Hésione
Encyclopedia
Hésione is an opera by the French
composer André Campra
. It takes the form of a tragédie en musique in a prologue and five acts. The libretto
, by Antoine Danchet
, is based on the Greek myth
of Hesione
and Laomedon
.
on 21 December 1700. The opera was a great success at its premiere.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
composer André Campra
André Campra
André Campra was a French composer and conductor.Campra was one of the leading French opera composers in the period between Jean-Baptiste Lully and Jean-Philippe Rameau. He wrote several tragédies en musique, but his chief claim to fame is as the creator of a new genre, opéra-ballet...
. It takes the form of a tragédie en musique in a prologue and five acts. 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...
, by Antoine Danchet
Antoine Danchet
Antoine Danchet was a French playwright, librettist and dramatic poet.-Biography:Danchet was born in Riom, in the Auvergne, France. Having been a professor of rhetoric at Chartres and then a tutor at Paris, Danchet gaveup teaching to write for the theatre. He wrote some opera libretti which, set...
, is based on the Greek myth
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
of Hesione
Hesione
In Greek mythology and later art, the name Hesione refers to various mythological figures, of which the Trojan princess Hesione is known most.-Princess Hesione of Troy:...
and Laomedon
Laomedon
In Greek mythology, Laomedon was a Trojan king, son of Ilus, brother of Ganymede and Assaracus, and father of Priam, Astyoche, Lampus, Hicetaon, Clytius, Cilla, Proclia, Aethilla, Medesicaste, Clytodora, and Hesione...
.
Performance history
Hésione was first performed at the Académie royale de musiqueAcadémie 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 December 1700. The opera was a great success at its premiere.
Roles
- The Priestess of the Sun (Prologue), a priestess of Flora, contralto, Julie d'AubignyJulie d'AubignyJulie d'Aubigny , better known as Mademoiselle Maupin or La Maupin, was a 17th-century swordswoman and opera singer. Her tumultuous career and flamboyant life were the subject of gossip and colorful stories in her own time, and inspired romances and novels afterwards...
- The Sun (Prologue), Laomédon, baritone, Charles HardouinCharles HardouinCharles Hardouin was a French operatic baritone .Beginning his career as a cathedral singer, Hardouin was engaged by the Paris Opéra as a principal singer around 1693-1694, though from 1697 onwards he was eclipsed by the more powerful Gabriel-Vincent Thévenard...
- Anchis, baritone, Gabriel-Vincent ThévenardGabriel-Vincent ThévenardGabriel-Vincent Thévenard was a French operatic baritone .Thévenard was born at Orléans or possibly Paris. Arriving in Paris in 1690, he studied under the composer André Cardinal Destouches and went on to become a member of the Académie Royale de Musique...
- Hésione, soprano, Fanchon MoreauFanchon MoreauFrançoise 'Fanchon' Moreau was a French operatic soprano who belonged to the Académie Royale de Musique, also a celebrated beauty who was a favourite of the Great Dauphin.-Opera career:...
- Vénus, soprano, Marie-Louise-Antoinette Desmatins
- Télamon, haute-contreHaute-contreThe 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:...
, Pierre Chopelet - Cléon, Neptune, bass, Dun
- A GraceThree GracesThe term The Three Graces may refer to:* Charites, known in Greek mythology as The Three Graces, goddesses of such things as charm, beauty, and creativity...
, Mlle Heuzé - 'A pleasure', haute-contre, Antoine Boutelou (fils)
Synposis
- Prologue A depiction of celebrations of the Sun in an amphitheatre in ancient Rome.
- Act One Télamon (TelamonTelamonIn Greek mythology, Telamon , son of the king Aeacus, of Aegina, and Endeis and brother of Peleus, accompanied Jason as one of his Argonauts, and was present at the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. In the Iliad he was the father of Greek heroes Ajax the Great and Teucer the Archer by different...
), King of SalamisSalamis IslandSalamis , is the largest Greek island in the Saronic Gulf, about 1 nautical mile off-coast from Piraeus and about 16 km west of Athens. The chief city, Salamina , lies in the west-facing core of the crescent on Salamis Bay, which opens into the Saronic Gulf...
, is unhappy that the princess Hésione (HesioneHesioneIn Greek mythology and later art, the name Hesione refers to various mythological figures, of which the Trojan princess Hesione is known most.-Princess Hesione of Troy:...
) prefers the love of his rival Anchise (AnchisesAnchisesIn Greek mythology, Anchises was the son of Capys and Themiste . His major claim to fame in Greek mythology is that he was a mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite . One version is that Aphrodite pretended to be a Phrygian princess and seduced him for nearly two weeks of lovemaking...
). Vénus (VenusVenus (mythology)Venus is a Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty, sex,sexual seduction and fertility, who played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths...
, the goddess of love) comes to his aid and says she will separate Anchise and Hésione. An oracle announces that Anchise must travel to Mount IdaMount IdaIn Greek mythology, two sacred mountains are called Mount Ida, the "Mountain of the Goddess": Mount Ida in Crete; and Mount Ida in the ancient Troad region of western Anatolia which was also known as the Phrygian Ida in classical antiquity and is the mountain that is mentioned in the Iliad of...
to learn the will of the gods. - Act Two On Mount Ida, Vénus appears to Anchise and tries to win his love, but in spite of the charming divertissement she puts on for him, Anchise rejects her. She decides to take her revenge on Hésione.
- Act Three Hésione, believing Anchise has fallen in love with Vénus, is wracked with jealousy.
- Act Four Vénus conjures a vision of Hésione and Télamon together which makes Anchise jealous. But the two discover the goddess' illusion and are reconciled. Meanwhile, the god NeptuneNeptune (mythology)Neptune was the god of water and the sea in Roman mythology and religion. He is analogous with, but not identical to, the Greek god Poseidon. In the Greek-influenced tradition, Neptune was the brother of Jupiter and Pluto, each of them presiding over one of the three realms of the universe,...
is angry with Hésione's father, Laomédon (LaomedonLaomedonIn Greek mythology, Laomedon was a Trojan king, son of Ilus, brother of Ganymede and Assaracus, and father of Priam, Astyoche, Lampus, Hicetaon, Clytius, Cilla, Proclia, Aethilla, Medesicaste, Clytodora, and Hesione...
), King of TroyTroyTroy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
, and destroys the walls of his city. He also sends a sea monster which Télamon promises to vanquish providing he is given Hésione's hand in marriage as a reward. - Act Five Anchise tries to kill the sea monster too but it is invincible. Vénus explains to him that she has arranged that only Télamon will be able to defeat it and so win Hésione. The Trojans celebrate Télamon's victory and his betrothal to the princess. Anchise curses them and predicts Troy's final destruction. The gods award Anchise to Vénus, who has her ZephyrZephyrZephyr may refer to:* A light or west wind* Zephyrus, one of the Anemoi and the Greek god of the west wind* Zephyranthes, a plant genus whose species include the zephyr lily* Zephyr , a well-known graffiti artist from New York City...
s carry him off for herself.
Sources
- Amadeus Almanac (21 December 1700), accessed 6 November 2009
- The Viking Opera Guide ed. Holden (Viking, 1993)
- Le magazine de l'opéra baroque