Amadis de Grèce (Amadis of Greece) is an opera by the French composer André Cardinal Destouches, first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique (the Paris Opera) on 26 March 1699. It takes the form of a tragédie en musique in a prologue and five acts. The libretto, by Antoine Houdar de La Motte, is based on the medieval romance Amadis de Gaula. La Motte's text was adapted to produce the Italian-language libretto for Handel's opera seria Amadigi di Gaula (1715).
Characters
Main characters
+CharactersPremiere CastAmadisGabriel-Vincent ThévenardZirpheusMiss PoussinMelissaFrancoise JournetNicatedMiss MoreauPrince of ThraceLouis Gaulard DumesnyThe shadow of the prince of ThraceLouis Gaulard Dumesny
Others
A young sailor An Enchanter An enchanted Knight An enchanted Princess The party leader Two Shepherds
Rehearsals
Rehearsals were held at Fontainebleau on October 17 and 24, as well as on November 7, 1698. Here is what the Marquis de Dangeau recorded in his Journal :
Friday 17th, at Fontainebleau
Friday, 24th, at Fontainebleau
Friday, 7, at Fontainebleau
Early performances
Académie Royale de Musique in 1699 Amadis de Grèce was premiered in the Académie Royale de Musique on the 26 of March, 1699.
Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels in 1711 Amadis de Grèce was performed in the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels in 1711.
Queen's Concerts in 1732 Amadis de Grèce was performed during the Queen's Concerts in March 1732. The prologue and act I were performed on March 3 of 1732, then acts II and II on March 5, acts IV and V on March 10.
References
Sources
Libretto at "Livres baroques" Félix Clément and Pierre Larousse Dictionnaire des Opéras, Paris, 1881 (in French) Opéra Baroque, Amadis de Grèce Viking Opera Guide, ed. Amanda Holden (Viking, 1993): article on Amadis, p. 262
Notes