Isis (Lully)

Isis is a French opera (tragédie en musique) in a prologue and five acts with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully and a libretto by Philippe Quinault, based on Ovid's Metamorphoses. The fifth of Lully's collaborations with Quinault, it was first performed on 5 January 1677 before the royal court of Louis XIV at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye and in August received a run of public performances at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal.[1] It was Lully's first published score (partbooks in 1677);[2] a full score was published in 1719.

Cover of Isis

Performance history

Isis was revived only once during the remaining 38 years of Louis XIV's reign, on 14 February 1704. It was revived again in 1717–1718 and 1732–1733.[1]

Roles
Role Voice type[3] Premiere cast[4] 5  January 1677
Prologue
Fame soprano Marie Verdier
Neptune bass M Forestier
First Triton taille (baritenor) Louis Gaulard Dumesny[5]
Second Triton haute-contre[6] M Nouveau
Apollo haute-contre Dominique de La Grille,
Clio [7] M Regnier
Calliope soprano Mlle Des Fronteaux
Melpomene soprano Mlle Caillot
Thalia soprano Mlle Piesche
Urania [7] M Datys
Erato flutist (dessus de flûte) M Philbert
Euterpe flutist (dessus de flûte) M Piesche
Terpsicore violinist (dessus de violon) M Favre
Polymnie violinist (dessus de violon) M Joubert
Acts 1–5[8]
Hierax baritone[9] Jean Gaye
Pirante haute-contre François Langeais
Io / Isis soprano Marie Aubry
Mycene soprano Mlle Sainte-Colombe
Mercury haute-contre Bernard Clédière
Jupiter bass François Beaumavielle
Iris soprano Mlle Beaucreux
Juno soprano Mlle Saint-Christophe
Hebe soprano Marie-Madeleine Brigogne
Argus baritone[9] Antoine Morel
A nymph representing Syrinx soprano Mlle Verdier
A sylvan representing Pan bass M. Godonesche
A Fury haute-contre Benoît-Hyacinthe Ribon
First Fate soprano Mlle Bony
Second Fate haute-contre[6] François Langeais
Third Fate bass[10] M Forestier

The ballets were danced by Pierre Beauchamp, Louis Pécourt, Magny, and Boutteville.

Synopsis

Prologue

The prologue, which includes the usual paean to Louis XIV, takes place in the palace of Fame (La Renommée) with Rumors (Rumeurs) and Noises (Bruits) dancing in attendance to the goddess. When Fame sings of "the glory and triumphant valor of the greatest of heroes," she is referring to Louis XIV. She is visited by Apollo with his retinue of Muses, who arrive from the sky, and Neptune with his retinue of Tritons, who arrive from the sea. Both groups are equipped with violins, lutes, and trumpets. When Neptune sings of the conqueror's recent adventures at sea, he is referring to the French naval victory over the Dutch and Spanish in 1676 in the Franco-Dutch War.[11]

Acts 1–5

The plot of the tragedy of Isis is loosely adapted from one of the episodes in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Its plot parallels that of Lully's previous opera, Atys (in which Sangaride, promised to Celoenus, is pursued by another and acquires a goddess as a rival). 'Isis centers around the god Jupiter's love for the nymph Io and the jealousy of Juno.

Io, daughter of Inachus, is promised in marriage to Hierax, but is pursued by Jupiter, and yields to this love in spite of her feelings of guilt.

Juno has Io imprisoned and tortured, leading Io to cry out to Jupiter for help. He swears faithfulness to Juno if she will spare Io, and Juno turns Io into a goddess: Isis, the Egyptian goddess.

Scandal

Lully's contemporaries interpreted this story as representing the volatile situation between two of the King's mistresses. The character of Io was equated with Madame de Ludres, Louis XIV's new favorite at court, to whom he had given lavish gifts. His long-time mistress, Madame de Montespan, "was furious and did everything she could to humiliate her."[12] The subsequent scandale of the premiere ended the collaboration between Lully and Quinault for a time, and led to the dismissal of a number of members of Lully's artistic circle.

Recordings

References

Notes

  1. Pitou 1983, pp. 239–241; Lajarte 1878, pp. 31–32.
  2. Rosow 1992, p. 827.
  3. According to Parvopassou, unless otherwise stated in footnote.
  4. According to the original 1677 libretto.
  5. This singer, later to become the leading haute contre, made his Opéra debut in this performance, as a "taille", interpreting the minor role of a Triton (The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, I, article: "Dumesnil, [Duménil, Dumény, Du Mesny, du Mény]", p. 1273)
  6. This haute-contre part is unusually notated in the mezzosoprano clef on the period printed score cited below as an external link.
  7. No part for this travesti character is written in the period printed score cited below as an external link, nor is the character itself mentioned by Parvopassou.
  8. According to Parvopassu the tragedy also features four more characters (not mentioned in the original libretto): Famine (haute-contre), War (bass), Flood (haute-contre), Blaze (bass).
  9. This part is stated by Parvopassu as a bass one, but it is notated in the baritone clef on the period printed score cited below as an external link.
  10. According to Parvopassu the third Fate is a haute-contre part, but it is notated in the bass clef on the period printed score cited below as an external link, and was sung by Monsieur Forestier, the same artiste that also performed the Prologue bass role of Neptune.
  11. Pitou 1983, p. 240.
  12. Pitou 1983, p. 241.

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)
  • Parvopassu, Clelia Isis, in Gelli, Piero & Poletti, Filippo (ed), Dizionario dell'opera 2008, Milan, Baldini Castoldi Dalai, 2007, pp. 671-672
  • Pitou, Spire (1983). The Paris Opéra: An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers. Genesis and Glory, 1671–1715. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 9780313214202.
  • Rosow, Lois (1992). "Isis (ii)", vol. 2, p. 827, in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (4 volumes), edited by Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan. ISBN 9781561592289.
  • Sadie, Stanley (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Grove (Oxford University Press), New York, 1997 (ISBN 978-0-19-522186-2)
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