Psyché (opera)

Based on the love story of Cupid and Psyche, Psyché was premiered on April 19, 1678 by the Académie Royale de Musique at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris.

Although it is impossible to verify the truth of this statement, there is every reason to believe that Lully was in a hurry when writing this opera.

Since these intermèdes had met with such spectacular success seven years earlier, Lully must have felt that given his lack of time, he could at the very least attract a crowd with the promise of reviving the plainte italienne and the final divertissement.

Corneille's nephew, Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle, is believed to have collaborated; it is impossible to know to what extent.

The act ends in a happy love scene, but Cupid must hide his identity and begins a divertissement sung by three nymphs to divert Psyché's attention.

These nymphs banish the Furies, give Psyché the box she is looking for and conduct her to Venus's garden where act five is set.

Mercury descends and begs her to stop, recounting the chaos and suffering in the universe that has been produced by Cupid's displeasure.

The Mercure Galant states that the opera was extremely well received; that audiences were enthralled by Lully's music as always and that they would never have guessed that Corneille had composed the libretto in so little time as three weeks.

These reports are both equally difficult to believe when one considers, on the one hand, that Thomas Corneille was one of the chief editors of the Mercure Galant and, on the other hand, in what contempt the Parfaict brothers held all authors of the 17th century other than Pierre Corneille, Molière, Jean Racine and, for opera, Philippe Quinault.

Thésée, by comparison was revived ten times and remained in the repertoire of the Académie royale de musique until 1744.