Électre (Electra) is an opera by the French composer Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique (the Paris Opéra) on 2 July 1782. It takes the form of a tragédie lyrique in three acts. The libretto, by Nicolas-François Guillard, is based on the Greek myth of Electra.
Roles +CastVoice typePremiere castÉgisthe (Aegisthus)baritoneThe part of Égisthe is sometimes notated in the tenor clef, sometimes in the bass clef.François LaysClytemnestre (Clytemnestra)sopranoFrançoise-Claude-Marie-Rosalie Campagne (called Mlle Duplant)Électre (Electra)sopranoRosalie LevasseurOreste (Orestes)basse taille (bass-baritone)Henri LarrivéePilade (Pylades)taille (baritenor)Étienne LainezArcasbasse taille (bass-baritone)MoreauChrysothémis (Chrysothemis)sopranoAntoinette Saint-HubertyUn officer du palais (an officer of the palace)basse taille (bass-baritone)Simon ChénardLe grand prêtre (the high priest)basse taille (bass-baritone)Simon ChénardUne Argienne (a woman of Argos)sopranoSuzanne JoinvilleUn Argien (a man of Argos)haute-contreSources traditionally report only the initial letter (J.) of this singer's name; full details, however, can be found in "Organico dei fratelli a talento della Loggia parigina di Saint-Jean d'Écosse du Contrat Social (1773–89)" (list of the members of this Masonic lodge), reported as an Appendix in Zeffiro Ciuffoletti and Sergio Moravia (eds), La Massoneria. La storia, gli uomini, le idee, Milan, Mondadori, 2004, .Chorus: Lords and ladies of the court, people of Mycenae, Trojan captives, Eumenides, demons
Notes
Sources Original libretto: Electre,//Tragédie//en 3 actes,//Représentée//Pour la première fois,//Par l'Académie-royale//de musique,//Le Mardi 2 Juillet 1782, Paris, De Lormel, 1782, via Gallica – BNF Original printed score: Electre//Tragédie,//en Trois Actes,//Mise en Musique et Dediée//à la Reine//par Mr. Le Moyne, Paris, Chez l'auteur, 1782, via Gallica – BNF Félix Clément and Pierre Larousse, Dictionnaire des Opéras, p. 245. , "Foreigners at the Académie Royale de Musique" in Antonio Sacchini, Renaud, Madrid, Ediciones Singulares, 2013 (book accompanying the complete recording conducted by Christophe Rousset).