''Psyché'' is a five-act '' tragicomédie et ballet'', originally written as a prose text by

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

and versified in collaboration with

Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patron ...

and Philippe Quinault, with music composed by

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 ...

in 1671 and by

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'', ''Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still us ...

in 1684 (music lost). The plot is based on the story of ''

Cupid and Psyche Cupid and Psyche is a story originally from ''Metamorphoses'' (also called '' The Golden Ass''), written in the 2nd century AD by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (or Platonicus). The tale concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between P ...

'' in ''

The Golden Ass The ''Metamorphoses'' of Apuleius, which Augustine of Hippo referred to as ''The Golden Ass'' (''Asinus aureus''), is the only ancient Roman novel in Latin to survive in its entirety. The protagonist of the novel is Lucius. At the end of the no ...

'', written in the 2nd century by

Apuleius Apuleius (; also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis; c. 124 – after 170) was a Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician. He lived in the Roman province of Numidia, in the Berber city of Madauros, modern- ...

. It was first performed on 17 January 1671 before the royal court of

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

at the

Théâtre des Tuileries The Théâtre des Tuileries was a theatre in the former Tuileries Palace in Paris. It was also known as the Salle des Machines, because of its elaborate stage machinery, designed by the Italian theatre architects Gaspare Vigarani and his two sons ...

, with ballets by

Pierre Beauchamps Pierre Beauchamp or Beauchamps (; 30 October 1631 – February 1705) was a French choreographer, dancer and composer, and the probable inventor of Beauchamp–Feuillet notation. His grand-father was called Christophe (a musician) and his fat ...

, Anthoine des Brosses, and Nicolas Delorge, and spectacular scenery and special effects designed by

Carlo Vigarani Carlo Vigarani ( – 17 February 1713)Sheren and La Gorce 2001. was an Italian scenic designer who worked as ("royal engineer") and then ("intendant to the King's pleasures") at the court of the French king Louis XIV until 1690. He was born in ...

.Gaines 2002, p. 394; Powell 2008, pp. 123–124.

History

Molière's play was one of many sumptuous spectacles produced in celebration of the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. The treaty was signed in 1668 but the festivities continued well into 1671. More specifically, the play was a product of

's desire to re-use the

Salle des Machines Salle is the French word for 'hall', 'room' or 'auditorium', as in: *Salle des Concerts Herz, a former Paris concert hall *Salle Favart, theatre of the Paris Opéra-Comique *Salle Le Peletier, former home of the Paris Opéra *Salle Pleyel, a Paris ...

in the

Tuileries Palace The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, f ...

which had been built to house Cavalli's opera '' Ercole Amante'' in 1662.Powell 2000, p. 50. The theatre was sumptuous and could seat over 7000 spectators, but its excessively large stage and the associated acoustics rendered most performances inaudible. It had remained unused since the end of Cavalli's opera. It is likely that Louis XIV also wished to re-use some or all of the sets from ''Ercole Amante'', at the very least the sets representing Hell. Molière did not have time to versify the entire play. He was responsible for inventing and outlining the plot, including the coordination of the ''intermèdes'' which involved singers, dancers and machines. He versified the prologue, the first act and the first scene of acts two and three. The rest of the play was versified by Pierre Corneille. Philippe Quinault wrote all of the poetry that was set to music. The music itself was composed by Jean-Baptiste Lully.

Sources

The subject is taken from

's ''Metamorphoses'' (also known as ''

''). The story of Psyche and Cupid is recounted by an old woman to a young girl kidnapped by brigands. Apuleius's version was far too ribald and overtly sexual for the 17th century stage, or even for the 17th century reader, and the story had been adapted to the morals of the time on several occasions. There were two ballets on the subject: the ''Ballet de la reine tiré de la fable de Psyché'' of 1619 and Benserade's ''Ballet de Psyché'' of 1656.

La Fontaine Jean de La Fontaine (, , ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his '' Fables'', which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Eu ...

had also published a ''conte'' entitled ''Les Amours de Psyché et de Cupidon'' in 1669.

Plot summary

Prologue: Flora and her followers summon Venus to participate in their games (in celebration of the peace that Louis XIV has brought to the world). Venus arrives in a fury, however, and breaks the hitherto musical atmosphere of the prologue. She sends her son to punish Psyché, despite his reticence. Act one: Psyché's jealous sisters attempt to attract the attention of her two most recent suitors, without success. Psyché refuses both suitors before being called away by a messenger. The messenger then informs Psyché's sisters that she must be sacrificed on the mountain top and devoured by a monster. The sisters confess their delight before a group of mourners arrive on stage and sing the first ''intermède'', the ''plainte italienne''. Act two: The King informs Psyché of her fate. She accepts it unflinchingly, though her father prefers to defy the gods. After bidding him farewell, her sisters arrive and seem unwilling to leave her alone. Psyché pushes them to save themselves, but they reply that oracles are always mysterious and perhaps her fate will not be so hard after all. They finally leave and Psyché believes herself to be alone at last to face her doom when her suitors appear to defend her. She chastises their impiety. Their attempt to defend her is in any case vain, as she is carried away by zephyrs. The set changes for the third act, representing a magnificent palace. At this time, Vulcan sings the second ''intermede'', encouraging his crew of cyclops to finish building the palace. Act three: Zephyr informs Cupid that he has successfully brought Psyché to her new palace and expresses his surprise at Cupid's new, adult appearance. Psyché wakes up and is confused by her splendid surroundings. Rather than being attacked by a monster, Psyché is greeted by the dashing figure of Cupid who declares his love for her. After a love scene, Psyché impresses upon Cupid (whose identity she still does not know) that she must share her happy fate with her sisters and father. Cupid resists, but finally concedes and sends Zephyr to fetch Psyché's sisters. For the third ''intermède'', Cupid invites a Cupid and a Zephyr to sing a ''divertissement'' in honour of Love. Act four: Psyché's sisters, having seen Psyché's new home are, naturally, green with envy and try to find a way to spoil her happiness. They feed her curiosity regarding the identity of her lover and make her fear his unfaithfulness, suggesting that all the palace may be no more than a lie, an enchantment. Zephyr takes them away. Psyché demands to know the identity of her lover. Cupid resists, saying that to know his identity is to lose him forever, but swears that he will tell her if she wishes it absolutely. She insists, and Cupid confesses his identity, then disappears, taking the palace with him. Alone in a lugubrious setting, Psyché bemoans her fate, and resolves to drown herself in the river. The River God forbids her, saying the heavens forbid it and that an easier fate may be in store. But in the meantime, Venus arrives to chastise and to punish Psyché. In the fourth ''intermède'' Psyché descends to hell, where eight Furies dance a ballet to celebrate the rage they have inspired in so sweet a goddess as Venus. Psyché passes in Charon's boat with the box the Venus orders her to obtain from Proserpine. Act five: Psyché is in Hell and meets her two suitors. They recount how they threw themselves from the rock on which Psyché was sacrificed, having been unable to prevent her death. They also recount the death of her sisters, who voluntarily threw themselves off a cliff, proudly believing that Zephyr would carry them back to Cupid's palace. Psyché, determined to regain the love of Cupid, opens Proserpine's box, hoping to enhance her beauty. But a poisonous vapour comes out of the box, killing her. Cupid descends to lament what her death and forgives her. Venus descends and chastises Cupid for his rebellion. He confronts his mother for her cruelty towards the object of his love. He calls on Jupiter for aid, who takes his side and grants Psyché immortality. The scene changes from Hell to Heaven and a great ballet is danced by the followers of Apollo, Bacchus, Momus and Mars to celebrate the union of Cupid and Psyché.

Literary reception

The play was given for the first time on January 17, 1671. Like the traditional

ballet de cour ''Ballet de cour'' ("court ballet") is the name given to ballets performed in the 16th and 17th centuries at courts. The court ballet was a gathering of noblemen and women, as the cast and audience were largely supplied by the ruling class. The f ...

of the time, many eminent figures at court participated in the ballets (particularly the final ''intermède'') alongside professional musicians and dancers. The play and ballet were performed several times at the

Salle des Tuileries Salle is the French word for 'hall', 'room' or 'auditorium', as in: *Salle des Concerts Herz, a former Paris concert hall *Salle Favart, theatre of the Paris Opéra-Comique *Salle Le Peletier, former home of the Paris Opéra *Salle Pleyel, a Paris ...

during the Carnaval period. Molière continued to give the play at his usual venue, the

Théâtre du Palais-Royal The Théâtre du Palais-Royal () is a 750-seat Parisian theatre at 38 rue de Montpensier, located at the northwest corner of the Palais-Royal in the Galerie de Montpensier at its intersection with the Galerie de Beaujolais. Brief history ...

. He was required to renovate his theatre in order to stage the play. These renovations, consisting mostly in stage machinery, cost the troupe over 4000 livres (roughly 50 000 euros today), not including the cost of hiring extra musicians, singers and dancers. The investment proved worthwhile, however, since the success of the play was spectacular. During Molière's lifetime (that is to say over the course of the next two years), the play was given 82 times (not including the initial representations at the Tuileries) for a total profit of 77 119 livres. It was necessary to modify the ''intermèdes'' somewhat since there was neither enough space nor enough money to mount such lavish ballets as at the Tuileries. But aside from the more restrained forces, the text and structure of the court and city versions are virtually identical. The same expense that pushed Molière to reduce his cast has caused the play to become virtually unknown in our time. The play is too difficult to mount and is therefore known more as a work of literature to be studied than as a play that anyone has seen. But despite its impractical qualities (for today's theatre companies at least) and the limited participation of its principal author, ''Psyché'' is widely accepted to be one of Molière's greatest successes and one of his finest plays.

References

Notes Sources * Gaines, James F. (2002). ''The Molière Encyclopedia''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. . * Powell, John S. (2000). ''Music and theatre in France, 1600-1680''. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Online pdf
* Powell, John S. (2008). "Pierre Beauchamps and the Public Theater", pp. 117–135, in ''Dance, Spectacle, and the Body Politic, 1250–1750'', edited by Jennifer Neville. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Online pdf
* Powell, John S. (2009). "The Metamorphosis of ''Psyché''". Paper given for the conference Opera and Politics in the Ancien Régime under the aegis of The UCLA Center for Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Studies at the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library on 27 February 2009

External links

''Psyché'' 1671 libretto
at Gallica. Original title: ''Psiché, tragicomédie et ballet dansé devant sa Majesté au mois de Janvier 1671''. Paris: Robert Ballard. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Psyche (play) 1671 plays Plays by Molière Plays by Pierre Corneille Compositions by Jean-Baptiste Lully Plays adapted into ballets Plays based on classical literature Collaborative plays Cupid and Psyche Works based on The Golden Ass Plays based on classical mythology