| Jean-Baptiste Lully |
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Operas
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Thésée (Theseus) is an opera with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully and a libretto by Philippe Quinault based on Ovid's Metamorphoses first performed at Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 11 January 1675.
Contents |
| Cast | Voice type | Premiere, 11 January 1675 ( Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Æglé | soprano | Marie Aubry |
| Médée | soprano | Saint-Christophe |
| Minerve | soprano | Des Fronteaux |
| Grande Prêtresse de Minerve | soprano | Marie Verdier |
| Thésée | haute-contre | Bernard Clédière |
| Egée | baritone | Jean Gaye |
| First Pleasure | baritenor | Langeais |
| Bacchus | taille | La Grille |
| Venus | soprano | Beaucreux |
| Cérès | soprano | de La Borde |
| Mars | bass | Godonesche |
| Cleone | soprano | Marie-Madeleine Brigogne |
| Arcas | bass | Morel |
| Dorine | soprano | Mlle Beaucreux |
| First old man | haute-contre | Tholet |
| Second old man | taille | Miracle |
The plot centers around a love triangle: Egée wants to marry his ward, princess Æglé, while the sorceress Médée wishes to marry the young warrior Thésée, but Thésée and Æglé love each other. Médée attempts to force the lovers to renounce each other: first by using her magic to bring Æglé to a place of torment, then by convincing Egée to have Thésée killed as a potential threat to his reign. But before Thésée can drink the poison he has been given, Egée realises that Thésée is his lost son. He then gives Æglé to Thésée. Médée takes vengeance by destroying the festive setting, but the goddess Minerve undoes this.