Omphale (Destouches)
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''Omphale'' 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 ...
by the French composer
André Cardinal Destouches André Cardinal Destouches (sometimes called des Touches) (baptised 6 April 1672  – 7 February 1749) was a French composer best known for the ''opéra-ballet'' ''Les élémens''. Biography Born in Paris, the son of Étienne Cardinal, a ...
, first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique (the
Paris Opera 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 ...
) on 10 November 1701. 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 is by
Antoine Houdar de La Motte Antoine Houdar de la Motte (18 January 167226 December 1731) was a French author. De la Motte was born and died in Paris. In 1693 his comedy, ''Les Originaux'' (Les originaux, ou, l'Italien), was a complete failure, and so depressed the author ...
.


Sources

*
Libretto at "Livres baroques"
*
Félix Clément and Pierre Larousse ''Dictionnaire des Opéras'', Paris, 1881
* ''Viking Opera Guide'', ed. Amanda Holden (Viking, 1993): article on ''Omphale'', p.262 French-language operas Tragédies en musique 1701 operas Operas by André Cardinal Destouches Operas Opera world premieres at the Paris Opera {{french-opera-stub