Background edit
Hales was an Anglo-Irish
Hales used Midas by Kane O'Hara as his model Myth (from Ovid?)
Performance history edit
At first, the authorities refused permission to stage Le jugement de Midas at court. The reason is unknown, but Michel Brenet suggested it was because of the British nationality of the librettist.[1] Relations between France and Britain were tense at the time due to the American War of Independence. Grétry persuaded Madame de Montesson, the morganatic wife of the Duke of Orleans, to use her influence and have the opera performed in the duke's private theatre with amateur singers and Montesson herself playing the role of Chloé. The success of this staging cleared the way for performances at the Comédie Italienne, beginning on 27 June 1778, where it was initially popular thanks in part to the acting of Trial. Interest declined thereafter. Le jugement de Midas enjoyed 168 performances in Paris between 1778 and 1824.[2]
Roles edit
| Role | Voice type[3] | Public premiere Cast, 27 June 1778[4] (Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Apollon | haute-contre | Jean-Baptiste Guignard, called M Clairval |
| Mercure | spoken | Philippe-Thomas Ménier |
| Midas, the village Bailli | taille (baritenor) | Jean-René Lecoupay de la Rosière |
| Palémon, a farmer | basse-taille (bass-baritone) | M Nainville |
| Mopsa, Palémon's wife | soprano | Louise-Frédérique Moulinghen, née Schrœder |
| Lise, Palémon and Mopsa's daughter | soprano | Catherine-Ursule Billion, née Bussa, called Mlle Billioni |
| Chloé, Palémon and Mopsa's daughter | soprano | Louise-Rosalie Gourgaud, née Lefebvre, called Mlle Dugazon[5] |
| Pan, a woodcutter | basse-taille | Pierre-Marie Narbonne[6] |
| Marsias, a shepherd | haute-contre | Antoine Trial |
- Original libretto: Le Jugement de Midas, Comédie en trois Actes en Prose Mêlée d'Ariettes: Representée pour la premiere fois, par les Comédiens Italiens, ordinaires du Roi, le Samedi 27 Juin 1778, Paris, Duchesne, 1778 (accessible for free online at Internet Archive)
- Period manuscript score arranged for harpsichord (accessible for free online at IMSLP)
Notes edit
- ^ Brenet, p. 128
- ^ Charlton, p. 163–164. The appearance of Madame de Montesson in the private premiere was stated by Grétry himself (Mémoires ou Essai sur la musique, Paris/Liège, Prault/Desoer, 1789, p. 357; accessible for free online at Internet Archive).
- ^ According to the clefs used in the manuscript score cited below (cf also Charlton, p. 153).
- ^ According to the original libretto.
- ^ In the private premiere at the Palais Royal, the role of Chloé was taken by Madame de Montesson herself.
- ^ Sources will refer to this singer stating simply his surname 'Narbonne'. Émile Campardon does not report any first name in his work on the 'comédiens italiens' (Les Comédiens du roi de la troupe italienne pendant les deux derniers siècles: documents inédits recueillis aux Archives Nationales, Paris, Berger-Levrault, 1880, article: Narbonne, II, p. 29, accessible for free online at Internet Archive), whereas the name 'Pierre-Marie' is set forth in his later book on the Académie Royale de Musique, where Narbonne began his career (L'Académie Royale de Musique au XVIIIe siècle, Paris, Berger-Levrault, 1884, II, p. 193). The name 'Louis' is given instead by Georges de Froidcourt in his collection of Grétry's correspondence (La correspondance générale de Grétry, Bruxelles, Brepols, 1962, p. 145, footnote 8).