Sabinus (opera)

The French-language libretto, by Michel Paul Guy de Chabanon, concerns the revolt of the Gaulish nobleman Julius Sabinus and his wife Epponina (Éponine) against Roman rule.

The opera had its first performance at Versailles on 4 December 1773 in the presence of King Louis XV, before transferring to the Paris Opéra on 22 February 1774.

Assessments of the music has been mixed, but some modern critics share Gossec's view that Sabinus prefigures the revolution in operatic practice Christoph Willibald von Gluck would soon introduce to Paris.

Undiscouraged, Chabanon decided to turn the piece into a libretto for a tragédie lyrique, which he offered to Gossec the following year.

[1] The premiere took place at Versailles on 4 December 1773 in the presence of King Louis XV as part of the wedding celebrations of the Comte d'Artois and Princess Maria Theresa of Savoy.

Despite the magnificent staging, the audience found the work too long and boring, although critics praised some of Gossec's music, particularly the ballet sections.

Gossec's plans to revive Sabinus were thwarted by the arrival of Christoph Willibald Gluck on the Parisian scene.

In the opinion of Frédéric Hellouin, it failed to break free from its roots in late Baroque tragédie lyrique: "in spite of its serious qualities, Sabinus is far from being a masterpiece.

According to the composer, compared to previous operas, it offered "a more marked character, a brighter colouring, a more animated style, more varied, more modern and consequently more universal."

The musicologist Benoît Dratwicki agrees with Gossec and sees Sabinus and Philidor's tragédie lyrique Ernelinde, princesse de Norvège (1767) - both showing strong Italianate influence - as the two key operas which helped to pave the way for the revolution in French musical theatre Gluck brought to Paris with Iphigénie en Aulide in 1774.

To encourage Sabinus, the Genius offers him a vision of the future glory of Gaul: the Emperor Charlemagne is seen on his throne ruling the nations of Western Europe.

The Genius of Gaul is seen in a flying chariot pouring "a rain of fire" onto the palace; soon nothing is left of the building but an altar with an urn on top.

Scene: a dark underground crypt where the princes of Gaul are buried Sabinus is in hiding amid the tombs of his ancestors.