Pigmalion (opera)
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| Operas by Jean-Philippe Rameau |
|---|
Hippolyte et Aricie (1733) |
For the opera by Georg Benda see Pygmalion (opera)
Pigmalion is an opera in the form of a one-act acte de ballet by Jean-Philippe Rameau first performed on 27 August 1748 at the Opéra in Paris. The libretto is by Ballot de Sovot. The work has generally been regarded as the best of Rameau's one-act pieces. He was said to have composed the work in eight days.
The story is based on the myth of Pygmalion as told in Ovid's Metamorphoses. The sculptor Pygmalion falls in love with a statue of a beautiful woman he has carved and asks the goddess Venus to bring it to life.
[edit] Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 1748 (Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Pygmalion | haute-contre | |
| L'Amour | soprano | |
| Céphise | soprano | |
| La statue | soprano |
[edit] Selected recordings
- Pigmalion La Petite Bande, Sigiswald Kujiken (Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, 1981)
- Pigmalion English Bach Festival Singers and Orchestra, Nicholas McGegan (Erato, 1984)
- Pigmalion Les Arts Florissants, William Christie (Harmonia Mundi, 1992)
[edit] Sources
- Girdlestone, Cuthbert, Jean-Philippe Rameau: His Life and Work, New York: Dover, 1969 (paperback edition)
- Holden, Amanda, ed., The Viking Opera Guide, New York:Viking, 1993
- Sadler, Graham, ed., The New Grove French Baroque Masters Grove/Macmillan, 1988
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