Les fêtes de Polymnie (The Festivals of Polyhymnia) is an opéra-ballet in three entrées and a prologue by Jean-Philippe Rameau. The work was first performed on 12 October 1745 at the Opéra, Paris, and is set to a libretto by Louis de Cahusac. The piece was written to celebrate the French victory at the Battle of Fontenoy in the War of the Austrian Succession.Holden, p. 839 It was revived at the same venue on 21 August 1753.Amadeus Almanac
Neither Cuthbert GirdlestoneGirdlestone p.445 nor Graham Sadler (in the New Penguin GuideHolden, p. 840) consider this among Rameau's finest works, though both remark on the originality of its overture, which breaks the traditional Lullian mould common to French overtures up to that time.
Roles Information taken from the site Rameau2014.fr.Les fêtes de Polymnie: Réprésentations RoleVoice typePremiere Cast PrologueMnémosinesopranoMarie-Jeanne ChevalierLa Victoire (Victory)sopranoMlle Rotisset de RomainvillePolymnie (Polyhymnia)sopranoBourbonnoisLe chef des arts (Chief of the arts) called La TourChorus: Followers of the chief of arts; the Muses 1st entrée: La FableAlcide (Hercules)haute-contrePierre JélyotteHébé (Hebe)sopranoMarie FelJupiterbassJoseph Le PageLe Destin (Destiny)bassLefèvreChorus : Games, Graces, Pleasures and followers of Hebe; gods and goddesses 2nd entrée: L'HistoireSeleucusbasse-taille (bass)Claude-Louis-Dominique De Chassé de ChinaisStratonicesopranoMarie-Jeanne ChevalierAntiochushaute-contrePierre JélyotteUne syrienne (A Syrian woman)sopranoMarie-Angélique CoupéeChorus: Peoples and warriors of Syria 3rd entrée: La FéerieOriadesopranoMlle Rotisset de RomainvilleArgéliesopranoMarie FelZimès basse-taille (bass)Claude-Louis-Dominique de Chassé de ChinaisChorus: Hunters; a troupe of nymphs from Oriade's court
Synopsis
The prologue, Le temple de Mémoire ("The Temple of Memory"), describes the victory of Fontenoy in allegorical fashion. The first entrée is entitled La fable (Legend) and depicts the marriage of Hercules and Hebe, the goddess of youth. The second entrée, L'histoire ("History"), tells the story of the Hellenistic king of Syria Seleucus I Nicator, who gives up his fiancée Stratonice when he learns his son Antiochus I Soter is passionately in love with her (this tale was also the subject of a later 18th century French opera, Étienne Méhul's Stratonice). The third and final entrée is called La féerie ("Fairy tale") and is set in the Middle East. Through her love for him, Argélie redeems Zimès from the power of the evil fairy Alcina.
Recording Les fêtes de Polymnie Véronique Gens, Emöke Baráth, Aurélia Legay, Mathias Vidal, Thomas Dolié, Purcell Choir, Orfeo Orchestra conducted by György Vashegyi (2 CDs, Glossa 2015)
References
Sources
Holden, Amanda (Ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001. Girdlestone, Cuthbert, Jean-Philippe Rameau: His Life and Work (Dover paperback edition, 1969) Sadler, Graham, (Ed.), The New Grove French Baroque Masters Grove/Macmillan, 1988
External links