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.
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]
Vénus (prologue) | soprano | Clément |
La Discorde (prologue) | taille (baritenor) | Claude Desvoyes |
Philène (1) | haute-contre (high tenor) | Jean Boutelou |
Silvandre (1) | bass | Gabriel-Vincent Thévenard |
Céphise (1) | soprano | Marie-Louise Desmatins |
Doris (1) | soprano | Dupeyré |
Dom Carlos (2) | bass | Charles Hardouin |
Dom Pédro (2) | haute-contre (high tenor) | Pierre Chopelet |
Octavio (3) | haute-contre (high tenor) | Louis Gaulard Dumesny |
Olympia (3) | soprano | Fanchon Moreau |
Zuliman (4) | bass | Gabriel-Vincent Thévenard |
Roxane (4) | soprano | Marie Le Rochois |
Zäide (4) | soprano | Marie-Louise Desmatins |