Phèdre (opera)
Phèdre (Phaedra) is an opera by the French composer Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, first performed at Fontainebleau on 26 October 1786. It takes the form of a tragédie lyrique in three acts. The libretto, by François-Benoît Hoffman, is based on the Greek myth of the obsessive love of Phaedra for her stepson Hippolytus.
Roles
| Cast | Voice type | Premiere cast |
|---|---|---|
| Phèdre (Phaedra) | soprano | Antoinette Saint-Huberty |
| Thésée (Theseus) | basse-taille (bass-baritone) | Auguste-Athanase (Augustin) Chéron |
| Hippolite (Hippolytus) | haute-contre | J.Rousseau |
| Œnone | soprano | Adelaïde Gavaudan, cadette (the Younger) |
| La grande prêtresse de Vénus (the high priestess of Venus) | soprano | Anne-Marie Jeanne Gavaudan, l'ainée (the Elder) |
| Un grand de l'état (an important statesman) | baritone | Louis-Claude-Armand Chardin ("Chardiny") |
| Un chasseur (a huntsman) | bass-baritone | Moreau |
Sources
- (French) Original libretto on BNF Gallica
- Benoït Dratwicki, "Foreigners at the Académie Royale de Musique" in Antonio Sacchini, Renaud, Madrid, Ediciones Singulares, 2013 (book accompanying the complete recording conducted by Christophe Rousset). ISBN 978-84-939-6865-6