Organization

Singer

Soprano

Deborah Cachet

Aglaure

Ambroisine Bré

Psyché

Silent

Cyril Auvity

Amour

Bénédicte Tauran

Venus

Bass

Philippe Estèphe

Jupiter

Conductor

Christophe Rousset

Eugénie Lefebvre

Flora

Robert Getchell

Mercure

Edwin Crossley-Mercer

Mars

Nicholas Scott

Apollon

Matthieu Heim

Anas Séguin

le Fleuve

Tenor

Zéphyr

Fabien Hyon

Palémon

MusikTheater an der Wien

Orchestra

Les Talens Lyriques

French

Psyché -  (Psyche)

Vienna

Austria

Theater an der Wien

Psyche

Public

Approved

The poet Apuleius (123 - approx. 170 AD) made Amor and Psyche in his Metamorphoses - today also known as The Golden Donkey - the main characters in the only completely preserved novel of Roman antiquity. Since no Greek model is known, it is likely to be Apuleius' own creation, and for once a metamorphosis ends happily ever after. In baroque Paris, Molière turned to history and worked on the tragédie-ballet Psyché in 1671, for which his long-time musical partner Lully was to compose the music. Molière was under time pressure and hired the poets Pierre Corneille and Philippe Quinault to help him with the libretto. But there was a break between Molière and Lully, who from then on worked with Quinault as a librettist. After Molière's death in 1673, Lully took up the subject again. Corneille's younger brother Thomas, who was a well-known poet himself at the time, and the early Enlightenment writer Fontenelle shortened the piece, converted the rigid Alexandrians of spoken dialogue into verse suitable for recitation and thus created a new text template. They also changed Molière's plot for the tragédie lyrique: Venus intrigues against the mortal psyché, who then plunges into a river out of grief and lovesickness. At Jupiter's behest, however, Psyche is allowed to ascend to heaven, where she experiences eternal love with Cupid. Historical evidence diverges seriously about the success of the premiere at the Paris Opera. The magazine Le Mercure galant describes the opera as another perfect work by Lully. This statement can be distrusted, because librettist Thomas Corneille was one of the editors of the Mercure. The Parfaict brothers, on the other hand, important theater historians of the 18th century, spoke contemptuously of Psyché. As an admirer of Quinault, her judgment is largely based on her rejection of Thomas Corneille. Lullys Psyché Because of this attitude, was overlooked for a long time; it was not until the 21st century that conductors turned to this extraordinary work by Lully, in which, in addition to the obligatory homage to the Sun King, there is also the satirical spirit of the late Molières.

English

Psyche by Lully, From (2022/2022), Conductor Christophe Rousset, Theater an der Wien, Vienna, Austria

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Ensemble

Co-Producer

Programme, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues