Vénus et Adonis
Vénus et Adonis is an opera (tragédie en musique) in a prologue and 5 acts composed by Henri Desmarets to a libretto by Jean-Baptiste Rousseau.
Based on the story of Venus and Adonis in Book X of Ovid's Metamorphoses, it was first performed by the Académie Royale de Musique at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris on 28 July 1697 with Marie Le Rochois and Louis Gaulard Dumesny in the title roles.
The myth of Venus and Adonis as recounted in Book X of Ovid's Metamorphoses held a particular fascination for the poets, artists, and musicians of the Renaissance and Baroque eras and was the inspiration for numerous works.
Rousseau's treatment differed in that he added the character of Cidippe, a Cypriot princess, whose unrequited love for Adonis eventually ends in her suicide.
[2] During the time Desmarets was completing Vénus et Adonis and preparing the cast for its premiere, he was embroiled in a scandal involving his love affair with Marie-Marguerite de Saint-Gobert, the eighteen-year-old daughter of a high official in Senlis.
[3] Six months later, Marie-Marguerite gave birth to a son and her father brought a criminal prosecution against Desmarets for seduction and kidnapping which was to last for over two years.
Les festes galantes premiered in 1698, but Desmarets left Iphigénie en Tauride unfinished when he and Marie-Marguerite fled France in 1699.
[5] Over 250 years of obscurity followed until 28 April 2006 when the opera received its first staging in modern times at the Opéra de Nancy directed and conducted by Christophe Rousset.
The Nancy performances by the baroque orchestra Les Talens Lyriques with Karine Deshayes as Venus and Sébastien Droy as Adonis, were recorded live and released on CD in 2007.
[6] Prologue (original Paris Version) Opera A plain at dawn with the Château de Marly in the distance The nymphs, Mélicerte and Partenope, and Palemon, a shepherd, sing the praises of love and simple pleasures which can now be enjoyed thanks to the peace secured by the "greatest king in the world" (Louis XIV).
The city of Amathus Venus, believing that she has successfully deceived Mars, reassures Adonis and tells him that she must go to Paphos where festivities are being held in her honour.
