The libretto, by Joseph-François Duché de Vancy, is loosely based on the myth of Cephalus and Procris as told in Ovid's Metamorphoses.
Unsurprisingly, the music shows the influence of Jean-Baptiste Lully, the founder of the French genre of tragédie en musique, who had died less than a decade before.
But Jacquet de La Guerre added original touches of her own to the Lullian formula, such as a quiet conclusion in place of the expected final chorus.
Céphale et Procris was not a success and only ran for five or six performances before disappearing from the stage until a revival of interest in the work in the late 20th century.
Céphale, a warrior, and Procris, the daughter of the King of Athens, are in love but are yet to be married (in this the opera differs from Ovid where they are already man and wife).