Portrait of Jean-Philippe Rameau - Joseph Aved

''Les Boréades'' is the final opera composed 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 ...

(1683–1764). The work takes the form of 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 co ...

'' in five acts. The

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 ...

, 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, namely ...

(1706–1759), is loosely based on the Greek legend of

Abaris the Hyperborean In Greek mythology, Abaris the Hyperborean (, Ábaris Hyperbóreios), son of Seuthes (Σεύθης), was a legendary sage, healer, and priest of Apollo known to the Ancient Greeks. He was supposed to have learned his skills in his homeland of Hy ...

and includes

Masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

elements; the Boréades are the descendants of Boréas. Though evidently rehearsed in 1763, the work was yet unperformed by Rameau's death in 1764.

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 kn ...

, 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 (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

. 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 books, and possibly other materials and media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or digital (soft copies) materials, and may be a p ...

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, 1995 ...

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, especially the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage of 2000, performing Church cantata (Bach), Bach's church ...

, 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 direct ...

played

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

continuo) at the

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts European classical music, classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by ...

, 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, 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, French horn, horn player, Conducting, conductor, musicology, musicologist and pedagogy, pedagogue, founder and artistic director of the Prague baroque orchestra Collegium 1704 and of ...

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 Romanti ...

, 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 language, Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization in Central Asia based in the area south of the Oxus River (modern Amu Darya) and north of the mountains of the Hindu Kush, an area ...

, 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 A north wind originates in the north and blows in a southward direction. The wind has had historical and literary significance, since it often signals cold weather and seasonal change in the Northern hemisphere. Mythology *In Greek mythology, ...

. 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 is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

and the muse

Polyhymnia Polyhymnia (; ), alternatively Polymnia (Πολύμνια), is, in Greek mythology, the Muse of sacred poetry, sacred hymn, dance and eloquence, as well as agriculture and pantomime. Etymology Polyhymnia name comes from the Greek words "poly" ...

, 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''; 'God from the machine') is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly or abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence. Its function is general ...

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 a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The g ...

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 Marie Novello, also known as Marie Novello Williams (born Maria Williams; 31 March 1884 – 21 June 1928) was a Welsh people, Welsh pianist. She was one of Theodor Leschetizky's last students and performed in public from childhood. Her early ...

'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 ...

website, accessed 6 November 2008 and issued as one side of a

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

10" 78 RPM record no. B 2592, labeled simply "Gavotte." Complete recordings from the modern era include: *

Erato In Greek mythology, Erato (; ) is one of the Greek Muses, the 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 of Rhodes playfully sugge ...

(1982 recording): Monteverdi Orchestra and

Choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

;

, 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 kn ...

, William Christie, conductor. *Château de Versailles Spectacles (2020 recording),

, conductor. *

Le Concert d'Astrée Le Concert d'Astrée is an instrumental and vocal ensemble dedicated to the performance of Baroque music. It was founded In 2000 by Emmanuelle Haïm, and has been in residence at the Opéra de Lille since 2004 and has established an international re ...

Emmanuelle Haïm Emmanuelle Haïm (; born 11 May 1962) is a French harpsichordist and conductor with a particular interest in early music and Baroque music. Early life, student and assistant years Haïm was born and grew up in Paris, and was raised Catholic alt ...

(DVD 2021)

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 t ...

'', 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 1763 operas