Portrait of Jean-Philippe Rameau - Joseph Aved

''La guirlande'' (full name: ''La guirlande, ou Les fleurs enchantées'') is an opera by the French composer

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

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 ...

Jean-François Marmontel Jean-François Marmontel (11 July 1723 – 31 December 1799) was a French historian, writer and a member of the Encyclopédistes movement. Biography He was born of poor parents at Bort, Limousin (today in Corrèze). After studying with th ...

. It takes the form of an '' acte de ballet'' (a one-act opera with many dance movements). It debuted on 21 September 1751 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 ...

. The primary theme is faithfulness, as shown by the characters of two

shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...

s. The story occurs in

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

, an idealized area of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

that was a popular setting in the pastoral literature of the time.

Performance history

''La guirlande'' was first performed on 21 September 1751 at the Paris Opéra along with

François Rebel François Rebel (19 June 17017 November 1775) was a French composer of the Baroque era. Born in Paris, the son of the leading composer Jean-Féry Rebel, he was a child prodigy who became a violinist The following lists of violinists are availab ...

and

François Francœur François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King ...

's ''Les génies tutélaires'' and an act ("Les sauvages") taken from Rameau's ''

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 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 ...

''. It was a great success. This was the first of Rameau's stage works to be revived in the modern era, when it was staged by the

Schola Cantorum de Paris 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 ...

on 22 June 1903. After witnessing this performance,

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

declared, "Vive Rameau! à bas Gluck!" ("Long live Rameau! Down with

Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period (music), classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the ...

!").

Roles

Synopsis

Zélide and her lover Myrtil have magic garlands which will stay fresh and green forever as long as they are faithful to each other. However, Myrtil falls for Amaryllis and his garland begins to wither and die. Regretting his action, Myrtil places his garland on the altar of

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 ...

in the hope that the god will rejuvenate it and save his chances with Zélide. Zélide finds Myrtil's wilted garland and swaps it for her own. Upon returning to the altar, Myrtil finds his garland apparently restored to life. Praising the god, he returns to Zélide, only to find her with a withered garland of her own! Myrtil refuses to believe Zélide has been unfaithful to him, despite evidence to the contrary. It is this forgiveness that eventually saves the day. Both the lovers' garlands are restored and they all live happily ever after.

Music

''La Guirlande'' was the first of several collaborations between Rameau and Marmontel. Many of the dances were borrowed from an earlier opera by Rameau, '' Le temple de la gloire'' (1745), which had been a failure. The modern musicologist

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 ...

described the work thus: "It is a flawless piece of Dresden-china Rameau. This is not, in my eyes, the most precious kind of Rameau nor, fortunately, the commonest; indeed, it is seldom that he abides successfully within the slender framework of the ''bergerie''; but he has done so here and the result is perfection, even though the perfection be of a modest order."Girdlestone p.467

Recordings

*''La guirlande'' (with '' Zéphyre'')

Sophie Daneman Sophie Daneman is a British soprano specializing in the baroque repertoire. Biography Sophie Daneman, a daughter of the actor Paul Daneman, studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She became known during the 1990s with t ...

(Zélide),

Paul Agnew Paul Agnew (born 1964 in Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europ ...

(Myrtil), François Bazola (Hylas), Chorus of Les Arts Florissants, Capella Coloniensis of WDR, conducted by William Christie (Erato, 2 CDs, 2001). * ''La Guirlande'' (The Enchanted Flowers); with Claudie Saneva, soprano (Zélide); Jean-Jacques Lesueur, tenor (Mirtil); Versailles Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Bernard Wahl; chorus under the direction of Elisabeth Brasseur (Nonesuch Records] H-71023, LP, not dated).

References

;Notes ;Sources *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, Booklet notes to the Christie recording

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Guirlande, La Operas Operas by Jean-Philippe Rameau French-language operas One-act operas 1751 operas Ballets by Jean-Philippe Rameau Opera world premieres at the Paris Opera