L'Europe galante explained

L'Europe galante (Galant Europe) is an opéra-ballet in a prologue and four entrées by André Campra to a French libretto by Antoine Houdar de la Motte.

The opera is regarded as the first opéra-ballet, with the entrées sharing a common theme – in this case 'love' in four countries, France (entrée 1), Spain (entrée 2), Italy (entrée 3) and Turkey (entrée 4) – rather than a common narrative.

Performance history

L'Europe Galante was first performed on 24 October 1697 by the Paris Opéra under Marin Marais in the Salle du Palais-Royal in Paris. It was successful and was revived periodically until 1775. In 1997 – on the 300th anniversary of its creation – Istanbul Baroque led by Leyla Pınar staged L'Europe Galante in Istanbul Dolmabahçe Palace. They then toured it to the Brussels Printemps baroque du Sablon festival the same year.[1]

Roles

!Role!Voice type!Premiere cast, 24 October 1697
Conductor: Marin Marais
Vénus (prologue)sopranoClément
La Discorde (prologue)taille (baritenor)Claude Desvoyes
Philène (1)haute-contre (high tenor)Jean Boutelou
Silvandre (1)bassGabriel-Vincent Thévenard
Céphise (1)sopranoMarie-Louise Desmatins
Doris (1)sopranoDupeyré
Dom Carlos (2)bassCharles Hardouin
Dom Pédro (2)haute-contre (high tenor)Pierre Chopelet
Octavio (3)haute-contre (high tenor)Louis Gaulard Dumesny
Olympia (3)sopranoFanchon Moreau
Zuliman (4)bassGabriel-Vincent Thévenard
Roxane (4)sopranoMarie Le Rochois
Zäide (4)sopranoMarie-Louise Desmatins

Sources

  1. News: Martin . Serge . Une Europe Galante Déroutante . 26 April 1997.

Further reading