Renaud (opera)

The French libretto, by Jean-Joseph Lebœuf,[a] is based on Cantos XVII and XX of Torquato Tasso's epic poem Gerusalemme liberata and, more directly, on the five-act tragedy by Simon-Joseph Pellegrin, Renaud, ou La suite d'Armide, which had been set to music by Henri Desmarets in 1722 and was intended as a sequel to Lully's famous opera Armide.

[b] The choreography was by Maximilien Gardel and the cast contained some of the stars of the Académie, including the haute-contre Joseph Legros and the soprano Rosalie Levasseur as Renaud and Armide.

Renaud arrives at the camp of the Saracen King of Damascus, Armide's father, Hidraot, to offer peace to the Muslims if they will cede Jerusalem.

Hidraot and his allies are ready to accept when the furious Armide bursts in on her chariot, accusing them of cowardice and promising her hand in marriage to whoever kills the treacherous Renaud.

Although she fails to persuade him to love her again (Duet: "Généreux inconnu ..."), she succeeds in warning him of the trap the Saracen chiefs are planning.

Hidraot arrives and rebukes Armide for giving in to her love for Renaud; the crusader has been causing carnage in the Muslim camp.

Armide prays to heaven to strike her down and save her father and, when she hears that Hidraot has been bound in chains to the chariot of the victorious Renaud, she decides to kill herself.

was recorded by Véronique Gens on the album Tragédiennes 2, accompanied by the orchestra Les Talens Lyriques conducted by Christophe Rousset (Virgin Classics, 2009).