Portrait of Jean-Philippe Rameau - Joseph Aved

''Les fêtes d'Hébé, ou Les talens lyriques '' (''The Festivities of Hebe, or The Lyric Talents'') is an '' opéra-ballet'' in a prologue and three ''entrées'' (acts) by the French composer

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 ...

. 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 ...

was written by Antoine Gautier de Montdorge (1707–1768). The work was first performed on 21 May 1739 by the Académie royale de musique at its theatre in the Palais-Royal in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Performance history

''Les fêtes d'Hébé'' was Rameau's second ''opera-ballet''; his first, '' Les Indes galantes'', had appeared in 1735. It was first performed at the Paris Opéra on 21 May 1739. The famous dancer

Marie Sallé Marie Sallé (1707–1756) was a French dancer and choreographer in the 18th century known for her expressive, dramatic performances rather than a series of "leaps and frolics" typical of ballet of her time. Biography Marie Sallé was a promine ...

appeared as Terpsichore in the third entrée. Montdorge was a friend of Rameau's patron Alexandre Le Riche de La Poupelinière. His libretto came in for heavy criticism and the second ''entrée'' had to be revised with the aid of Simon-Joseph Pellegrin, who had written the words for Rameau's first opera, '' Hippolyte et Aricie''. In spite of the weak libretto, the work was an immediate success and became one of Rameau's most popular operas, enjoying 80 performances in its first year. It was revived in 1747, 1756 and 1764 (with set designs supervised by

François Boucher François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...

and the role of Iphise taken by Sophie Arnould). Thereafter, 18th century productions only gave partial versions of the work.

Roles

Synopsis

''Les fêtes d'Hébé'' takes the form of a typical ''opéra -ballet'': a series of self-contained acts loosely based around a theme, in this the case the "lyric arts" of poetry, music and dance.

Prologue

:''Scene: a landscape with

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (, , ) is an extensive massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, between the regional units of Larissa (regional unit), Larissa and Pieria (regional ...

in the background'' Hebe is harassed by the unwanted attentions of Momus. Cupid suggests she should escape with him to the banks of the River Seine to witness festivities celebrating the arts.

First entrée: Poetry

:''Scene: A grove'' On the island of

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of , with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, eighth largest ...

, the love of the two poets

Sappho Sappho (; ''Sapphṓ'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; ) was an Ancient Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while accompanied by music. In ancient times, Sapph ...

and Alcaeus is harmed by the jealous Thelemus, who persuades King Hymas to banish Alcaeus. When the king is out hunting, Sappho surprises him and stages an

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory throughou ...

play for him, by which Hymas learns the truth. The king pardons Alcaeus and the lovers rejoice.

Second entrée: Music

:''Scene: The

peristyle In ancient Ancient Greek architecture, Greek and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture, a peristyle (; ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. ''Tetrastoön'' () is a rare ...

of a temple'' Iphise, daughter of

Lycurgus Lycurgus (; ) was the legendary lawgiver of Sparta, credited with the formation of its (), involving political, economic, and social reforms to produce a military-oriented Spartan society in accordance with the Delphic oracle. The Spartans i ...

, King of

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

, is due to be married to Tyrtaeus, an accomplished musician as well as a warrior. An oracle announces that Iphise must marry the "conqueror of the Messenians" and Tyrtaeus leads his soldiers into battle against them. Iphise views the action in the form of a ballet provided by the oracle. Tyrtaeus is victorious and the act ends with general rejoicing.

Third entrée: Dance

:''Scene: a grove with a hamlet in the background. Later, an ornate garden'' The shepherdess Eglé, well known for her skill at dancing, is due to choose a husband. The god Mercury visits her village in disguise and falls in love with her, arousing the jealousy of the shepherd Eurilas. Eglé chooses Mercury and the two celebrate with the help of Terpsichore, the muse of dance, and her followers.

Music

The music has received much praise. According to Cuthbert Girdlestone, "Rameau gave of his best. No work of his contains more variety or contains so kaleidoscopically complete a view of his range in lyric, tragedy or pastoral." Graham Sadler has written, "Rameau, by now at the height of his powers, contributes a score of astonishing inventiveness. ''C'est une musique enchantée'', wrote one contemporary with little exaggeration. This is especially true of the third entrée, wonderfully rich in that languorous and often deeply nostalgic music that is one of Rameau's hallmarks." Rameau included orchestrated versions of several of his harpsichord pieces in the score. For example, ''L'entretien des Muses'' in the second entrée from the D major suite in the 1724 ''Pièces de Clavessin'', and the musette and tambourin from the E minor suite in the same book in the third entrée.Anderson booklet notes p.16 The Bourrée from the Prologue was used in the soundtrack of Vatel.

Recordings

Complete

*''Les fêtes d'Hébé''

Sophie Daneman Sophie Daneman (born 1968) is a British soprano specializing in the baroque repertoire. Biography Sophie Daneman, a daughter of the actor Paul Daneman, studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She became known during the ...

Paul Agnew Paul Agnew (born 11 April 1964 in Glasgow) is a Scottish operatic tenor and conductor. Biography Agnew read music as a Choral Scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with various groups specializing in early music (Ex Cathe ...

, Sarah Connolly, Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, Thierry Félix, Les Arts Florissants, conducted by William Christie (

Erato Records Erato Records is a record label founded in 1953 as Erato Disques S.A. by Philippe Loury to promote French classical music. Loury was head of éditions musicales Costallat. His first releases in France were licensed from the Haydn Society of Bo ...

, 2 CDs, 1997) *''Les fêtes d'Hébé'' Chantal Santon Jeffery, Marie Perbost, Olivia Doray, Judith van Wanroij, Reinoud van Mechelen, Mathias Vidal, Purcell Choir and Orfeo Orchestra, conducted by György Vashegyi ( Glossa Records, 3 CDs (incl. 1st and 2nd Version of 2nd entrée: "La Musique"), 2022)

Third entrée only

*''Les fêtes d'Hébé: La danse'' Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra, conducted by

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 ...

(Erato, 1977)

References

;Notes ;Sources *Original libretto: ''Les Fètes d'Hébé, ou les Talens lyriques. Ballet représenté pour la première fois, par l'Académie Royale de musique, Le Jeudy vingt-un May 1739'', Paris, Ballard, 1739 (accessible for free online a
Gallica - B.N.F.
*Period scores: ** ''Les Fêtes d'Hébé, ou les Talens lyriques, Ballet, Représenté pour la première fois, par l'Académie Royale de musique, Au mois de May 1739. Dédié à S.A.S Madame la Duchesse Douairiere, par M. Rameau'', Paris, Chez l'auteur, s.d. (accessible for free online a
IMSLP
** ''Les Fètes d'Hébé, ou les Talens lyriques. Ballet. Mis en Musique par Monsieur Rameau. Représenté pour la première fois, par l'Académie Royale de Musique le 21 May 1739'', Paris, Ballard, 1739 (accessible for free online a
Gallica - B.N.F.
*Anderson, Nicholas, Booklet notes to the Christie recording * 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.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fetes d'Hebe, Les French-language operas Operas by Jean-Philippe Rameau Opéras-ballets Operas 1739 operas Ballets by Jean-Philippe Rameau Operas based on classical mythology Ballets by Antoine Gautier de Montdorge Opera world premieres at the Paris Opera Cultural depictions of Sappho Cupid Greek and Roman deities in fiction Anemoi Apollo Mars (mythology) Mercury (mythology) Fauns in popular culture