Persée is a tragédie lyrique with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully

Jean-Baptiste Lully

Jean-Baptiste de Lully was an Italian-born French composer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He is considered the chief master of the French Baroque style. Lully disavowed any Italian influence in French music of the period. He became a French subject in...

 and a 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 Philippe Quinault

Philippe Quinault

Philippe Quinault , French dramatist and librettist, was born in Paris.- Biography :Quinault was educated by the liberality of François Tristan l'Hermite, the author of Marianne. Quinault's first play was produced at the Hôtel de Bourgogne in 1653, when he was only eighteen...

, first performed in 1682 at the Paris Opéra

Paris Opera

The Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...

.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere cast, 1682
Persée son of Jupiter and Danaë	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:...	Louis Gaulard Dumesny Louis Gaulard Dumesny Dumesnil was a French operatic tenor . His surname is sometimes found spelt Duménil, Dumény, du Mény, or Du Mesny....
Andromède daughter of Céphée	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...
Phinée, brother of Céphée	baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...	François Beaumavielle François Beaumavielle François Beaumavielle was a French operatic bass-baritone.Trained in Toulouse, he was engaged at the Académie Royale de Musique in Paris by Pierre Perrin and Robert Cambert, where he created their opera Pomone in 1671....
Mérope, sister of Cassiope	soprano	Marie Le Rochois Marie Le Rochois Marie Le Rochois was a French operatic soprano who belonged to the Académie Royale de Musique. She is often referred to as Marthe Le Rochois or simply La Rochois.-Opera career:...
Phronime, attendant of Virtue
Mégathyme, attendant of Virtue
Virtue
Fortune
Céphée, King of Ethiopia	bass
Cassiope, Queen of Ethiopia	mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
Amphimédon, an Ethiopian
Corite, an Ethiopian
Proténor, an Ethiopian
The Cyclopes
Mercure	haute-contre
Méduse, a Gorgon	tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
Euryale, a Gorgon	tenor, descant Descant Descant or discant can refer to several different things in music, depending on the period in question; etymologically, the word means a voice above or removed from others....  above Méduse
Sténone, a Gorgon	baritone
Idas, a Sailor in Céphée's navy
High priest of Hymenée (wedding priest)
High priest
Vénus
L'amour (Love)
L'hymen (Marriage)
Triton, Neptune's henchman
Followers of Virtue and Fortune, followers of Cassiope, young persons chosen for the games, spectators, warrior nymphs, infernal deities, phantoms, Ethiopians, Tritons and Nereides, victorious heroes (chorus/ballet)

Synopsis

The plot concerns the love between Persée

Perseus

Perseus ,Perseos and Perseas are not used in English. the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty of Danaans there, was the first of the mythic heroes of Greek mythology whose exploits in defeating various archaic monsters provided the founding myths of the Twelve Olympians...

 and Andromède

Andromeda (mythology)

Andromeda is a princess from Greek mythology who, as divine punishment for her mother's bragging, the Boast of Cassiopeia, was chained to a rock as a sacrifice to a sea monster. She was saved from death by Perseus, her future husband. Her name is the Latinized form of the Greek Ἀνδρομέδη...

, who is already betrothed to Phinée

Phineus

Phineus may refer to:* Phineus, killed by Perseus. See Andromeda * Blind King Phineus or Phineas of Thrace, visited by Jason and the Argonauts* Phineas Nigellus, a deceased headmaster in the Harry Potter universe...

, while Mérope loves Persée. Persée is able to triumph and win Andromède by overcoming supernatural enemies, including the Gorgon

Gorgon

In Greek mythology, the Gorgon was a terrifying female creature. The name derives from the Greek word gorgós, which means "dreadful." While descriptions of Gorgons vary across Greek literature, the term commonly refers to any of three sisters who had hair of living, venomous snakes, and a...

 Méduse

Medusa

In Greek mythology Medusa , " guardian, protectress") was a Gorgon, a chthonic monster, and a daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. The author Hyginus, interposes a generation and gives Medusa another chthonic pair as parents. Gazing directly upon her would turn onlookers to stone...

, using weapons he is granted by the gods. Phinée's jealousy pits him against Persée, leading to the ultimate confrontation. Mérope allies with Phinée at first, but has a change of heart.

DVD

A 2004 production by Opera Atelier

Opera atelier

Opéra Atelier, a Canadian Baroque opera company was founded in 1985 in Toronto by husband and wife duo Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg. The company mounts operas from the 17th and 18th centuries which are presented at the Elgin Theatre....

 performed live at the Elgin Theatre

Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres

The Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres are a pair of stacked theatres in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Winter Garden theatre is seven stories above the Elgin Theatre....

 under the direction of Marshall Pynkoski and conducted by Hervé Niquet

Hervé Niquet

Hervé Niquet is a French conductor, harpsichordist, tenor, and the director of Le Concert Spirituel, specializing in French Baroque music.-Biography:...

 in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 is the first home video release of the opera. It features Cyril Auvity (Persée), Marie Lenormand (Andromeda), Stephanie Novacek

Stephanie Novacek

Stephanie Novacek is an American operatic mezzo-soprano who has appeared at many of the world's opera houses. A regular performer at the Houston Grand Opera and Opera Atelier, Novacek is especially known for her performances in contemporary operas and in obscure operas, particularly baroque works,...

 (Cassiope), Monica Whicher (Mérope), Olivier Laquerre (Céphée/Méduse (the latter transposed from F to E-flat)), Alain Coutomber (Phinée), and Colin Ainsworth (Mercure). The designer was Gérard Gauci and the choreographer was Jeannette Zingg. Marc Stone directed the television production.

Sources

• The New Grove French Baroque Masters, ed. Graham Sadler (Macmillan, 1986)
• The Viking Opera Guide ed. Holden (Viking, 1993)
• Le magazine de l'opéra baroque by Jean-Claude Brenac (in French)

External links

• description, plot summary, original text of "Persée" from the University of North Texas Libraries.