Les fêtes de l'Hymen et de l'Amour
Encyclopedia
Les fêtes de l’Hymen et de l’Amour is an opéra-ballet
in three entrées and a prologue by the French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau
. The work was first performed on March 15, 1747, at the La Grande Ecurie, Versailles
, and is set to a libretto by Louis de Cahusac
. The opera was originally composed as part of the celebrations for the Dauphin’s marriage to Maria Josepha of Saxony. Les fêtes de l’Hymen proved to be a popular work and by the March of 1776 it had been performed exactly 106 times. The librettist, Cahusac, was especially pleased with the ways in which he had succeeded in giving especial import to the supernatural elements of the work—the plot is based on Egyptian mythology—and to allow particular use of impressive large-scale stage machinery, which was much admired by the audience. The opera contains seven ballets, a consequence of Cahusac’s desire to further integrate dance and drama, which grew from the typical French devotion to ballet, particularly when allied with opera.
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 three entrées and a prologue 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 work was first performed on March 15, 1747, at the La Grande Ecurie, Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
, and is set to a libretto by Louis de Cahusac
Louis de Cahusac
Louis de Cahusac was a French playwright and librettist, most famous for his work with the composer Jean-Philippe Rameau...
. The opera was originally composed as part of the celebrations for the Dauphin’s marriage to Maria Josepha of Saxony. Les fêtes de l’Hymen proved to be a popular work and by the March of 1776 it had been performed exactly 106 times. The librettist, Cahusac, was especially pleased with the ways in which he had succeeded in giving especial import to the supernatural elements of the work—the plot is based on Egyptian mythology—and to allow particular use of impressive large-scale stage machinery, which was much admired by the audience. The opera contains seven ballets, a consequence of Cahusac’s desire to further integrate dance and drama, which grew from the typical French devotion to ballet, particularly when allied with opera.