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{{short description|Opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau}}
'''''Les Boréades''''' (''The Descendants of Boreas'') or '''''Abaris''''' is an opera, or more specifically a ], in five acts by ]. The ] is attributed to ]. There were no known performances of this opera in Rameau's lifetime, however . The work was in rehearsal in 1763 at the ], probably for a private performance at the court at ]. It is not known why it was abandoned, though many theories have been put forward, including that factions at court fought over it, the music was too difficult, there were subversive plot elements, and that the Opéra was burnt down in the month of rehearsals. The first known performance of the work was in 1770 in a concert performance at ].
]]]'''''Les Boréades''''' is a ''] mise en musique'', or a lyric tragedy put into music, a type of opera, in five acts by ] (1683–1764). It is the last of his five such works. The ], attributed to ] (1706–1759), is loosely based on the Greek legend of ] and includes ] elements; the ] are the descendants of ].


==Plot== ==Background==
There were no known performances of this opera in Rameau's lifetime. The work was in rehearsal in 1763 at the ], probably for a private performance at the court at ]. It is not known why the performance was abandoned, though many theories have been put forward, including that factions at court fought over it, the music was too difficult, there were subversive plot elements, and that the Opéra was burnt down in the month of rehearsals. The first known performance of the work was in 1770 in a concert performance at ]. J. J. M. Decroix had collected Rameau's works after the composer's death, and thus ensured survival of this score. The ] housed the collected works, including various manuscripts related to this opera.<ref>Sadler, Graham, "Rameau's Last Opera: ''Abaris, ou Les Boréades'' (April 1975). '']'', '''116''' (1586): pp.327–329.</ref>
Alphise, Queen of ] is in love with Abaris, whose origins are unknown. According to the traditions of her country, Alphise must marry a Boread, one of the descendants of ], the god of the North Wind. Determined to marry Abaris, Alphise abdicates, angering Boreas who storms into the wedding and abducts Alphise to his kingdom. With the help of ] and the muse ], Abaris sets off to rescue her. He challenges Boreas and his sons with a magic golden arrow. Apollo descends as ] and reveals that Abaris is really his son by a Boread nymph. Therefore, there is no longer any obstacle to Abaris and Alphise's marriage.

==Modern performance history==
The first modern performance of the work was by the ] in 1964 on 16 September 1964 (celebrating the 200th anniversary of Rameau's death) at the Maison de la Radio in Paris, recorded for broadcast the following month; the cast included ] and ].<ref>Readers' Letters - 'Les Boréades' in France. ''Opera'', February 1983, Vol.34 No.2, p148-149.</ref> It owes its modern revival to the conductor ], who gave a concert version of the piece (in which ] played ] ]) at the ], London, on 14 April 1975, for which he had prepared the orchestral material from the original manuscripts over the preceding year. In July 1982, Gardiner gave the first fully staged performance with ], choreographer, and her New York Baroque Dance Company at the ].<ref>Modern performance information: notes to Gardiner's recording of ''Les Boréades''.</ref> Since then, the opera's reputation and popularity have grown considerably. In 2020, the Czech baroque orchestra ] led by conductor ] toured Europe with a concert production of the opera (Vienna, Moscow, Versailles); a complete recording featuring Caroline Weynants, Deborach Cachet, ], Mathias Vidal, and Benoît Arnould, was released in the same year by the label Château de Versailles Spectacles.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jean-Philippe Rameau Les Boréades|url=https://collegium1704.com/produkt/jean-philippe-rameau-les-boreades/|access-date=2021-03-17|website=Collegium 1704|language=cs-CZ}}</ref> The recording won the French award Trophées for the best opera recording of the year.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Trophées 2020 : le palmarès {{!}} Forum Opéra|url=https://www.forumopera.com/actu/trophees-2020-le-palmares|access-date=2021-03-17|website=www.forumopera.com|language=fr}}</ref>


==Roles== ==Roles==
{| class="wikitable"
:::{|border=0
!Role
!Voice type
!Premiere cast<br><small>(unperformed in Rameau's lifetime)</small>
|- |-
|Alphise
|valign=top|
|]
:'''Character'''
|
:Alphise
|-
:Sémire
|Sémire
:Borilée
|soprano
:Calisis
|
:Abaris
|-
:Adamas
|Borilée
:A ]
|]
:L'Amour (])
|
:Polymnie (])
|-
:]
|Calisis
:]
|]
:Pleasures, ], Apollos priests, Bactrian people, Seasons, Zephyrs, Subterranian winds
|
|valign=top|
|-
:'''Voice'''
|Abaris
:]
|haute-contre
:soprano
|
:]
|-
:]
|Adamas
:countertenor
:baritone |baritone
|
:soprano
|-
:soprano
|A ]
:soprano
|soprano
:]
|
:baritone
|-
:chorus
|L'Amour (])

|soprano
|
|-
|Polymnie (])
|soprano
|
|-
|]
|]
|
|-
|]n
|baritone
|
|-
| colspan="3"|''Pleasures, ], Apollo's priests, ], ],<br>], Subterranean Winds (chorus)''
|} |}


==Recording== ==Synopsis==
Alphise, Queen of ], is in love with Abaris, whose origins are unknown. According to the traditions of her country, Alphise must marry a Boread, one of the descendants of ], the god of the ]. Determined to marry Abaris, Alphise abdicates, angering Boreas who storms into the wedding and abducts Alphise to his kingdom. With the help of ] and the muse ], Abaris sets off to rescue her. He challenges Boreas and his sons with a magic golden arrow. Apollo descends as ] and reveals that Abaris is really his son by a Boread nymph. Therefore, there is no longer any obstacle to Abaris and Alphise's marriage.
*Les Boreades (Monteverdi Orchestra and Choir, ], Erato 1982, re-released 2002)

==Recordings==
The opera has no entry in Francis Clough and ]'s ''World's Encyclopedia of Recorded Music'',{{when|date=March 2017}} which documents most significant classical recordings of the electrical ] era, but the first recording of an excerpt is likely to have been one of the relatively few such disks omitted from that publication: pianist ]'s performance of "Gavottes pour les Heures from Act IV", recorded on March 1, 1927<ref name=naxos> at the ] website, accessed 6 November 2008</ref> and issued as one side of ] 10" 78 RPM record no. B 2592, labeled simply "Gavotte."


Complete recordings from the modern era include:
==Reference==
*] (1982 recording): ] and ]; ], conductor.
Graham Sadler. "Les Boréades", '']'', ed. L. Macy (accessed ] ]), (subscription access).
*Opus Arte DVD (2004 recording); ]/], ], conductor.
*Château de Versailles Spectacles (2020 recording), ], ], conductor.
*], ] (DVD 2021)


==References==
{{opera-stub}}
;Notes
{{Reflist}}
;Sources
*Sadler, Graham, "''Les Boréades''", '']'', ed. L. Macy (accessed May 20, 2006), (subscription access).
* Filippo Annunziata, Una Tragédie Lyrique nel secolo dei Lumi. "Abaris ou Les Boréades", di Jean-Philippe Rameau, https://www.academia.edu/6100318.


{{Jean-Philippe Rameau|state=collapsed}}
]
{{authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Boreades}}
]
] ]
]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 02:43, 28 November 2024

Opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau

Les Boréades is a tragédie lyrique mise en musique, or a lyric tragedy put into music, a type of opera, in five acts by Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683–1764). It is the last of his five such works. The libretto, attributed to Louis de Cahusac (1706–1759), is loosely based on the Greek legend of Abaris the Hyperborean and includes Masonic elements; the Boréades are the descendants of Boréas.

Background

There were no known performances of this opera in Rameau's lifetime. The work was in rehearsal in 1763 at the Paris Opéra, probably for a private performance at the court at Choisy. It is not known why the performance was abandoned, though many theories have been put forward, including that factions at court fought over it, the music was too difficult, there were subversive plot elements, and that the Opéra was burnt down in the month of rehearsals. The first known performance of the work was in 1770 in a concert performance at Lille. J. J. M. Decroix had collected Rameau's works after the composer's death, and thus ensured survival of this score. The Bibliothèque Nationale housed the collected works, including various manuscripts related to this opera.

Modern performance history

The first modern performance of the work was by the ORTF in 1964 on 16 September 1964 (celebrating the 200th anniversary of Rameau's death) at the Maison de la Radio in Paris, recorded for broadcast the following month; the cast included Christiane Eda-Pierre and Andre Mallabrera. It owes its modern revival to the conductor John Eliot Gardiner, who gave a concert version of the piece (in which Trevor Pinnock played harpsichord continuo) at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, on 14 April 1975, for which he had prepared the orchestral material from the original manuscripts over the preceding year. In July 1982, Gardiner gave the first fully staged performance with Catherine Turocy, choreographer, and her New York Baroque Dance Company at the Aix-en-Provence Festival. Since then, the opera's reputation and popularity have grown considerably. In 2020, the Czech baroque orchestra Collegium 1704 led by conductor Václav Luks toured Europe with a concert production of the opera (Vienna, Moscow, Versailles); a complete recording featuring Caroline Weynants, Deborach Cachet, Benedikt Kristjánsson, Mathias Vidal, and Benoît Arnould, was released in the same year by the label Château de Versailles Spectacles. The recording won the French award Trophées for the best opera recording of the year.

Roles

Role Voice type Premiere cast
(unperformed in Rameau's lifetime)
Alphise soprano
Sémire soprano
Borilée baritone
Calisis haute-contre
Abaris haute-contre
Adamas baritone
A nymph soprano
L'Amour (Cupid) soprano
Polymnie (Polyhymnia) soprano
Boréas bass
Apollon baritone
Pleasures, Graces, Apollo's priests, Bactrian people, Seasons,
Zephyrs, Subterranean Winds (chorus)

Synopsis

Alphise, Queen of Bactria, is in love with Abaris, whose origins are unknown. According to the traditions of her country, Alphise must marry a Boread, one of the descendants of Boreas, the god of the north wind. Determined to marry Abaris, Alphise abdicates, angering Boreas who storms into the wedding and abducts Alphise to his kingdom. With the help of Apollo and the muse Polyhymnia, Abaris sets off to rescue her. He challenges Boreas and his sons with a magic golden arrow. Apollo descends as deus ex machina and reveals that Abaris is really his son by a Boread nymph. Therefore, there is no longer any obstacle to Abaris and Alphise's marriage.

Recordings

The opera has no entry in Francis Clough and G. J. Cuming's World's Encyclopedia of Recorded Music, which documents most significant classical recordings of the electrical 78 RPM era, but the first recording of an excerpt is likely to have been one of the relatively few such disks omitted from that publication: pianist Marie Novello's performance of "Gavottes pour les Heures from Act IV", recorded on March 1, 1927 and issued as one side of HMV 10" 78 RPM record no. B 2592, labeled simply "Gavotte."

Complete recordings from the modern era include:

References

Notes
  1. Sadler, Graham, "Rameau's Last Opera: Abaris, ou Les Boréades (April 1975). The Musical Times, 116 (1586): pp.327–329.
  2. Readers' Letters - 'Les Boréades' in France. Opera, February 1983, Vol.34 No.2, p148-149.
  3. Modern performance information: notes to Gardiner's recording of Les Boréades.
  4. "Jean-Philippe Rameau Les Boréades". Collegium 1704 (in Czech). Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  5. "Trophées 2020 : le palmarès | Forum Opéra". www.forumopera.com (in French). Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  6. Biographical sketch at the Naxos Records website, accessed 6 November 2008
Sources
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Operas
Instrumental
Choral
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