Portrait of Jean-Philippe Rameau - Joseph Aved

''Anacréon'' is an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

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 ...

which was first performed at

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...

on 23 October 1754. Its

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) 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 th ...

is by

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, namely ...

. It takes the form of an '' acte de ballet'' in one act. Rameau also composed another ''Anacréon'' in 1757. The latter was an act added to a revival of the ''

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 seventeen ...

'' '' Les surprises de l'Amour'' and has sometimes been performed and recorded as a stand-alone opera. It too features the Ancient

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

poet

Anacreon Anacreon ( BC) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and erotic poems. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets. Anacreon wrote all of his poetry in the ancient Ionic dialect. Like all early ...

as its hero, but the libretto (by Pierre-Joseph-Justin Bernard) and its plot are totally different.

Background and performance history

There is some evidence that the 1754 ''Anacréon'' was not originally intended as an independent work but was to be part of a multi-act ''

'' entitled ''Les beaux jours de l'Amour''. The other sections were '' La naissance d'Osiris'' and the unfinished '' Nélée et Myrthis''. Rameau had problems completing the project and instead salvaged ''Anacréon'' and ''La naissance d'Osiris'' for performances before the royal court at Fontainebleau in 1754. The Duc d'Aumont subjected them to rehearsal and screening before they were given approval for staging because of the poor reception other works by Rameau had met the previous year. ''Anacréon'' appeared on 23 and 26 October 1754, the only performances during the composer's lifetime. Rameau and Cahusac revised the score and this version appeared posthumously 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 kn ...

in 1766. A brief run in 1771 was the last staging of the work until the 20th century. The first modern revival was an abridged version conducted by

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

in 1909.

Roles

Synopsis

In this opera, the old poet Anacreon pretends he is going to marry his protégée Cloë. She is in love with the young Bathylle, also under Anacreon's protection. Finally, the poet reveals he had planned to marry the two lovers all along. The work was performed "with great success".Girdlestone p. 474.

Recording

* ''Anacréon'' (1754) Matthew Brook (Anacréon), Anna Dennis (Chloë), Agustin Prunell-Friend (Batile), Choir and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment conducted by Jonathan Williams (Signum Classics, 2015)

References

Sources

*Original libretto: ''Anacréon, Ballet Heroique, Représenté devant le Roi à Fontainebleau, le (..) Octobre 1754'', Paris, Ballard, s.d. (accessible for free online i
Gallica, Bibliothèque Nationale de France
* 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 * Pitou, Spire, ''The Paris Opéra. An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers – Rococo and Romantic, 1715–1815'', Greenwood Press, Westport/London, 1985 () * Sadler, Graham (Ed.), ''The New Grove French Baroque Masters'' Grove/Macmillan, 1988 *Williams, Jonathan, essay in the booklet notes to his recording of ''Anacréon'' (details listed above) {{DEFAULTSORT:Anacreon Rameau 1754 Operas by Jean-Philippe Rameau French-language operas One-act operas Operas 1754 operas Libretti by Louis de Cahusac