Orphée �rfeə(''Orpheus'') is an opera by the French composer Louis Lully, with contributions from his brother

Jean-Baptiste Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( – 22 March 1687) was a French composer, dancer and instrumentalist of Italian birth, who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he spent most of his life working in the court o ...

the Younger. It was first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique (the

Paris Opera 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 ...

) on 21 February 1690. It takes the form of a ''

tragédie en musique ''Tragédie en musique'' (, musical tragedy), also known as ''tragédie lyrique'' (, lyric tragedy), is a genre of French opera introduced by Jean-Baptiste Lully and used by his followers until the second half of the eighteenth century. Operas i ...

'' in three acts and a prologue. 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 ...

is by Michel Duboullay. This opera was created as a satirical response to Louis Lully's father's tragicomedie et ballet, "Ballet de Psyche," which proclaimed the greatness of

King Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any monar ...

's power and the calm that occurred because of his reign. Louis Lully chose the story of Orpheus in relation to the monarch as a commentary on the villainous tendencies of his rule of France. Prologue *The audience sees an empty theatre with the back

Portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

showing the raging of a cold winter's night. Venus, the goddess of Love and mother of Orpheus, comes in front of the audience and shows her disapproval for 'useless pomp' and the horrors of War, referencing the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

, which as of 1690, has now entered its third year. She laments her son, Orpheus, although the state of her son is unclear from the description provided. The 'Games and Pleasures' (unclear what is being referenced by the description) make their appearance on stage, as well as Cupid and

Charites In Greek mythology, the Charites (; ), singular Charis (), also called the Graces, are goddesses who personify beauty and grace. According to Hesiod, the Charites were Aglaia (Grace), Aglaea, Euphrosyne, and Thalia (Grace), Thalia, who were the ...

(The Graces).

Sources

*
Libretto at "Livres baroques"

Félix Clément and Pierre Larousse ''Dictionnaire des Opéras'', Paris, 1881
page 502. * https://books.google.com/books?id=qxiHDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT150&lpg=PT150&dq=Louis+de+Lully+Orphee&source=bl&ots=Dd2kD_0bTM&sig=ACfU3U3SzuBdo3KDq2hEd5dWuk_B54bB7A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj8jfPylrnpAhXUl3IEHX2GA3cQ6AEwFnoECCIQAQ#v=onepage&q=Louis%20de%20Lully%20Orphee&f=false], search the words 'Louis de Lully Orphee' * ouis XIV and the Land of Love and Adventure: 1679 to 1699, by K. F. Oelkehttps://books.google.com/books?id=542dDwAAQBAJ&q=Louis+de+Lully+Orphee%2C&pg=PT218 search the words 'Louis de Lully Orphee' * heet music, https://imslp.org/wiki/Orph%C3%A9e_(Lully,_Louis) French-language operas Tragédies en musique Operas 1690 operas Operas about Orpheus {{french-opera-stub