Persée et Andromède () is a French ballet-pantomime created in 1810 by Pierre Gardel and performed at the Opéra de Paris.
Background The ballet Persée et Andromède was presented in three acts with choreography by Pierre Gardel (ballet master at the Opéra) and music arranged by Étienne-Nicolas Méhul. It was based on the subject of Perseus and Andromeda.Picot, É. (1876). Bibliographie Cornélienne; ou, Description raisonnée de toutes les éditions des oeuvres de Pierre Corneille, des imitations ou traductions qui en ont été faites, et des ouvrages relatifs à Corneille et à ses écrits. [With a portrait.]. France: Auguste Fontaine, libraire. Certain elements of the myth were altered to amplify interest and effectiveness. Gardel dedicated it to the Prince of Schwarzenberg Karl Philipp, an Austrian diplomat, military leader, and ambassador of Francis II, the Emperor of Austria.
On 8 June 1810, Persée et Andromède was premiered at the Théâtre de l'Académie Impériale de Musique (Opéra de Paris) in Paris, France.Gardel, P. G. (1810). Persée et andromède: ballet-pantomime en trois actes. France: chez Bacot.
Music Gardel's ballet composition was set to music arranged by Étienne-Nicolas Méhul. Méhul incorporated a rondeau from a sonata by German composer Steibelt.Le Ménestrel: journal de musique. (1884). (n.p.): Le Menestrel.
Setting The theatre in act one was a flower-adorned public square prepared for games, bordered by Juno's temple and the king's palace, with a bridge in the background. Act two portrayed the king's gardens, featuring statues such as Jupiter's. The set design in act three depicted a palace courtyard of Cepheus, with a sea arm visible in the distance.
Roles The principal roles were entrusted to artists such as: RolePremière cast, 8 June 1810(Cast member: - )Cassiopeia (Queen and wife of Cepheus)Mlle ChevignyAndromeda (only daughter of Cepheus and Cassiope)Madame Gardel Cepheus (King of Ethiopia)Louis Milon Perseus (son of Jupiter, loved by Andromeda)Auguste VestrisPhineus (prince of the family of Cepheus)AlbertJuno (wife of Jupiter)Mlle Victoire SaulnierMercuryLouis-Stanislas MontjoieNeptuneM. GalaisJupiterM. GalaisHymenM. Charles VestrisL'AmourMlle HullinApolloM. AlbertDianaMlle SaulnierVenusMlle AthaliePallasMlle GailletZephyrM. BeaulieuHebeMlle MilliéreFloraM. DelisleMarsM. MéranteThe Great Priest of Juno (Le grand-Prêtre de Juno)M. Godefroy An Ethiopian (Un Éthiopien)M. Goyon
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