Search Results

Atys : tragedie mise en musique

Description: Atys, which premiered on 10 January 1676, is the first of the tragédies lyriques of Jean-Baptiste Lully and Philippe Quinault to have a tragic ending. As the Prologue indicates, the tragedie itself is a divertissement to ease the king's mind of his impending duties. Joyce Newman, in Jean-Baptiste de Lully and his Tragédie Lyriques, summarizes the message of the story in this way: "In [Atys], Quinault shows how actions which are not in accord with the noble ideal will bring defeat and punishm… more
Date: 1720
Creator: Lully, Jean Baptiste, 1632-1687 & Quinault, Philippe, 1635-1688
Partner: UNT Music Library

Persée : tragedie

Description: King Louis XIV's involvement in campaigns against the Dutch/Swedish alliance in early 1682 prevented him from attending the premiere of Persée in April of that year. As was customary in the operas of composer Jean-Baptiste Lully and librettist Philippe Quinault, the prologue included references to current battlefield exploits and portrayed the king as a paragon of virtue. The prologues of previous Lully operas emphasized glory and prowess over virtue; the change in emphasis in Persée may have … more
Date: 1722
Creator: Lully, Jean Baptiste, 1632-1687 & Quinault, Philippe, 1635-1688
Partner: UNT Music Library

Les amours des dieux : ballet heroique

Description: Mouret’s Les amours des dieux is classified as a ballet-heroïque, a type of opéra-ballet that was popular during the first half of the eighteenth century. Although the term ballet-heroïque suggests the prevalence of dance, drawing on the divertissement tradition, singing and acting are also integral parts of this genre. What distinguishes the opéra-ballet from the tragedie en musique is the use of separate plots for each entrée (comparable to an act). The segments are not entirely independent… more
Date: 1727
Creator: Mouret, Jean Joseph, 1682-1738
Partner: UNT Music Library

Le voyage de Cythere

Description: This secular cantata for soprano and basso continuo features obbligato flute and violin. The introductory letter addresses not a royal patron but a commercial one - the women that would sing this cantata.
Date: 1727
Creator: Villeneuve, Alexandre de, 1677-1756
Partner: UNT Music Library
Back to Top of Screen