1810 ballet-pantomime
Persée et Andromède (English: Perseus and Andromeda) is a French ballet-pantomime created in 1810 by Pierre Gardel and performed at the Opéra de Paris.
Background
The ballet Persée et Andromède was presented in three acts with choreography by Pierre Gardel (ballet master at the Opéra) and music arranged by Étienne-Nicolas Méhul. It was based on the subject of Perseus and Andromeda.[2] Certain elements of the myth were altered to amplify interest and effectiveness. Gardel dedicated it to the Prince of Schwarzenberg Karl Philipp, an Austrian diplomat, military leader, and ambassador of Francis II, the Emperor of Austria.[3]
On 8 June 1810, Persée et Andromède was premiered at the Théâtre de l'Académie Impériale de Musique (Opéra de Paris) in Paris, France.[3]
Music
Gardel's ballet composition was set to music arranged by Étienne-Nicolas Méhul. Méhul incorporated a rondeau from a sonata by German composer Steibelt.[4]
Setting
The theatre in act one was a flower-adorned public square prepared for games, bordered by Juno's temple and the king's palace, with a bridge in the background. Act two portrayed the king's gardens, featuring statues such as Jupiter's. The set design in act three depicted a palace courtyard of Cepheus, with a sea arm visible in the distance.[3]
Roles
The principal roles were entrusted to artists such as:
References
- ^ L'Académie impériale de musique: histoire littéraire, musicale, politique et galante de ce théâtre, de 1645 à 1855. (1855). France: Castil-Blaze.
- ^ Picot, É. (1876). Bibliographie Cornélienne; ou, Description raisonnée de toutes les éditions des oeuvres de Pierre Corneille, des imitations ou traductions qui en ont été faites, et des ouvrages relatifs à Corneille et à ses écrits. [With a portrait.]. France: Auguste Fontaine, libraire.
- ^ a b c Gardel, P. G. (1810). Persée et andromède: ballet-pantomime en trois actes. France: chez Bacot.
- ^ a b Le Ménestrel: journal de musique. (1884). (n.p.): Le Menestrel.
