim ...

''. His opponents - the so-called ''lullistes'' - were conservatives who accused him of destroying the French operatic tradition established by Lully under King

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

in the late 17th century. Yet they could not dissuade the Paris Opéra from offering Rameau commissions for new works. ''Hippolyte'' had been followed by ''

Les Indes galantes (French: "The Amorous Indies") is an opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau with a libretto by Louis Fuzelier. It takes the form of an ''opéra-ballet'' with a prologue and (in its final form) four ''entrées'' (acts). Following an allegorical prologue, th ...

'' in 1735 and ''

Castor et Pollux ''Castor et Pollux'' (''Castor and Pollux'') is an opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau, first performed on 24 October 1737 by the Académie royale de musique at its theatre in the Palais-Royal in Paris. The librettist was Pierre-Joseph-Justin Bernard ...

'' in 1737. In 1739 the Opéra commissioned Rameau to write not one but two new scores, the ''

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 seven ...

'' ''

Les fêtes d'Hébé ''Les fêtes d'Hébé, ou Les talens lyriques '' (''The Festivities of Hebe, or The Lyric Talents'') is an ''opéra-ballet'' in a prologue and three ''entrées'' (acts) by the French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau. The libretto was written by Anto ...

'', which premiered on 21 May, and ''Dardanus''. This could only inflame the controversy and there were many ''lullistes'' eager to see Rameau fail. It is likely that Rameau did not start work on the music of ''Dardanus'' until after the premiere of ''Les fêtes d'Hébé'', so that he must have completed it in five months or less. There is some evidence that initially

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

had been considered as the librettist for the new opera but he did not have a finished text to hand and so he may have suggested using ''Dardanus'' by Leclerc de La Bruère instead. La Bruère was only 23 but he had already written four opera libretti, although none were as lengthy or weighty as ''Dardanus''. From the start critics attacked ''Dardanus'', not for the quality of its verse, but for its dramatic incoherence. They accused La Bruère of stringing together a series of spectacular scenes - magical incantations, a dream sequence, the appearance of a monster - without any regard for dramatic logic and thus creating a hybrid between ''tragédie en musique'' and ''

'', a lighter genre in which connection between the acts was of little importance. The drama of two lovers divided because they came from warring nations also resembled the plots of two recent ''tragédies en musique'':

Royer Royer may refer to: Surnames *Alain de Royer-Dupré, French racehorse trainer *Alphonse Royer, French writer *Augustin Royer, French astronomer *Bentley Royer, a Dominican politician *Casey Royer, American drummer *Charles Royer, former mayor of Se ...

's '' Pyrrhus'' (1730) and Montéclair's ''

Jephté ''Jephté'' (''Jephtha'') is an opera by the French composer Michel Pignolet de Montéclair. It takes the form of a ''tragédie en musique'' in a prologue and five acts (because of its subject matter it was also styled a ''tragédie biblique''). Th ...

'' (1732). Yet, according to the Rameau specialist Sylvie Bouissou, ''Dardanus'' suffers in comparison with these models, lacking their dramatic intensity and genuinely tragic endings (in ''Pyrrhus'' the heroine kills herself and in ''Jephté'' the lover of the title character's daughter is struck down by God). ''Dardanus'' premiered on 19 November 1739 and ran for 26 performances. This meant it was not a great success but neither was it the outright failure for which the ''Lullistes'' had hoped. Rameau and La Bruère responded to criticism by making alterations to the work during its first run. ''Dardanus'' was soon the target of two parodies: ''Arlequin Dardanus'' (premiered at the

Comédie-Italienne Comédie-Italienne or Théâtre-Italien are French names which have been used to refer to Italian-language theatre and opera when performed in France. The earliest recorded visits by Italian players were commedia dell'arte companies employed b ...

on 14 January 1740) by

Charles-Simon Favart Charles Simon Favart (13 November 1710 – 12 May 1792) was a French playwright and theatre director. The Salle Favart in Paris is named after him. Biography Born in Paris, the son of a pastry-cook, he was educated at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, a ...

and ''Jean des Dardanelles'' by

Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gresset Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gresset (August 29, 1709 – June 16, 1777) was a French poet and dramatist, best known for his poem ''Vert-Vert''. Life He was born at Amiens. During the last twenty-five years of his life, he regretted the frivolity of his ...

(uncertain date, some time in 1739 or 1740).

1744 revision

For the next few years after the premiere of ''Dardanus'', Rameau wrote no new operas but made minor revisions to two of his old scores for fresh performances, ''Hippolyte et Aricie'' in 1742 and ''Les Indes galantes'' in 1743. In 1744 Rameau and La Bruère returned to ''Dardanus'', thoroughly overhauling the drama with the help of

Simon-Joseph Pellegrin The abbé Simon-Joseph Pellegrin (1663 – 5 September 1745) was a French poet and playwright, a librettist who collaborated with Jean-Philippe Rameau and other composers. Biography He was born at Marseille, the son of a ''conseiller'' to the Si ...

, who had been the librettist for ''Hippolyte''. The final three acts were completely rewritten. The revised version has a simpler plot, fewer supernatural features and a greater focus on the emotional conflicts of the main characters. It premiered at the Paris Opéra on 23 April 1744. The 1744 version attracted little notice until it was revived again on 15 April 1760. This time audiences acclaimed it as one of Rameau's greatest works. The cast included

Sophie Arnould Sophie Arnould (13 February 1740, in Paris – 18 October 1802, in Paris) was a French operatic soprano. Born Magdeleine Sophie Arnould, she studied in Paris with Marie Fel and La Clairon, and made her stage debut at the Opéra de Paris on 15 ...

as Iphise. The set designs in Act 4, by

René-Michel Slodtz René-Michel Slodtz called Michel-Ange Slodtz (1705–1764) was a French sculptor who worked in Baroque style, and active mainly in Paris and Rome for the Menus-Plaisirs du Roi. Biography A Parisian by birth, Slodtz's father, Sébastien Slodt ...

, imitated

Piranesi Giovanni Battista (or Giambattista) Piranesi (; also known as simply Piranesi; 4 October 1720 – 9 November 1778) was an Italian Classical archaeologist, architect, and artist, famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric ...

's famous etchings of imaginary prisons, ''Carceri d'invenzione''. It was revived again in 1768 and 1771 with modifications to the libretto by Nicolas-René Joliveau and to the score by

Pierre Montan Berton Pierre Montan Berton (7 January 1727 – 14 May 1780) was a French composer and conductor. He resided primarily in Paris and was an opera director. Pierre's son Henri Montan Berton Henri-Montan Berton (17 September 1767 – 22 Apri ...

. Thereafter, it disappeared from the stage until the 20th century, although

Nicolas-François Guillard Nicolas-François Guillard (16 January 1752 – 26 December 1814) was a French librettist. He was born in Chartres and died in Paris, the recipient of a government pension in recognition of his work writing librettos. He was also on ''Comité de ...

reworked La Bruère's libretto for

Antonio Sacchini Antonio Maria Gasparo Gioacchino Sacchini (14 June 1730 – 6 October 1786) was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. Sacchini was born in Florence, but raised in Naples, where he received his musical education. He made a name for him ...

's '' Dardanus'' in 1784.

Modern revivals

''Dardanus'' was produced a handful of times in the 20th century: in a concert version 1907 at the

Schola Cantorum The Schola Cantorum de Paris is a private conservatory in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera. History La Schola was founded i ...

in Paris on 26 April and later the same year at the

Opéra de Dijon The Opéra de Dijon is an opera company and arts organization in Dijon, France. It administers both the Grand Théâtre de Dijon and the Auditorium de Dijon which are its main performance venues. In addition to operas, the organization also stages ...

. In 1934, it was performed in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

. In 1980,

Raymond Leppard Raymond John Leppard (11 August 1927 – 22 October 2019) was a British-American conductor, harpsichordist, composer and editor. In the 1960s, he played a prime role in the rebirth of interest in Baroque music; in particular, he was one of the ...

conducted his own hybrid version of the 1739 and 1744 scores at the Paris Opéra. Finally in 1997 and 1998,

Marc Minkowski Marc Minkowski (born 4 October 1962) is a French conductor of classical music, especially known for his interpretations of French Baroque works, and is the current general director of Opéra national de Bordeaux. His mother, Mary Anne (Wade), i ...

conducted a series of concert performances in Grenoble, Caen, Rennes and Lyon which formed the basis of a Deutsche Grammophon recording in 2000. The American professional premiere, by the

Wolf Trap Opera Company The Wolf Trap Opera Company (sometimes abbreviated WTOC) was founded in 1971 as part of the program of the Wolf Trap Foundation located near the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Fairfax County, Virginia. The company is a residenc ...

directed by Chuck Hudson, was given in July 2003 at the

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts (originally known as the Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts and simply known as Wolf Trap) is a performing arts center located on of national park land in unincorporated Fairfax Count ...

in suburban Virginia. The opera was also produced in Sydney in November–December 2005, by

Pinchgut Opera Pinchgut Opera is a chamber opera company in Sydney, Australia, presenting opera from the 17th and 18th centuries performed on period instruments. Founded in 2002, Pinchgut stages two operas each year in Sydney's City Recital Hall. It also perfor ...

and the Orchestra of the Antipodes. The

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

also staged ''Dardanus'' in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 2006. In France it was revived again in October–November 2009, at Lille, Caen and Dijon, conducted by

Emmanuelle Haïm Emmanuelle Haïm (; born 11 May 1962) is a French harpsichordist and conductor with a particular interest in early music and Baroque music. Early life, student and assistant years Haïm was born and grew up in Paris, and was raised Catholic al ...

and staged by Claude Buchvald. In April 2015, the

Opéra National de Bordeaux This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...

with the Ensemble Pygmalion under

Raphaël Pichon Raphaël Pichon (born in 1984 in Paris) is a French countertenor, choral and orchestral conductor. Biography Raphaël Pichon was a member of the Maîtrise des Petits chanteurs de Versailles during his childhood. He then studied violin and piano ...

performed the 1739 version in the

Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux The Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux is an opera house in Bordeaux, France, first inaugurated on 17 April 1780. It was in this theatre that the ballet ''La fille mal gardée'' premiered in 1789, and where a young Marius Petipa staged some of his firs ...

, a production published on video in the following year by

Harmonia Mundi Harmonia Mundi is an independent record label which specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group. Its Latin name ''ha ...

. The first performance in England of the 1744 version was given by

English Touring Opera English Touring Opera (ETO) is an opera company in the United Kingdom founded in 1979 under the name Opera 80 by the then-existing Arts Council of Great Britain. In 1992 the company changed to its present name. Today it is sponsored in part by Ar ...

on 6 October 2017 at the

Hackney Empire Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in the London Borough of Hackney. Originally designed by Frank Matcham it was built in 1901 as a music hall, and expanded in 2001. Described by ''The Guardian'' as ‘the most beautiful theatre in Lon ...

Theatre, London.

Music

Modern critics have generally agreed with the complaints of Rameau's contemporaries about the weakness of ''Dardanus'' as drama but, musically, they have viewed it as one of the composer's richest scores.

Cuthbert Girdlestone Cuthbert Morton Girdlestone (17 September 1895 – 10 December 1975) was a British musicology, musicologist and literary scholar. Born in Bovey Tracey, Devon, he was educated at University of Cambridge, Cambridge and the University of Paris, Sorb ...

rated it alongside ''Les fêtes d'Hébé'' for the quality and variety of its music and Graham Sadler has described the 1739 version as, "in musical terms", "without doubt one of Rameau's most inspired creations." These comments echo 18th-century reviewers who remarked that "the work was so stuffed with music ..that for three whole hours no one in the orchestra had time even to sneeze." The three major examples of the ''merveilleux'' in the 1739 version (Isménor's magic, the dream scene and the monster), though weakening the drama, provided Rameau with the ideal opportunity to show his musical imagination. Act 2 has a magical ceremony including the accompanied recitative ''Suspends ta brillante carrière'', in which Isménor stops the course of the sun, dances for infernal spirits, and a menacing chorus for the magicians, ''Obéis aux lois d'Enfer'', which is almost totally

homophonic In music, homophony (;, Greek: ὁμόφωνος, ''homóphōnos'', from ὁμός, ''homós'', "same" and φωνή, ''phōnē'', "sound, tone") is a texture in which a primary part is supported by one or more additional strands that flesh ...

with one note per syllable. The dream sequence, in which the sleeping hero has a vision, had precedents in earlier French Baroque operas where it was called a ''sommeil''. Rameau produces a succession of arias, dances, trios for the Dreams and ''symphonies'' (sections of instrumental music) to evoke an hypnotic state, "at once an inducement to sleep, a ''

berceuse A berceuse is "a musical composition usually in time that resembles a lullaby". Otherwise it is typically in triple meter. Tonally most berceuses are simple, often merely alternating tonic and dominant harmonies; since the intended effect is ...

'' and an impression of sleep." The sea monster comes from a tradition beginning with Lully's ''

Persée ''Persée'' (''Perseus'') is a tragédie lyrique with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully and a libretto by Philippe Quinault, first performed on 18 April 1682 by the Opéra at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris. Roles Synopsis ACT I: The Pal ...

'' in 1682. Rameau had included a similar episode in the fourth act of ''Hippolyte et Aricie''. In ''Dardanus'' he blends the monster's music with a ''tempête'', the musical representation of a storm, using broken

arpeggios A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves. An arpeggio () is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played ...

Girdlestone Girdlestone is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Charles Girdlestone (1797–1881), English clergyman and biblical commentator * (Charlotte) Hester Girdlestone (born 1911), mother of Stephen Oliver (composer) (1950–1992) and ...

rated it as one of Rameau's "most sustained tone-pictures, worthy of comparison with the earthquake in ''Les Indes galantes''." Perhaps the most notable new music in the 1744 version is Dardanus' prison monologue, ''Lieux funestes'', one of Rameau's most famous arias. It is in sombre F minor with

obbligato In Western classical music, ''obbligato'' (, also spelled ''obligato'') usually describes a musical line that is in some way indispensable in performance. Its opposite is the marking ''ad libitum''. It can also be used, more specifically, to indica ...

bassoons and "clashing sevenths and ninths" which produce an "excruciating harshness." The 18th-century music critic Pierre-Louis D'Aquin de Châteaulyon saw that the piece was instrumentally, not vocally, conceived and represented a break with the aesthetics of Lully: "Take away the words, and the music no less expresses the accents of suffering and the rigours of a cruel prison. You can change nothing, add nothing, everything is in its place. This is genuine music. The old music was nothing but a shadow of this."

Roles

Instrumentation

The opera uses an

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

with the following

instrumentation Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making. Instrumentation can refer to ...

: 2

piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...

s, 2

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

s, 2

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

s, 2

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

s, 2

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionall ...

and other percussion,

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

(with divided

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

s),

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

.Sadler (1993), p. 836

Synopsis (1739 version)

Prologue

''Scene: Cupid's palace on Cythera.''
Cupid and the Graces sing and dance for Venus until Jealousy with her Troubles and Suspicions disrupts the celebrations. Venus orders her followers to bind Jealousy in chains, but freed from Troubles and Suspicions Cupid and his entourage fall asleep and Jealousy is needed to revive them. Venus then prepares to present the story of Dardanus.

Act 1

''Scene: A place full of mausoleums commemorating Phrygian warriors who have died fighting Dardanus.''
In the opening aria ''Cesse, cruel Amour, de régner sur mon âme'', Iphise laments that she is in love with Dardanus, the deadly enemy of her father Teucer, King of the Phrygians. Teucer declares the Phrygians will soon be victorious over Dardanus as he has just sealed an alliance with Prince Anténor. In return, he has promised Iphise to Anténor in marriage. Iphise is not so sure they will defeat Dardanus, the son of the supreme god

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...

, but the Phrygian people celebrate their predicted triumph anyway. Iphise decides to ask the magician Isménor for help.

Act 2

''Scene: A solitary place, with a temple in the background.''
Isménor sings of his power to foresee the future (Aria: ''Tout l'avenir est présent à mes yeux''). He is astonished when Dardanus arrives; after all, this is the realm of Teucer and thus enemy territory. However, as a priest of Jupiter, Isménor promises to be a faithful friend to the god's son. Dardanus tells him he is in love with Iphise. The magician conjures up spirits and gives Dardanus his magic wand: it will enable him to appear before Iphise in the form of Isménor. Dardanus uses the spell just before Iphise arrives. Thinking she is speaking to Isménor, Iphise confesses she is in love with Dardanus. Dardanus can no longer resist and reassumes his true form. Iphise despairs of their love ever being happy and runs off. Music representing the noise of battle serves as a transition between Act 2 and Act 3.

Act 3

''Scene: A gallery in Teucer's palace.''
The Phrygians have defeated Dardanus in battle and taken him captive, leading Iphise to lament his fate (Aria:''Ô jour affreux''). Anténor learns that Iphise loves Dardanus not him. The Phrygians celebrate their victory, but the festival is soon interrupted by a furious dragon sent by Neptune. Anténor vows to kill the monster.

Act 4

''Scene: The seashore, with traces of the ravages of the monster.''
Venus rescues Dardanus in her flying chariot. She takes him to the seashore where three Dreams lull him to sleep then rouse him to fight the monster which is ravaging the coast. Anténor confronts the dragon (''Monstre affreux, monstre redoutable'') but has to be rescued by Dardanus, who kills the monster. Dardanus does not yet reveal who he is to Anténor.

Act 5

''Scene: Teucer's palace in the background; on one side, the town is visible; on the other, countryside and the sea.''
The people think Anténor has saved them (Chorus: ''Anténor est victorieux''), but the king has his doubts. The arrival of Dardanus confirms the true identity of the dragon-slayer. Anténor asks Teucer to allow Dardanus to marry Iphise. The king hesitates until Venus descends from the skies, bringing with her Hymen (god of marriage) and Peace. Iphise and Dardanus sing the duet ''Des biens que Vénus nous dispense''. Cupids and Pleasures dance in celebration and the opera concludes with a monumental

chaconne A chaconne (; ; es, chacona, links=no; it, ciaccona, links=no, ; earlier English: ''chacony'') is a type of musical composition often used as a vehicle for variation on a repeated short harmonic progression, often involving a fairly short rep ...

Synopsis (1744 version)

The prologue and Acts 1 and 2 are the same as the 1739 version.

Act 3

Dardanus has been taken captive in battle. A mob of Phrygians bays for his blood. The jealous Anténor plots with his follower Arcas to kill his rival Dardanus surreptitiously so he can win Iphise's hand at last.

Act 4

In prison, the despairing Dardanus sings the aria ''Lieux funestes''. Isménor magically appears in the cell and advises Dardanus to pray to Cupid for help. Cupid promises to free Dardanus providing whoever comes to rescue him will sacrifice their life in his stead. Dardanus rejects such terms and when Iphise comes to liberate him he refuses to leave his cell. Anténor arrives and reveals he has freed Dardanus' soldiers to create confusion to allow him to murder Dardanus. Now full of remorse and mortally wounded by the soldiers, he repents the plot and dies. The sacrifice necessary for Dardanus' liberation has been made and he and Iphise are free to leave.

Act 5

Dardanus has captured Teucer. He offers him his throne back in return for Iphise's hand in marriage, but the old king still refuses. In despair, Dardanus hands Teucer his sword and asks him to kill him. Teucer is moved by Dardanus' magnanimity and relents. The act ends with Venus descending to celebrate the wedding of Dardanus and Iphise.

Recordings

Audio (1739 version)

Audio (1744 version)

Audio (blend of 1739 and 1744 versions)

Video (1739 version)

References

Sources

* Philippe Beaussant, booklet notes to the Alpha audio recording of ''Dardanus''. * Sylvie Bouissou, ''Jean-Philippe Rameau: Musicien des Lumières'' (Fayard, 2014) *

, ''Jean-Philippe Rameau: His Life and Works'' (originally published 1957; revised edition published by Dover, 1969) *Graham Sadler, "Jean-Philippe Rameau" in ''The New Grove: French Baroque Masters'' (first published 1980; paperback edition Macmillan, 1986) *Graham Sadler, article on ''Dardanus'' in the ''Viking Opera Guide'', ed. Amanda Holden (Viking, 1993) * Lajarte, Théodore, ''Bibliothèque Musicale du Théatre de l'Opéra. Catalogue Historique, Chronologique, Anecdotique'', Paris, Librairie des bibliophiles, 1878, Tome I, ''ad nomen'', pp. 191–92 (accessible online for free i
Internet Archive
* Sadler, Graham, ''Dardanus (i)'', in Sadie, Stanley (ed.), ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' (I, pp. 1077–79), Grove (Oxford University Press), New York, 1997 () * Mellace, Raffaele, ''Dardanus'', in Gelli, Piero & Poletti, Filippo (ed.), ''Dizionario dell'Opera 2008'', Milano, Baldini Castoldi Dalai, 2007, pp. 289–290, ISBN 978-88-6073- 184-5 (in Italian)

Horvallis 2003-2010 *

Warrack, John John Hamilton Warrack (born 1928, in London) is an English music critic, writer on music, and oboist. Warrack is the son of Scottish conductor and composer Guy Warrack. He was educated at Winchester College (1941-6) and then at the Royal College o ...

and West, Ewan, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Opera'' New York: OUP: 1992

External links

*
''Rameau Le Site'': libretto (1760 version)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dardanus French-language operas Operas by Jean-Philippe Rameau Tragédies en musique Operas 1739 operas Operas based on classical mythology Opera world premieres at the Paris Opera