Masque for the entertainment of the king in three acts and a prologue,1683. Libretto by Anne Kingsmill Finch. Preceded by Begin the Song, ode for St Cecilia by John Blow. Performed in English with supertitles.
Presentation of the work by Agnès Terrier 40 minutes prior to each performance.
The very first English opera
Purcell's mentor John Blow was an archetype of British musical tradition and the most distinguished musician of his time. Dedicated to sacred genres, he composed his sole opera for the entertainment of King Charles II.
He wrote this short drama for a royal salon with the spiritual intensity and the kind of humor allowed by the secular tradition of English masque.
Goddess Venus loves the young hunter Adonis. Yet, how to be certain of a mortal's eternal fidelity, however enamored? Their love will undergo painful hardships. Under the pen of Blow, the gracious pastoral turns into a true tragedy. In transfiguring mythological characters through a baroque sensibility, the work prompted the young Purcell to create a through-composed opera based on the French and Italian patterns.
It inaugurates English operatic history by the end of the 17th century.
Performance duration 1h40 with an interval
Music direction, Bertrand Cuiller • Staging, Louise Moaty • With Marc Mauillon, Céline Scheen, Romain Delalande • Choir, La Maîtrise de Caen • Choir and orchestra, Les Musiciens du Paradis
See all the castWednesday, December 12, 2012 - 8:00pm
Thursday, December 13, 2012 - 8:00pm
Friday, December 14, 2012 - 8:00pm
Saturday, December 15, 2012 - 8:00pm
1:40 - Salle Favart
110, 87, 67, 41, 15, 6 €
Cast
Choir, La Maîtrise de Caen
Choir and orchestra, Les Musiciens du Paradis
Associate production, Théâtre de Caen
Co-production, Opéra Comique, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Angers-Nantes Opéra, Opéra de Lille, Centre de musique baroque de Versailles
Partnership
