(Theseus) is an opera by the French composer Jean-Joseph de Mondonville, first performed at the Palace of Fontainebleau on 7 November 1765. It takes the form of a tragédie en musique in five acts. The opera is a new setting of a libretto by Philippe Quinault, originally set by Jean-Baptiste Lully in 1675.Holden. Mondonville's version was not a success and did not get to enjoy its public premiere at the Paris Opera until 13 January 1767, but audience rejected it calling for the restoration of Lully's original music. Mondonville's opera was withdrawn for good after its fourth performance.Pitou. The music is now lost.
Roles CastVoice typePremiere, 7 November 1765Cast according to original 1765 libretto. ( Conductor: – ) Eglé (Aegle), a princess raised under the tutelage of Egée, King of Athens soprano Sophie Arnould Cleone, a confidante of Eglé soprano Mlle Avenaux The high priestess of Minerva soprano Marie-Jeanne Larrivée Lemière Egée (Aegeus), King of Athens basse-taille (bass-baritone) Henri Larrivée Arcas, a confidant of Egée haute-contre M Muguet Médée (Medea), a magician princess soprano Mlle Dubois (or Du Bois) Dorine, a confidante of Médée soprano Mlle Dubrieul Thésée (Theseus), Egée's unknown son haute-contre Joseph Legros A woman from Athens soprano Marie-Jeanne Larrivée Lemière A shepherd from the enchanted island haute-contre M Muguet A shepherdess from the enchanted island sopranoMarie-Jeanne Larrivée Lemière Minerve soprano Mlle Avenaux
References Notes
Sources Original 1765 libretto on Google Books Spire Pitou, The Paris Opéra. An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers – Rococo and Romantic, 1715-1815, Westport/London, Greenwood Press, 1985, page 521. The Viking Opera Guide, ed. Amanda Holden (Viking, 1993), page 671.