There’s something truly lovely about sitting up on a Sunday morning after a Saturday night rain with a cup of tea and Lully’s Thésée. Which makes me think there’s something wrong with listening to Lully’s operas as opposed to watching them as I find this completely soothing. Then I realize I’m without some of the tragedie-lyrique’s main components–ballet, machinations, spectacle. In fact, I don’t have any watching on the list until we get to Persée…Hm.
But on the other hand, solely listening has made me pay close attention to the recits in this story (which essetially picks up on Medea after her break-up with Jason…unfortunate that Cavalli’s happy end couldn’t last). The French playwright Moliere had died right around the time that Lully began to take the French stage, and while his company didn’t fare too well post-mortem, his spirit seems to live on in many of Philippe Quinault’s libretti. Quinault has a sense of the dramatic that puts Faustini to shame, and yet there’s a simplicity in the wants of the characters. Their emotions are accentuated in Lully’s notation, drawing out notes that encompass words like heureux, amoureux, and secours. He also gives musical altitude to high emotions–ecstassy and chaos–in sharps, and lays flats on tender or melancholy moments. Spectacle enough for me.
Ovid count thus far…7
