L'Europe galante
| Operas by André Campra |
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L'Europe galante (Galant Europe) is an opéra-ballet in a prologue and four entrées by André Campra, The French text was 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 different 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 thoroughly in Istanbul Dolmabahçe Palace. Then made a tour to Brussels Printemps Baroque du Sablon Festival the same year.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 24 October 1697 (Conductor: Marin Marais ) |
|---|---|---|
| Vénus (prologue) | soprano | Clément |
| Philène (1) | haute-contre or high tenor | Antoine 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 or high tenor | Pierre Chopelet |
| Octavio (3) | haute-contre or high tenor | Louis Gaulard Dumesny |
| Olympia (3) | soprano | Fanchon Moreau |
| Zuliman (4) | bass | Thévenard |
| Roxane (4) | soprano | Marie Le Rochois |
| Zäide (4) | soprano | Desmatins |
Sources
- (Italian) Amadeus Almanac
- Anthony, James R (1992), 'Europe galante, L in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, ed. Stanley Sadie (London) ISBN 0-333-73432-7