Les fêtes d'Hébé
Encyclopedia
Les fêtes d'Hébé, ou Les talents 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
. The libretto
was written by Antoine Gautier de Montdorge (1707-1768). The work was first performed at the Paris Opéra
on 21 May 1739.
, had appeared in 1735. It was first performed at the Paris Opéra on 21 May 1739. The famous dancer Marie Sallé
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
and the role of Iphise taken by Sophie Arnould
). Thereafter, 18th century productions only gave partial versions of the work.
Hebe is harassed by the unwanted attentions of Momus. Love suggests she should escape with her to the banks of the River Seine to witness festivities celebrating the arts.
On the island of Lesbos, the love of the two poets Sappho 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
play for him, by which the Hymas learns the truth. The king pardons Alcaeus and the lovers rejoice.
Iphise, daughter of Lycurgus, King of Sparta
, 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.
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.
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.
Hebe (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Hēbē is the goddess of youth . She is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. Hebe was the cupbearer for the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus, serving their nectar and ambrosia, until she was married to Heracles ; her successor was the young Trojan prince Ganymede...
, or The Lyric Talents) is an opéra-ballet
Opéra-ballet
Opéra-ballet was a popular genre of French Baroque opera, "that grew out of the ballets à entrées of the early seventeeth century". It differed from the more elevated tragédie en musique as practised by Jean-Baptiste Lully in several ways...
in a prologue and three entrées (acts) by the French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau was one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the Baroque era. He replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera and is also considered the leading French composer for the harpsichord of his time, alongside François...
. The libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
was written by Antoine Gautier de Montdorge (1707-1768). The work was first performed at the Paris Opéra
Académie Royale de Musique
The Salle Le Peletier was the home of the Paris Opera from 1821 until the building was destroyed by fire in 1873. The theatre was designed and constructed by the architect François Debret on the site of the former Hôtel de Choiseul...
on 21 May 1739.
Performance history
Les fêtes d'Hébé was Rameau's second opera-ballet; his first, Les Indes galantesLes Indes galantes
Les Indes galantes is an opéra-ballet consisting of a prologue and four entrées by Jean-Philippe Rameau with libretto by Louis Fuzelier...
, had appeared in 1735. It was first performed at the Paris Opéra on 21 May 1739. The famous dancer Marie Sallé
Marie Sallé
Marie Sallé was a French dancer and choreographer known for her expressive, dramatic performances rather than a series of "leaps and frolics" typical of ballet of her time...
appeared as Terpsichore in the third entrée. Montdorge was a friend of Rameau's patron Alexandre Le Riche de La Poupelinière
Alexandre Le Riche de La Poupelinière
Alexandre Jean Joseph Le Riche de La Pouplinière was an immensely wealthy fermier général who was one of the greatest patrons of music and musicians of the eighteenth century. A true patron of the Enlightenment he gathered round him a circle of artists, men of letters and musicians...
. His libretto came in for heavy criticism and the second entrée had to be revised with the aid of Simon-Joseph Pellegrin
Simon-Joseph Pellegrin
The abbé Simon-Joseph Pellegrin was a French poet and playwright, a librettist who collaborated with Jean-Philippe Rameau and other composers.-Biography:...
, who had written the words for Rameau's first opera, Hippolyte et Aricie
Hippolyte et Aricie
Hippolyte et Aricie was the first opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau, which opened to great controversy at the Académie Royale de Musique, Paris on October 1, 1733. The libretto, by Abbé Simon-Joseph Pellegrin, is based on Racine's tragedy Phèdre. The opera takes the traditional form of a tragédie en...
. 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
François Boucher was a French painter, a proponent of Rococo taste, known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories representing the arts or pastoral occupations, intended as a sort of two-dimensional furniture...
and the role of Iphise taken by Sophie Arnould
Sophie Arnould
Sophie Arnould was a French operatic soprano.Born Magdeleine Sophie Arnould, she studied in Paris with Marie Fel and La Clairon, and made her stage debut at the Opéra de Paris on 15 December 1757 and sang there for 20 years.She created for Christoph Wilibald Gluck the roles of Eurydice in Orphée...
). Thereafter, 18th century productions only gave partial versions of the work.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 21 May 1739 Conductor: André Chéron |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Prologue | |||
| Hébé | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
Marie Fel Marie Fel Marie Fel was a French opera singer, daughter of the organist Henri Fel.Marie Fel was born at Bordeaux. She made her debut at the Paris Opera in 1733 and sang regularly at the Concert Spirituel... |
|
| L'amour (Love) | soprano | Mlle Bourbonnois | |
| Momus Momus Momus or Momos was in Greek mythology the god of satire, mockery, censure, writers, poets; a spirit of evil-spirited blame and unfair criticism. His name is related to , meaning 'blame' or 'censure'. He is depicted in classical art as lifting a mask from his face.-In classical literature:Hesiod... |
haute-contre Haute-contre The haute-contre is a rare type of high tenor voice, predominant in French Baroque and Classical opera until the latter part of the eighteenth century.-History:... |
||
| Première entrée: La poésie | |||
| Sapho Sappho Sappho was an Ancient Greek poet, born on the island of Lesbos. Later Greeks included her in the list of nine lyric poets. Her birth was sometime between 630 and 612 BC, and it is said that she died around 570 BC, but little is known for certain about her life... |
soprano | Mlle Eremans | |
| Une naïade (a naid NAID NAID is an acronym which may refer to:* Native American Indian Dog* In medicine, Non-Anemic Iron Deficiency* North American International Demoparty, a demoscene party in Quebec, Canada* NAID, an Association of Defence Communities... ) |
soprano | ||
| Le ruisseau (The stream) | haute-contre | Jean-Antoine Bérard | |
| Thélème (Thelemus) | haute-contre | Pierre Jélyotte Pierre Jélyotte Pierre Jélyotte was a French operatic tenor, particularly associated with works by Rameau, Lully, Campra, and Destouches.-Life and career:... |
|
| Alcée (Alcaeus) | basse-taille (bass-baritone Bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three Wagnerian roles: the Dutchman in Der fliegende... ) |
Albert | |
| Hymas | basse-taille | Jean Dun fils | |
| Le fleuve (the river) | basse-taille | François Le Page | |
| Deuxième entrée: La musique | |||
| Iphise | soprano | Marie Pélissier | |
| Une Lacédémonienne (A Spartan woman) | soprano | ||
| Lycurgue (Lycurgus Lycurgus Lycurgus or Lykurgus may refer to:People:* Historical:** Lycurgus of Sparta, creator of constitution of Sparta** Lycurgus of Athens, one of the ten notable orators at Athens,... ) |
haute-contre | Jean-Antoine Bérard | |
| L'oracle (The oracle) | haute-contre | ||
| Tirtée (Tyrtaeus Tyrtaeus Tyrtaeus was a Greek poet who composed verses in Sparta around the time of the Second Messenian War, the date of which isn't clearly establishedsometime in the latter part of the seventh century BC... ) |
basse-taille | François Le Page | |
| Troisième entrée: La danse | |||
| Eglé | soprano | Mlle Mariette | |
| Une bergère (A shepherdess) | soprano | Marie Pélissier | |
| Mercure (Mercury Mercury (mythology) Mercury was a messenger who wore winged sandals, and a god of trade, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter in Roman mythology. His name is related to the Latin word merx , mercari , and merces... ) |
haute-contre | Pierre Jélyotte | |
| Eurilas | basse-taille | Jean Dun fils | |
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 OlympusMount OlympusMount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, about 100 kilometres away from Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city. Mount Olympus has 52 peaks. The highest peak Mytikas, meaning "nose", rises to 2,917 metres...
in the background
Hebe is harassed by the unwanted attentions of Momus. Love suggests she should escape with her to the banks of the River Seine to witness festivities celebrating the arts.
First entrée: Poetry
- Scene: A grove
On the island of Lesbos, the love of the two poets Sappho 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
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
play for him, by which the Hymas learns the truth. The king pardons Alcaeus and the lovers rejoice.
Second entrée: Music
- Scene: The peristylePeristyleIn Hellenistic Greek and Roman architecture a peristyle is a columned porch or open colonnade in a building surrounding a court that may contain an internal garden. Tetrastoon is another name for this feature...
of a temple
Iphise, daughter of Lycurgus, King of Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
, 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
Messene
Messene , officially Ancient Messene, is a Local Community of the Municipal Unit , Ithomi, of the municipality of Messini within the Regional Unit of Messenia in the Region of Peloponnēsos, one of 7 Regions into which the Hellenic Republic has been divided by the Kallikratis...
" 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
Terpsichore
In Greek mythology, Terpsichore "delight of dancing" was one of the nine Muses, ruling over dance and the dramatic chorus. She lends her name to the word "terpsichorean" which means "of or relating to dance". She is usually depicted sitting down, holding a lyre, accompanying the dancers' choirs...
, 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
Pièces de Clavecin
The French Baroque composer Jean-Philippe Rameau wrote three books of Pièces de clavecin for the harpsichord. The first, Premier Livre de Pièces de Clavecin, was published in 1706; the second, Pièces de Clavessin, in 1724; and the third, Nouvelles Suites de Pièces de Clavecin, in 1726 or 1727...
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.
Complete
- Les fêtes d'Hébé Sophie Daneman, Paul Connolly, Jean-Paul FouchécourtJean-Paul FouchécourtJean-Paul Fouchécourt is a French tenor, mostly as an opera singer. He was born on August 30, 1958, at Blanzy in the Burgundy region. He is best known for singing French Baroque music, especially the parts called in French haute-contre, written for a very high tenor voice with no falsetto...
, Paul AgnewPaul AgnewPaul Agnew is a Scottish operatic tenor.Agnew read music as a Choral Scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford. He became associated with the Consort of Musicke, the Tallis Scholars, the Sixteen and the Gothic Voices, before embarking on a solo career in the early 1990s.Closely associated with William...
, Thierry Félix, Les Arts FlorissantsLes Arts Florissants (ensemble)Les Arts Florissants is a Baroque musical ensemble in residence at the Théâtre de Caen in Caen, France. The organization was founded by conductor William Christie in 1979. The ensemble derives its name from the 1685 opera by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. The organization consists of a chamber orchestra...
, conducted by William ChristieWilliam Christie (musician)William Lincoln Christie is an American-born French conductor and harpsichordist. He is noted as a specialist in baroque repertoire and as the founder of the ensemble Les Arts Florissants....
(Erato, 2 CDs, 1997)
Third entrée only
- Les fêtes d'Hébé: La danse Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra, conducted by John Eliot GardinerJohn Eliot GardinerSir John Eliot Gardiner CBE FKC is an English conductor. He founded the Monteverdi Choir , the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique...
(Erato, 1977)