Les Boréades
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Les Boréades'' is a ''
tragédie lyrique 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 ...
mise en musique'', or a lyric tragedy put into music, a type of opera, in five acts 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 ...
(1683-1764). It is the last of his five such works. The
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 ...
, attributed to
Louis de Cahusac Louis de Cahusac (6 April 1706 – 22 June 1759) was an 18th-century French playwright and librettist, and Freemason, most famous for his work with the composer Jean-Philippe Rameau. He provided the libretti for several of Rameau's operas, name ...
(1706–1759), is loosely based on the Greek legend of Abaris the Hyperborean and includes
Masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to Fraternity, fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of Stonemasonry, stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their inte ...
elements; the Boréades are the descendants of Boréas.


Background

There were no known performances of this opera in Rameau's lifetime. The work was in rehearsal in 1763 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 ...
, probably for a private performance at the court at Choisy. It is not known why the performance was abandoned, though many theories have been put forward, including that factions at court fought over it, the music was too difficult, there were subversive plot elements, and that the Opéra was burnt down in the month of rehearsals. The first known performance of the work was in 1770 in a concert performance at
Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...
. J. J. M. Decroix had collected Rameau's works after the composer's death, and thus ensured survival of this score. The
Bibliothèque Nationale A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
housed the collected works, including various manuscripts related to this opera.


Modern performance history

The first modern performance of the work was by the ORTF in 1964 on 16 September 1964 (celebrating the 200th anniversary of Rameau's death) at the Maison de la Radio in Paris, recorded for broadcast the following month; the cast included
Christiane Eda-Pierre Christiane Eda-Pierre (24 March 1932 – 6 September 2020) was a French coloratura soprano of Martinican origin, Alain Pâris. ''Dictionnaire des interprètes et de l’interprétation musicale au XX siècle.'' Éditions Robert Laffont, Paris, 19 ...
and Andre Mallabrera. It owes its modern revival to the conductor
John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Life and career Born in Fontmell Magna, Dorset, son of Rolf Gardiner and Marabel Hodgkin, Ga ...
, who gave a concert version of the piece (in which
Trevor Pinnock Trevor David Pinnock (born 16 December 1946 in Canterbury, England) is a British harpsichordist and conductor. He is best known for his association with the period-performance orchestra The English Concert, which he helped found and directe ...
played
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 ...
continuo) at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, on 14 April 1975, for which he had prepared the orchestral material from the original manuscripts over the preceding year. In July 1982, Gardiner gave the first fully staged performance with
Catherine Turocy Catherine Turocy co-founded The New York Baroque Dance Company in 1976, with Ann Jacoby. The NYBDC is dedicated to reconstructing Baroque dances. Catherine Turocy studied historical dance under Ohio State teacher, Shirley Wynne. She has reconstruct ...
, choreographer, and her New York Baroque Dance Company at the
Aix-en-Provence Festival The Festival d'Aix-en-Provence is an annual international music festival which takes place each summer in Aix-en-Provence, principally in July. Devoted mainly to opera, it also includes concerts of orchestral, chamber, vocal and solo instrumenta ...
. Since then, the opera's reputation and popularity have grown considerably. In 2020, the Czech baroque orchestra
Collegium 1704 Collegium 1704 is a Czech early music orchestra and choir founded in 2005 by the Czech conductor, harpsichordist, and horn player Václav Luks. The Collegium Vocale 1704 is the affiliated vocal ensemble. Since 2007, the ensemble has been making re ...
led by conductor
Václav Luks Václav Luks (born 14 November 1970) is a Czech harpsichordist, horn player, conductor, musicologist and pedagogue, founder and artistic director of the Prague baroque orchestra Collegium 1704 and of the vocal ensemble Collegium Vocale 1704. He ...
toured Europe with a concert production of the opera (Vienna, Moscow, Versailles); a complete recording featuring Caroline Weynants, Deborach Cachet,
Benedikt Kristjánsson Benedikt Kristjánsson (born 1987) is an Icelandic operatic and concert tenor who is based in Germany and has appeared internationally. He focuses on Baroque music, especially by Johann Sebastian Bach, but has also performed and recorded Romant ...
, Mathias Vidal, and Benoît Arnould, was released in the same year by the label Château de Versailles Spectacles. The recording won the French award Trophées for the best opera recording of the year.


Roles


Synopsis

Alphise, Queen of
Bactria Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, southwe ...
, is in love with Abaris, whose origins are unknown. According to the traditions of her country, Alphise must marry a Boread, one of the descendants of Boreas, the god of the North Wind. Determined to marry Abaris, Alphise abdicates, angering Boreas who storms into the wedding and abducts Alphise to his kingdom. With the help of
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
and the muse
Polyhymnia Polyhymnia (; el, Πολυύμνια, lit=the one of many hymns), alternatively Polymnia (Πολύμνια), was, in Greek mythology, the Muse of sacred poetry, sacred hymn, dance and eloquence, as well as agriculture and pantomime. Etymology ...
, Abaris sets off to rescue her. He challenges Boreas and his sons with a magic golden arrow. Apollo descends as
deus ex machina ''Deus ex machina'' ( , ; plural: ''dei ex machina''; English "god out of the machine") is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence. Its function ...
and reveals that Abaris is really his son by a Boread nymph. Therefore, there is no longer any obstacle to Abaris and Alphise's marriage.


Recordings

The opera has no entry in Francis Clough and G. J. Cuming's ''World's Encyclopedia of Recorded Music'', which documents most significant classical recordings of the electrical
78 RPM A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...
era, but the first recording of an excerpt is likely to have been one of the relatively few such disks omitted from that publication: pianist Marie Novello's performance of "Gavottes pour les Heures from Act IV", recorded on March 1, 1927Biographical sketch
at the
Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...
website, accessed 6 November 2008
and issued as one side of
HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...
10" 78 RPM record no. B 2592, labeled simply "Gavotte." Complete recordings from the modern era include: *
Erato In Greek mythology, Erato (; grc, Ἐρατώ) is one of the Greek Muses, which were inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. The name would mean "desired" or "lovely", if derived from the same root as Eros, as Apollonius o ...
(1982 recording):
Monteverdi Orchestra The English Baroque Soloists is a chamber orchestra playing on period instruments, formed in 1978 by English conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Its repertoire comprises music from the early Baroque to the Classical period. History The English ...
and
Choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
;
John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Life and career Born in Fontmell Magna, Dorset, son of Rolf Gardiner and Marabel Hodgkin, Ga ...
, conductor. *Opus Arte DVD (2004 recording); Les Arts Florissants/
Opéra National de Paris 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 ...
, William Christie, conductor. *Château de Versailles Spectacles (2020 recording),
Collegium 1704 Collegium 1704 is a Czech early music orchestra and choir founded in 2005 by the Czech conductor, harpsichordist, and horn player Václav Luks. The Collegium Vocale 1704 is the affiliated vocal ensemble. Since 2007, the ensemble has been making re ...
,
Václav Luks Václav Luks (born 14 November 1970) is a Czech harpsichordist, horn player, conductor, musicologist and pedagogue, founder and artistic director of the Prague baroque orchestra Collegium 1704 and of the vocal ensemble Collegium Vocale 1704. He ...
, conductor.


References

;Notes ;Sources *Sadler, Graham, "''Les Boréades''", ''
Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...
'', ed. L. Macy (accessed May 20, 2006)
grovemusic.com
(subscription access). * Filippo Annunziata, Una Tragédie Lyrique nel secolo dei Lumi. "Abaris ou Les Boréades", di Jean-Philippe Rameau, https://www.academia.edu/6100318. {{DEFAULTSORT:Boreades French-language operas Tragédies en musique Operas by Jean-Philippe Rameau 18th-century operas Operas based on classical mythology