Portrait of Jean-Philippe Rameau - Joseph Aved

''Lisis et Délie'' (or ''Lysis et Délie'') was a one-act pastoral opera with music 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 ...

and 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 ...

. The musical score is now lost. It was scheduled to appear 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 ...

on 6 November 1753 as part of the celebrations for the birth of the royal prince

Xavier, Duke of Aquitaine Xavier Marie Joseph, Duke of Aqutaine (8 September 1753 – 22 February 1754) was a French prince of the House of Bourbon. He was the third surviving child and second eldest son of Louis, Dauphin of France and Maria Josepha of Saxony, and ...

. It was due to form a double bill with the ''

comédie-ballet ''Comédie-ballet'' is a genre of French drama which mixes a spoken play with interludes containing music and dance. History The first example of the genre is considered to be '' Les fâcheux'', with words by Molière, performed in honour of Loui ...

'' ''Les hommes'' (words by

Germain-François Poullain de Saint-Foix Germain-François Poullain de Saint-Foix (5 February 1698 – 25 August 1776) was an 18th-century French writer and playwright. Life He served with the musketeers until he was 36, distinguishing himself at Guastalla in 1734. He then left the a ...

, music by François-Joseph Giraud). However, it was withdrawn from performance and "La danse", the third ''entrée'' of Rameau's ''

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 Antoi ...

'', was performed in its place. The reason given for the work's cancellation was that it was too similar to Rameau's '' Daphnis et Eglé'', premiered at Fontainebleau on 30 October. The libretto was published but the music does not survive. Rameau may have reused some of it in his later operas.Bouissou, pp. 777–778

Roles

Synopsis

''Scene: a wood with views of the countryside; a hamlet in the distance''
The shepherd Lisis laments his unrequited love for Délie. Délie offers him only friendship, saying love is merely a fleeting passion. Lisis arouses her jealousy by pretending he has fallen for another shepherdess, Alcyone. Lisis arranges a festival in honour of Alcyone in which the shepherds and shepherdesses play the roles of the gods of the countryside. Délie finally admits her love for Lisis and the opera ends in celebration.

References

Sources

*Bouissou, Sylvie ''Jean-Philippe Rameau: Musicien des lumières'' (Fayard, 2014) * Girdlestone, Cuthbert, ''Jean-Philippe Rameau: His Life and Work'', New York: Dover, 1969 (paperback edition) *Sadler, Graham ''The Rameau Compendium'' (Boydell Press, 2014) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lisis Et Delie Operas by Jean-Philippe Rameau French-language operas Operas 1753 operas Lost operas