Alcine
| Operas by André Campra |
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Alcine (English: Alcina) is an opera by the French composer André Campra. It takes the form of a tragédie en musique in a prologue and five acts. The libretto, by Antoine Danchet, is based on Cantos IV, VI and VII of Ariosto's epic poem Orlando furioso and tells of the love of the enchantress Alcine (Alcina) for the paladin Astolphe (Astolfo).
Performance history
Alcine was first performed on 15 January 1705 by the Académie royale de musique at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris. The opera was a failure at its first performance.
Roles
- Prologue
- Glory (La Gloire), soprano, Mlle Du Peyré
- Time (Le Temps), basse-taille, Jean Dun 'père'
- Male followers of Glory, hautes-contre, Jacques Cocherau and Louis Mantienne
- A female follower of Glory, soprano, Mlle Vincent
- Tragédie
- Alcine, soprano, Marie-Louise Desmatins
- Mélanie, bas-dessus, Julie d'Aubigny (La Maupin)
- Atlas, basse-taille, Gabriel-Vincent Thévenard
- Nérine, soprano, Mlle Armand
- Melisse, soprano, Mlle Dujardin
- Astolphe, haute-taille, M Poussin
- Crisalde, haute-contre, Pierre Chopelet
- Nymphs of Alcine's court, sopranos, Mlles Loignon and Dupeyré
- A nereid, soprano, Marie-Catherine Poussin
- A magician, haute-contre, Louis Mantienne
- A male lover, haute-contre, Antoine Boutelou
- Two female lovers, sopranos, Mlles Poussin and Loignon
Sources
- Original libretto: Alcine, Tragédie; représentée pour la prémiere fois par l'Académie Royale de Musique, Le Quinziéme jour de Janvier 1705, Paris, Ballard, 1705 (accessible for free online in Gallica, Bibliothèque Nationale de France)
- Original score: Alcine , tragédie mise en musique par Mr Campra (Partition in Folio), Paris, H. de Baussen, 1705 (accessible for free online at Gallica, Bibliothèque Nationale de France)
- The Viking Opera Guide ed. Holden (Viking, 1993)
- Le magazine de l'opéra baroque
- Amadeus Almanac