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{{Short description|Opera-ballet by Jean-Philippe Rameau}}
'''Les Indes galantes''' is an '']'' consisting of a prologue and four ''entrées'' (acts) by ] with libretto by ].
{{Infobox opera
| name = {{lang|fr|Les Indes galantes}}
| composer = ]
| image = 1736 Les Indes Galantes.png
| image_upright = 1.3
| caption = Title page of the 1736 ]
| librettist = ]
| language = French
| based_on =
| premiere_date = {{Start date|1735|08|23|df=y}}
| premiere_location = ], Paris
}}
'''{{lang|fr|Les Indes galantes}}''' is a ''ballet héroïque'', a type of French Baroque ], by ] with a libretto by ]. In its final form it comprised an allegorical prologue and four ''entrées'', or acts, each set in an exotic place, the whole being unified around the theme of love. The work dates from 1735 except for the last ''entrée'', which was added the following year. In 1761, however, Rameau dropped the relatively short and mildly contrasted third ''entrée'' so as to leave what is now considered the work's definitive form: Prologue; ''Le turc généreux (The Generous Turk)''; ''Les incas du Pérou (The Incas of Peru)''; and ''Les sauvages (The Savages of North America)''. The dropped ''entrée'' was ''Les fleurs (The Flowers of Persia)''. Famous pieces from ''Les Indes galantes'' include the Dance of the Peace Pipe and the Chaconne, both from ''The Savages of North America''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Rameau: Les Indes galantes. L'Avant-Scène Opéra, no. 46.|year= 1982|location=Paris}}</ref>


==Premiere==
==Performance history==
The premiere, including only the prologue and the first two ''entrées'', was staged by the ] (today's Paris Opera) at its ] on 23 August 1735.<ref name="Sadler">Sadler</ref> The leading artists of the company performed: dancers ] and ] and the singers ], ], Mlle Errémans, Mlle Petitpas, Denis-François Tribou, ] and Claude-Louis-Dominique Chassé de Chinais. ] provided the choreography.<ref name="Nébrac">''Le magazine de l'opéra baroque''.</ref>


==Background==
The première, including only the first three ''entrés'', took place in ] at the ] on ] ] with Mlle Pélissier as Emilie, Mme Petitpas as Fatima, Mme Antier as Phani, Jelyotte as Valère and don Carlos, de Chasse as Huascar and Tribou as Tacmas.
In 1725, French settlers in ] sent Chief ] of the ] and five other chiefs to Paris. On 25 November 1725, they met with ]. Chicagou had a letter read pledging allegiance to the crown. They later danced three kinds of dances in the ], inspiring Rameau to compose his ] '']''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://gbl.indiana.edu/ethnohistory/archives/miamis7/M23-30_7a.html |title=Indiana University Archives |access-date=2011-12-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415111900/http://gbl.indiana.edu/ethnohistory/archives/miamis7/M23-30_7a.html |archive-date=2012-04-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


In a preface to the printed libretto, Louis Fuzelier explains that the first entrée, "Le Turc généreux," "is based on an illustrious character—Grand Vizier ], who was so well known for his extreme generosity. His story can be read in the '']'' from January 1734."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fuzelier |first1=Louis |title=Preface to ''Les Indes galantes'' |date=2004 |publisher=OpusArte |location=UK |page=7}}</ref> The story of Osman's generosity "was apparently based on a story published in the ''Mercure de Suisse''<ref>{{cite journal
Dupré provided the choreography, which was danced by Mlles Mariette, LeBreton, ], and Messieurs Dupré, Maltayre, DuMoulin, Javillier and Corps de Ballet. Chéron conducted.
| author = <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->
| date = September 1734
| title = Anecdotes curieuses de la Vie de Topal Osman, Basha & General de l'Armée Ottomane contre les Persans
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZKsUAAAAQAAJ
| journal = Mercure Suisse, ou Recueil de Nouvelles Historiques, Politiques, Literaires & Curieuses
| location = Neuchâtel (Neufchatel)
| publisher = Galandre
| pages = 75–89
| doi =
| access-date = 18 July 2024
}}</ref> in September 1734 concerning a Marseillais merchant, Vincent Arniaud, who saved a young Ottoman notable from slavery in Malta, and the unstinting gratitude and generosity returned by this young man, who later became Grand Vizier Topal Osman Pasha."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Coller |first1=Ian |title=Rousseau's Turban: Entangled Encounters of Europe and Islam in the Age of Enlightenment|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24720585 |journal=Historical Reflections / Réflexions Historiques |date=Summer 2014 |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=56–77 |doi=10.3167/hrrh.2014.400204|jstor=24720585 }}</ref>


==Performance history==
The Third "''Entrée''", known as the ''Entrée des Fleurs'', was not well received and was revised after the fourth performance with Mlles Petipas as Fatima, Eremans as Atalide and Bourbonnais as Roxane, and Triadou as Tacmas.
The premiere met with a lukewarm reception from the audience<ref>Pitou, article: ''Les Indes galantes'', p. 285; {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301014708/http://operabaroque.fr/RAMEAU_INDES.htm |date=2014-03-01 }}.</ref> and, at the third performance, a new entrée was added under the title ''Les Fleurs''.<ref>{{Citation|last=precija|title=Rameau – ''Les Indes galantes'' – Les Fleurs|date=2010-02-12|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDQzmvDOUcg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/QDQzmvDOUcg |archive-date=2021-12-14 |url-status=live|access-date=2018-09-13}}{{cbignore}}</ref> However, this caused further discontent because it showed the hero disguised as a woman, which was viewed either as an absurdity<ref name="Sadler" /> or as an indecency. As a result, it was revised for the first time and this version was staged on 11 September.<ref name="Nébrac" /> Notwithstanding these initial problems, the first run went on for twenty-eight performances between 23 August and 25 October,<ref name="Pitou">Pitou, article: ''Les Indes galantes'', pp. 285–287.</ref> when, however, only 281 ] were grossed, the lowest amount ever collected at the box office by ''Les Indes galantes''.<ref name="Nébrac"/>


Nevertheless, when it was mounted again on 10 (or 11) March 1736, a 'prodigious' audience flocked to the theatre.<ref>"Le samedi 10 mars 1736, pour la ''Capitation'' des acteurs et avec un concours prodigieux" ("Mercure de France", as quoted by Thédore de Lajarte, ''Bibliothèque Musicale du Théatre de l'Opéra. Catalogue Historique, Chronologique, Anecdotique'', Paris, Librairie des bibliophiles, 1878, I, p. 176, accessible for free online at ). The performances "pour la Capitation des acteurs" were extraordinary benefit representations whose takings were intended to help artistes pay the ] that applied to (almost) all French subjects (Solveig Serre, ''« Capitations », galas, gratis ... Les représentations exceptionnelles de l'Opéra de Paris à la fin de l'Ancien Régime.. La sortie au spectacle (XIXe-XXe siècles) : le cas français'', HAL, 2010, France, ).</ref> The ''entrée des Fleurs'' was "replaced with a version in which the plot and all the music except the ''divertissement'' was new",<ref name="Sadler"/> and a fourth entrée, ''Les Sauvages'', was added, in which Rameau reused the famous ''air des Sauvages'' he had composed in 1725 on the occasion of the American Indian chiefs' visit and later included in the '']'' (1728).
At the revival of ''Les Indes galantes'' on ] ], the 30th performance of the work, a '''Fourth ''entrée''''' was added, with Mme Pélissier as Zima, Jelyotte as Damon and Dun as don Alvar.


Now in something approaching a definitive form,<ref>"In the course of many revivals, however, the number and order of entrées was frequently altered" (Sadler).</ref> the opera enjoyed six performances in March and was then mounted again as of 27 December.<ref name="Nébrac"/> Further revivals were held in 1743–1744, 1751 and 1761 for a combined total of 185 billings.<ref name="Pitou"/> The work was also performed in ] on 23 November 1741, at the theatre of the ''Jeu de Paume de la Raquette Royale'', and again in 1749/1750, at the initiative of Rameau's brother-in-law, Jean-Philippe Mangot.<ref name="Nébrac"/> Furthermore, the prologue and individual entrées were often revived separately and given within the composite operatic programs called 'fragments' or 'spectacles coupés' (cut up representations) that: "were almost constant fare at the Palais-Royal in the second half of the eighteenth century".<ref>Pitou, article: ''Spectacle coupé'', p. 502.</ref> The prologue, ''Les Incas'' and ''Les Sauvages'' were last given respectively in 1771 (starring ], ]'s future favourite ], in the role of Hebé), 1772 and 1773 (also starring Levasseur as Zima).<ref name="Sadler"/> Thenceforth ''Les Indes galantes'' was dropped from the Opéra's repertoire, after having seen almost every artiste of the company in the previous forty years take part in its complete or partial performances.<ref name="Pitou"/>
The complete work was played for the 185th and last time in ].


In the twentieth century the ] presented the first version of the ''Entrée des Fleurs'', with a new orchestration by ], on 30 May 1925, in a production conducted by ],<ref name="Pitou"/> with ] as Zaïre, Antoinette Reville as Fatima, Miguel Villabella as Tacmas and Emile Rousseau as Ali.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}
Nevertheless, parts of it were revived from time to time: the Prologue in ](20 performances) and ] (26 performances); the ''Entrée des Incas'' in 1771 (11 performances) and the ''Entrée des Sauvages'' in ] (22 performances.)


Finally, ''Les Indes galantes'' was revived by the Opéra itself, at the ], with the Dukas orchestration supplemented for the other ''entrées'' by ], on 18 June 1952:<ref name="Pitou"/> the production, managed by the Opéra's own director, ] and conducted by ],<ref name="Nébrac"/> was notable for the lavishness of its staging<ref name="Sadler"/> and enjoyed as many as 236 performances by 29 September 1961.<ref name="Pitou"/> The sets were by ] and Jacques Dupont (1909–1978) (prologue and finale), ] (first entrée), ] (second entrée), Henri Raymond Fost (1905–1970) and Maurice Moulène (third entrée) and {{Interlanguage link|Roger Chapelain-Midy|fr}} (fourth entrée); the choreography was provided by Albert Aveline (1883–1968) (first entrée), ] (second and fourth entrées) and ] (third entrée).<ref name="Nébrac"/> In the 1st Entrée ("The Gracious Turk"), ] sang Emilie, ] was Valère and Hugo Santana was Osman; the dancers were Mlle Bourgeois and M Legrand. In the 2nd Entrée, ("The Incas of Peru"), Marisa Ferrer was Phani, Georges Noré was don Carlos, and René Bianco was Huascar, while Serge Lifar danced alongside Vyroubova and Bozzoni. The 3rd Entrée, ("The Flowers") had ] as Fatima, side by side with ] as Zaïre. Giraudeau was Tacmas and ], the famous Pelléas,<!-- what? --> was Ali, with Mlle Bardin dancing as the Rose, Mlle Dayde as the Butterfly, Ritz as Zéphir and Renault as a Persian. The 4th Entrée, ("The Savages of America"), had Mme ], as Zima, with ] as Adario, ] as Damon and ] as don Alvar. The dancing for this act was executed by Mlles Darsonval, Lafon and Guillot and Messieurs Kalioujny and Efimoff.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}
Thereafter, the Académie Royale (Paris Opéra) abandoned this work for 179 years. Nevertheless, the ] did present the Third ''entrée'', the ''Entrée des Fleurs'', with a new orchestration by ], on ] ], with ] as Zaïre, Antoinette Reville as Fatima, ] as Tacmas and Emile Rousseau as Ali, and Maurice Frigara conducting.


In the ], it received its ] premiere on 27 August 1987, with selections from the opera performed by the ] conducted by ].<ref>{{cite web |last1=BBC |title=BBC Proms Calendar |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/events/by/date/1987 |website=BBC Website |access-date=1 April 2024}}</ref>
Finally, there was a reprise at the Opéra itself, the Salle Garnier of the Académie Nationale de Musique et Danse, with the Dukas orchestration supplemented for the other ''entrées'' with music by ], the 186th performance, on ] ], with sets by Arbus, Jacques Dupont, Wakhévitch, Carzou, Fost, Moulène and Chapelain-Midy for a production by the Académie's own director, ].


==Music used in 2006 movie==
In the 1st Entrée ("The Gracious Turc"), the lovely and adorable ] sang Emilie, Jean Giraudeau was Valère and Huc-Santana (the Puerto-Rican baritone Hugo Santana) was Osman. The dances were choreographed by the legendary ] and danced by Mlle Bourgeois and M Legrand.
The work's first minuet was used in the soundtrack of the 2006 film '']''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.what-song.com/Movies/Soundtrack/175/Marie-Antoinette|title=All 51 songs from the Marie Antoinette (2006) Soundtrack}}</ref>


==Roles==
In the 2nd Entrée, ("The Incas of Peru"), Marisa Ferrer was Phani, the elegant Georges Noré was don Carlos, and René Bianco was a rather gruff Huascar. ], no less, choreographed what he himself danced, unforgettably, with Vyroubova and Bozzoni.
{| class="wikitable"
!Role
!Voice type
!Premiere cast, 23 August 1735<br>(Conductor: – )
|-
! colspan="3"| Prologue
|-
|]
|]
|Mlle Eremans (also spelled Erremans)
|-
|]
|soprano '']''
|]
|-
|]
|] ''en travesti''
|Cuignier
|-
! colspan="3"| Entrée I
|-
|Emilie
|soprano
|Marie Pélissier
|-
|Valère
|]
|]
|-
|Osman
|baritone
|Jean Dun "fils"
|-
! colspan="3"| Entrée II
|-
|Phani
|soprano
|]
|-
|Don Carlos
|haute-contre
|Pierre Jélyotte
|-
|Huascar
|]
|Claude-Louis-Dominique Chassé de Chinais
|-
! colspan="3"| Entrée III (first version: August/September 1735)
|-
|Fatime
|soprano
|Mlle Petitpas
|-
|Zaïre
|soprano
|Mlle Eremans
|-
|Tacmas
|haute-contre
|Denis-François Tribou
|-
|Ali
|baritone
|Person
|-
! colspan="3"| Entrée III (second version: 10 March 1736)
|-
|Fatime
|soprano
|Mlle Petitpas
|-
|Atalide
|soprano
|Mlle Eremans
|-
|Tacmas
|''haute-contre''
|Denis-François Tribou
|-
|Roxane
|soprano
|Mlle Bourbonnais
|-
! colspan="3"| Entrée IV (10 March 1736)
|-
|Zima
|soprano
|Marie Pélissier
|-
|Adario
|tenor ('']'')
|Louis-Antoine Cuvillier (or Cuvilier or Cuvelier)
|-
|Damon
|haute-contre
|Pierre Jélyotte
|-
|Don Alvar
|bass
|Jean Dun "fils"
|-
|}


==Synopsis==
The 3rd Entrée, ("The Flowers") had ] as the unutterably elegant and seductive Fatima, side by side with ] as Zaïre! Giraudeau was totally eclipsed (literally!) as Tacmas and ], the famous Pelléas, was Ali.
=== Prologue ===
]
''Scene: The palace of Hebe in the background and her gardens in the wings''


], goddess of youth, summons her followers to take part in a festival (Air: ''Vous, qui d'Hébé suivez les lois''). Young French, Spanish, Italians and Poles rush to celebrate with a series of dances, including a musette. The ballet is interrupted by the noise of drums and trumpets. It is ], goddess of war, who arrives on the stage accompanied by warriors bearing flags. Bellona calls on the youths to seek out military glory (Air and chorus: ''La Gloire vous appelle''). Hebe prays to Cupid (L'Amour) to use his power to hold them back. ] descends on a cloud with his followers. He decides to abandon Europe in favour of the "Indies", where love is more welcome.
Harald Lander choreographed this act, with Mlle Bardin as the Rose, Mlle Dayde as the Butterfly, Ritz as Zéphir and Renault as a Persian.


=== Entrée I – ''Le turc généreux'' (The Generous Turk) ===
The 4th Entrée, ("The Sauvages of America"), had the most seductive soprano ever seen at the Opéra, Mme ], as Zima, with José Luccioni as a loud Adario, Raoul Jobin as a lumbering Damon and Roger Bourdin a dry-voiced don Alvar. '''Lifar''' again choreographed the dancing for this act, executed by Mlles Darsonval, Lafon and Guillot and Messieurs Kalioujny and Efimoff.
''Scene: The gardens of Osman Pasha bordering the sea''
] conducted.


Osman Pasha is in love with his slave, the young Émilie, but she rejects him, telling him she was about to be married when a group of brigands abducted her. Osman urges her to give up hope that her fiancé is still alive (Air: ''Il faut que l'amour s'envole'') but Émilie refuses to believe this is true. The sky turns dark as a storm brews; Émilie sees the violent weather as an image of her despair (Air: ''Vaste empire des mers''). A chorus of shipwrecked sailors is heard (Chorus: ''Ciel! de plus d'une mort''). Émilie laments that they too will be taken captive. She recognises one of the sailors as her fiancé Valère. Their joy at their reunion is tempered by sadness at the thought they are both slaves now. Osman enters and is furious to see the couple embracing. However, unexpectedly, he announces he will free them. He too has recognised Valère, who was once his master but magnanimously freed him. Osman loads Valère's surviving ships with gifts and the couple praise his generosity. They call on the winds to blow them back to France (Duet and chorus: ''Volez, Zéphyrs''). The act ends with celebratory dances as Valère and Émilie prepare to set sail.
There were no less than '''246''' performances of this gorgeous revival by the end of 1961 which finally included an imposing array of singers and dancers of all kinds.


=== Entrée II – ''Les incas du Pérou'' (The Incas of Peru) ===
==Rôles==
''Scene: a desert in Peru with a volcano in the background''


Carlos, a Spanish officer, is in love with the Inca princess Phani. He urges her to escape with him but she fears the anger of the Incas, who are preparing to celebrate the Festival of the Sun. Nevertheless, she is prepared to marry him (Air: ''Viens, Hymen''). The Inca priest Huascar is also in love with Phani but suspects he has a rival and decides to resort to subterfuge. Huascar leads the ceremony of the adoration of the Sun, which is interrupted by a sudden earthquake. Huascar declares this means the gods want Phani to choose him as her husband. Carlos enters and tells Phani the earthquake was a trick, artificially created by Huascar. Carlos and Phani sing of their love while Huascar swears revenge (Trio: ''Pour jamais''). Huascar provokes an eruption of the volcano and is crushed by its burning rocks.
* Hébé: Soprano
* Emilie: Soprano
* Zaïre: Soprano
* L' Amour: Soprano
* Phani: Soprano
* Fatime: Soprano
* Zima: Soprano


=== Entrée III – ''Les fleurs'' (The Flowers) ===
* Bellone: Baritone
* First version.
* Osman: Baritone
* Huascar: Baritone
* Ali: Baritone
* Don Alvar: Baritone


''Scene: The gardens of Ali's palace''<br>
* Valère: Tenor
Prince Tacmas is in love with Zaïre, a slave belonging to his favourite Ali, even though he has a slave girl of his own, Fatime. Tacmas appears at Ali's palace disguised as a merchant woman so he can slip into the harem unnoticed and test Zaïre's feelings for him. Zaïre enters and laments that she is unhappily in love (Air: ''Amour, Amour, quand du destin j'éprouve la rigueur''). Tacmas overhears her and is determined to find out the name of his rival. Fatime now enters, disguised as a Polish slave, and Tacmas believes he has found Zaïre's secret lover. Enraged, he casts off his disguise and is about to stab Fatime when she too reveals her true identity. It turns out that Zaïre has been in love with Tacmas all along just as Fatime has been in love with Ali. The two couples rejoice in this happy resolution (Quartet: ''Tendre amour'') and the act ends with the Persians celebrating the Festival of Flowers.
* Don Carlos: Tenor
* Damon: Tenor
* Tacmas: Tenor
* Adario: Tenor


* Second Version.


Sultana Fatime suspects her husband Tacmas of cheating on her with Atalide; she therefore disguises herself as a slave, succeeding in gaining Atalide's confidence and eventually recognises her suspicions are groundless. The happy couple take part in the Festival of Flowers.
==Synopsis==


=== Entrée IV – ''Les sauvages'' (The Savages) ===
* '''ACT I (Première Entrée): The Gracious Turc (Le Turc généreux)'''
''Scene: The stage shows a grove in a forest in America, on the borders of the French and Spanish colonies, where the ceremony of the Peace Pipe is about to be celebrated''
Osman sets free his captive, Emilie, whom he loves, so that she may be reunited with her former lover, Valère.


Adario, a Native American, is in love with Zima, daughter of a native chief, but he fears the rivalry of the Spaniard Don Alvar and the Frenchman Damon (Air: ''Rivaux des mes exploits, rivaux des mes amours''). The Europeans plead with Zima for her love, but she says Damon is too fickle and Alvar is too jealous; she prefers the natural love shown by Adario (Air: ''Sur nos bords l'amour vole'') and the couple vow to marry (Duet: ''Hymen, viens nous unir d'une chaîne éternelle''). The act ends with the Europeans joining the natives in the ceremony of peace (Chorus: ''Forêts paisibles'').
* '''ACT II (Deuxième Entrée): The Incas of Peru (Les Incas du Pérou)'''
Represents the rivalry of the Inca Huascar and the Spaniard Don Carlos, both in pursuit of Princess Phani. Wonderful eruption of a volcano is the central moment of this act.


==Recordings of the complete work==
*'''ACT III (Troisième Entrée): The Flowers (Les Fleurs)'''
* 1973 – ], ], Sonia Nigoghossian, Bruce Brewer, ], chorus and orchestra conducted by ], on three LPs, CBS 77365; note: nobody sings Amour in the Prologue
A Persian love intrigue as the Sultana Fatima tries to detect whether her husband Tacmas has his eye on the lovely Atalide.
* 1974 – Gerda Hartman, ] (sopranos); Louis Devos, ] (tenors); ] (baritone). Ensemble Vocal à Coeur-Joie de Valence, Orchestre Paillard, conducted by ], on Erato 4509-95310-2
* 1991 – Miriam Ruggeri (soprano), ] (bass), ] (tenor), ] (baritone), Noémi Rime (soprano), ] (soprano), ] (tenor), ] (baritone), ] (soprano), Claron McFadden (soprano). The Ensemble of ] conducted by ], duration 3 hours 13 mins, Harmonia Mundi 901367
* 2003, filmed in Paris – ], Valérie Gabail, Nicolas Cavallier, ], ], Jaël Azzaretti, ], Anna Maria Panzarella, ]. The Ensemble of ] conducted by ], released on 2 DVDs, BBC Opus Arte Catalog 923
* 2013, live in Vienna – Valérie Gabail, Stéphanie Révidat, Reinoud Van Mechelen, François-Nicolas Geslot, Aimery Lefèvre, Sydney Fierro, Chorus and Orchestra of ], conducted by ], label: Musiques à la Charbotterie, on 3 CDs
* 2014, filmed in February at the ] – Amel Brahim Djelloul, Benoît Arnould, Olivera Topalovic, Judith van Wanroij, Les Talens Lyriques, conducted by ], released on 2 DVDs by Alpha; note: uses the 1736 score for ''Les fleurs''
* 2016, filmed in July at the ] in Munich – Benoit, ], ], Quintans; Auvity, Moore, Vidal; Jurić, Lis, Nazmi; conducted by ], live-streamed by ]
* 2019 – ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ]. ] and ], conducted by ]. 1761 version (does not include ''Les fleurs'') on 2 CDs. Record label: Glossa, duration 123'41".
* 2019 – ] (director), ] (choreographer) and ] (conductor), with the ], ], the Compagnie Rualité, the La Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine and ] children's choir.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.operadeparis.fr/saison-19-20/opera/les-indes-galantes|title=Les Indes galantes - Opéra - Programmation Saison 19/20|website=Opéra national de Paris|language=fr|access-date=2019-07-02}}</ref>


*'''ACT IV (Quatrième Entrée): The Sauvages of America (Les Sauvages)'''
] (on Philips) and ] (on Decca) recorded Huascar's ''Invocation au Soleil'' from the Peruvian ''Entrée''.
Set in North America, where a Spaniard and a Frenchman compete for the love of Zima, daughter of a native chief, who prefers (smart girl) one of her own people.


==Recordings== ==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Reflist}}


'''Sources'''
Both Camille Mauranne (Philips) and ] (DECCA) have left masterful recorded performances of Huascar's ''Invocation au Soleil'' (from the Peruvian ''Entrée''), a seminal piece in the history of French musical drama.
* Spire Pitou, ''The Paris Opéra – An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers – Rococo and Romantic 1715–1815'', Westport (Connecticut), Greenwood Press, 1985 ({{ISBN|0-313-24394-8}})
* Graham Sadler, ''Indes galantes, Les'', in Stanley Sadie (ed), ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Grove (Oxford University Press), New York, 1997, II, pp.&nbsp;795–796. {{ISBN|978-0-19-522186-2}}
* Stéphane Wolff, ''L' Opéra au Palais Garnier, 1875–1962'' Paris, Entr'acte, 1962.


'''Online sources'''
====On compact disc:====
* {{Almanacco|match=Les Indes galantes}}
* {{in lang|fr}}
* {{in lang|fr}} ''Spectacles'' (period review of ''Les Indes galantes''), "Mercure de France, Dédié au Roy", Paris, Cavelier/Pissot/de Nully, September 1735, pp.&nbsp;2035 ff (accessible for free online at )


==External links==
* Gerda Hartman, Jennifer Smith (sopranos); Louis Devos, John Elwes (tenors); Philippe Huttenlocher (baritone). The Ensemble Vocal à Coeur-Joie de Valence and the Orchestre Jean-François Paillard, Valence conducted by Jean-François Paillard. Recorded in 1974. ERATO 4509-95310-2
*Les Indes Galantes, article from Grove Music Online.
*{{IMSLP|work=Les Indes galantes (Rameau, Jean-Philippe)|cname=Les Indes galantes}}
*
*
*
* French libretto of "Les Indes galantes" at:
**
**
** (original libretto of the 1736 edition, Paris, Ballard, 1736: includes the second version of ''Les fleurs'')
** (original libretto of the 1761 revival, Paris, de Lormel, 1761: only includes the first three ''entrées'', with the second version of ''Les fleurs'')


{{Jean-Philippe Rameau|state=collapsed}}
* Miriam Ruggeri (Soprano), Bernard Delétré (Bass), Howard Crook (Tenor), Nicolas Rivenq (Baritone), Noémi Rime (Soprano), ] (Soprano), Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (Tenor), Jérôme Corréas (Baritone), Isabelle Poulenard (Soprano), Claron McFadden(Soprano). The Ensemble of Les Arts Florissants conducted by William Christie. Released 12/1992 on 3CDs. Duration 3 Hours 13 Mins. Harmonia Mundi 901367
{{authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Indes Galantes, Les}}
====On video disc:====
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* ], ], ], ], ], ], ]. The Ensemble of ] conducted by ]. Released 08/2005 on 2 DVDs. BBC/Opus Arte Catalog No. 923
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==Bibliography==
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* Wolff, Stéphane: ''L' Opéra au Palais Garnier, 1875-1962'' Paris, Entr'acte, 1962.
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Latest revision as of 11:02, 19 October 2024

Opera-ballet by Jean-Philippe Rameau
Les Indes galantes
Opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau
Title page of the 1736 libretto
LibrettistLouis Fuzelier
LanguageFrench
Premiere23 August 1735 (1735-08-23)
Theatre in the Palais-Royal, Paris

Les Indes galantes is a ballet héroïque, a type of French Baroque opera-ballet, by Jean-Philippe Rameau with a libretto by Louis Fuzelier. In its final form it comprised an allegorical prologue and four entrées, or acts, each set in an exotic place, the whole being unified around the theme of love. The work dates from 1735 except for the last entrée, which was added the following year. In 1761, however, Rameau dropped the relatively short and mildly contrasted third entrée so as to leave what is now considered the work's definitive form: Prologue; Le turc généreux (The Generous Turk); Les incas du Pérou (The Incas of Peru); and Les sauvages (The Savages of North America). The dropped entrée was Les fleurs (The Flowers of Persia). Famous pieces from Les Indes galantes include the Dance of the Peace Pipe and the Chaconne, both from The Savages of North America.

Premiere

The premiere, including only the prologue and the first two entrées, was staged by the Académie Royale de Musique (today's Paris Opera) at its theatre in the Palais-Royal on 23 August 1735. The leading artists of the company performed: dancers Marie Sallé and Louis Dupré and the singers Marie Antier, Marie Pélissier, Mlle Errémans, Mlle Petitpas, Denis-François Tribou, Pierre Jélyotte and Claude-Louis-Dominique Chassé de Chinais. Michel Blondy provided the choreography.

Background

In 1725, French settlers in Illinois sent Chief Agapit Chicagou of the Mitchigamea and five other chiefs to Paris. On 25 November 1725, they met with King Louis XV. Chicagou had a letter read pledging allegiance to the crown. They later danced three kinds of dances in the Théâtre-Italien, inspiring Rameau to compose his rondeau Les Sauvages.

In a preface to the printed libretto, Louis Fuzelier explains that the first entrée, "Le Turc généreux," "is based on an illustrious character—Grand Vizier Topal Osman Pasha, who was so well known for his extreme generosity. His story can be read in the Mercure de France from January 1734." The story of Osman's generosity "was apparently based on a story published in the Mercure de Suisse in September 1734 concerning a Marseillais merchant, Vincent Arniaud, who saved a young Ottoman notable from slavery in Malta, and the unstinting gratitude and generosity returned by this young man, who later became Grand Vizier Topal Osman Pasha."

Performance history

The premiere met with a lukewarm reception from the audience and, at the third performance, a new entrée was added under the title Les Fleurs. However, this caused further discontent because it showed the hero disguised as a woman, which was viewed either as an absurdity or as an indecency. As a result, it was revised for the first time and this version was staged on 11 September. Notwithstanding these initial problems, the first run went on for twenty-eight performances between 23 August and 25 October, when, however, only 281 livres were grossed, the lowest amount ever collected at the box office by Les Indes galantes.

Nevertheless, when it was mounted again on 10 (or 11) March 1736, a 'prodigious' audience flocked to the theatre. The entrée des Fleurs was "replaced with a version in which the plot and all the music except the divertissement was new", and a fourth entrée, Les Sauvages, was added, in which Rameau reused the famous air des Sauvages he had composed in 1725 on the occasion of the American Indian chiefs' visit and later included in the Nouvelles Suites de pièces de clavecin (1728).

Now in something approaching a definitive form, the opera enjoyed six performances in March and was then mounted again as of 27 December. Further revivals were held in 1743–1744, 1751 and 1761 for a combined total of 185 billings. The work was also performed in Lyon on 23 November 1741, at the theatre of the Jeu de Paume de la Raquette Royale, and again in 1749/1750, at the initiative of Rameau's brother-in-law, Jean-Philippe Mangot. Furthermore, the prologue and individual entrées were often revived separately and given within the composite operatic programs called 'fragments' or 'spectacles coupés' (cut up representations) that: "were almost constant fare at the Palais-Royal in the second half of the eighteenth century". The prologue, Les Incas and Les Sauvages were last given respectively in 1771 (starring Rosalie Levasseur, Gluck's future favourite soprano, in the role of Hebé), 1772 and 1773 (also starring Levasseur as Zima). Thenceforth Les Indes galantes was dropped from the Opéra's repertoire, after having seen almost every artiste of the company in the previous forty years take part in its complete or partial performances.

In the twentieth century the Opéra-Comique presented the first version of the Entrée des Fleurs, with a new orchestration by Paul Dukas, on 30 May 1925, in a production conducted by Maurice Frigara, with Yvonne Brothier as Zaïre, Antoinette Reville as Fatima, Miguel Villabella as Tacmas and Emile Rousseau as Ali.

Finally, Les Indes galantes was revived by the Opéra itself, at the Palais Garnier, with the Dukas orchestration supplemented for the other entrées by Henri Busser, on 18 June 1952: the production, managed by the Opéra's own director, Maurice Lehmann and conducted by Louis Fourestier, was notable for the lavishness of its staging and enjoyed as many as 236 performances by 29 September 1961. The sets were by André Arbus and Jacques Dupont (1909–1978) (prologue and finale), Georges Wakhevitch (first entrée), Jean Carzou (second entrée), Henri Raymond Fost (1905–1970) and Maurice Moulène (third entrée) and Roger Chapelain-Midy [fr] (fourth entrée); the choreography was provided by Albert Aveline (1883–1968) (first entrée), Serge Lifar (second and fourth entrées) and Harald Lander (third entrée). In the 1st Entrée ("The Gracious Turk"), Jacqueline Brumaire sang Emilie, Jean Giraudeau was Valère and Hugo Santana was Osman; the dancers were Mlle Bourgeois and M Legrand. In the 2nd Entrée, ("The Incas of Peru"), Marisa Ferrer was Phani, Georges Noré was don Carlos, and René Bianco was Huascar, while Serge Lifar danced alongside Vyroubova and Bozzoni. The 3rd Entrée, ("The Flowers") had Janine Micheau as Fatima, side by side with Denise Duval as Zaïre. Giraudeau was Tacmas and Jacques Jansen, the famous Pelléas, was Ali, with Mlle Bardin dancing as the Rose, Mlle Dayde as the Butterfly, Ritz as Zéphir and Renault as a Persian. The 4th Entrée, ("The Savages of America"), had Mme Géori Boué, as Zima, with José Luccioni as Adario, Raoul Jobin as Damon and Roger Bourdin as don Alvar. The dancing for this act was executed by Mlles Darsonval, Lafon and Guillot and Messieurs Kalioujny and Efimoff.

In the United Kingdom, it received its Proms premiere on 27 August 1987, with selections from the opera performed by the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra conducted by Ton Koopman.

Music used in 2006 movie

The work's first minuet was used in the soundtrack of the 2006 film Marie Antoinette.

Roles

Role Voice type Premiere cast, 23 August 1735
(Conductor: – )
Prologue
Hébé soprano Mlle Eremans (also spelled Erremans)
L' Amour soprano en travesti Mlle Petitpas
Bellone baritone en travesti Cuignier
Entrée I
Emilie soprano Marie Pélissier
Valère haute-contre Pierre Jélyotte
Osman baritone Jean Dun "fils"
Entrée II
Phani soprano Marie Antier
Don Carlos haute-contre Pierre Jélyotte
Huascar bass Claude-Louis-Dominique Chassé de Chinais
Entrée III (first version: August/September 1735)
Fatime soprano Mlle Petitpas
Zaïre soprano Mlle Eremans
Tacmas haute-contre Denis-François Tribou
Ali baritone Person
Entrée III (second version: 10 March 1736)
Fatime soprano Mlle Petitpas
Atalide soprano Mlle Eremans
Tacmas haute-contre Denis-François Tribou
Roxane soprano Mlle Bourbonnais
Entrée IV (10 March 1736)
Zima soprano Marie Pélissier
Adario tenor (taille) Louis-Antoine Cuvillier (or Cuvilier or Cuvelier)
Damon haute-contre Pierre Jélyotte
Don Alvar bass Jean Dun "fils"

Synopsis

Prologue

Scene: The palace of Hebe in the background and her gardens in the wings

Hebe, goddess of youth, summons her followers to take part in a festival (Air: Vous, qui d'Hébé suivez les lois). Young French, Spanish, Italians and Poles rush to celebrate with a series of dances, including a musette. The ballet is interrupted by the noise of drums and trumpets. It is Bellona, goddess of war, who arrives on the stage accompanied by warriors bearing flags. Bellona calls on the youths to seek out military glory (Air and chorus: La Gloire vous appelle). Hebe prays to Cupid (L'Amour) to use his power to hold them back. Cupid descends on a cloud with his followers. He decides to abandon Europe in favour of the "Indies", where love is more welcome.

Entrée I – Le turc généreux (The Generous Turk)

Scene: The gardens of Osman Pasha bordering the sea

Osman Pasha is in love with his slave, the young Émilie, but she rejects him, telling him she was about to be married when a group of brigands abducted her. Osman urges her to give up hope that her fiancé is still alive (Air: Il faut que l'amour s'envole) but Émilie refuses to believe this is true. The sky turns dark as a storm brews; Émilie sees the violent weather as an image of her despair (Air: Vaste empire des mers). A chorus of shipwrecked sailors is heard (Chorus: Ciel! de plus d'une mort). Émilie laments that they too will be taken captive. She recognises one of the sailors as her fiancé Valère. Their joy at their reunion is tempered by sadness at the thought they are both slaves now. Osman enters and is furious to see the couple embracing. However, unexpectedly, he announces he will free them. He too has recognised Valère, who was once his master but magnanimously freed him. Osman loads Valère's surviving ships with gifts and the couple praise his generosity. They call on the winds to blow them back to France (Duet and chorus: Volez, Zéphyrs). The act ends with celebratory dances as Valère and Émilie prepare to set sail.

Entrée II – Les incas du Pérou (The Incas of Peru)

Scene: a desert in Peru with a volcano in the background

Carlos, a Spanish officer, is in love with the Inca princess Phani. He urges her to escape with him but she fears the anger of the Incas, who are preparing to celebrate the Festival of the Sun. Nevertheless, she is prepared to marry him (Air: Viens, Hymen). The Inca priest Huascar is also in love with Phani but suspects he has a rival and decides to resort to subterfuge. Huascar leads the ceremony of the adoration of the Sun, which is interrupted by a sudden earthquake. Huascar declares this means the gods want Phani to choose him as her husband. Carlos enters and tells Phani the earthquake was a trick, artificially created by Huascar. Carlos and Phani sing of their love while Huascar swears revenge (Trio: Pour jamais). Huascar provokes an eruption of the volcano and is crushed by its burning rocks.

Entrée III – Les fleurs (The Flowers)

  • First version.

Scene: The gardens of Ali's palace
Prince Tacmas is in love with Zaïre, a slave belonging to his favourite Ali, even though he has a slave girl of his own, Fatime. Tacmas appears at Ali's palace disguised as a merchant woman so he can slip into the harem unnoticed and test Zaïre's feelings for him. Zaïre enters and laments that she is unhappily in love (Air: Amour, Amour, quand du destin j'éprouve la rigueur). Tacmas overhears her and is determined to find out the name of his rival. Fatime now enters, disguised as a Polish slave, and Tacmas believes he has found Zaïre's secret lover. Enraged, he casts off his disguise and is about to stab Fatime when she too reveals her true identity. It turns out that Zaïre has been in love with Tacmas all along just as Fatime has been in love with Ali. The two couples rejoice in this happy resolution (Quartet: Tendre amour) and the act ends with the Persians celebrating the Festival of Flowers.

  • Second Version.

Sultana Fatime suspects her husband Tacmas of cheating on her with Atalide; she therefore disguises herself as a slave, succeeding in gaining Atalide's confidence and eventually recognises her suspicions are groundless. The happy couple take part in the Festival of Flowers.

Entrée IV – Les sauvages (The Savages)

Scene: The stage shows a grove in a forest in America, on the borders of the French and Spanish colonies, where the ceremony of the Peace Pipe is about to be celebrated

Adario, a Native American, is in love with Zima, daughter of a native chief, but he fears the rivalry of the Spaniard Don Alvar and the Frenchman Damon (Air: Rivaux des mes exploits, rivaux des mes amours). The Europeans plead with Zima for her love, but she says Damon is too fickle and Alvar is too jealous; she prefers the natural love shown by Adario (Air: Sur nos bords l'amour vole) and the couple vow to marry (Duet: Hymen, viens nous unir d'une chaîne éternelle). The act ends with the Europeans joining the natives in the ceremony of peace (Chorus: Forêts paisibles).

Recordings of the complete work


Camille Maurane (on Philips) and Gérard Souzay (on Decca) recorded Huascar's Invocation au Soleil from the Peruvian Entrée.

References

Notes

  1. Rameau: Les Indes galantes. L'Avant-Scène Opéra, no. 46. Paris. 1982.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ Sadler
  3. ^ Le magazine de l'opéra baroque.
  4. "Indiana University Archives". Archived from the original on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2011-12-26.
  5. Fuzelier, Louis (2004). Preface to Les Indes galantes. UK: OpusArte. p. 7.
  6. "Anecdotes curieuses de la Vie de Topal Osman, Basha & General de l'Armée Ottomane contre les Persans". Mercure Suisse, ou Recueil de Nouvelles Historiques, Politiques, Literaires & Curieuses. Neuchâtel (Neufchatel): Galandre: 75–89. September 1734. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  7. Coller, Ian (Summer 2014). "Rousseau's Turban: Entangled Encounters of Europe and Islam in the Age of Enlightenment". Historical Reflections / Réflexions Historiques. 40 (2): 56–77 . doi:10.3167/hrrh.2014.400204. JSTOR 24720585.
  8. Pitou, article: Les Indes galantes, p. 285; Le magazine de l'opéra baroque Archived 2014-03-01 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. precija (2010-02-12), Rameau – Les Indes galantes – Les Fleurs, archived from the original on 2021-12-14, retrieved 2018-09-13
  10. ^ Pitou, article: Les Indes galantes, pp. 285–287.
  11. "Le samedi 10 mars 1736, pour la Capitation des acteurs et avec un concours prodigieux" ("Mercure de France", as quoted by Thédore de Lajarte, Bibliothèque Musicale du Théatre de l'Opéra. Catalogue Historique, Chronologique, Anecdotique, Paris, Librairie des bibliophiles, 1878, I, p. 176, accessible for free online at Internet Archive). The performances "pour la Capitation des acteurs" were extraordinary benefit representations whose takings were intended to help artistes pay the capitation tax that applied to (almost) all French subjects (Solveig Serre, « Capitations », galas, gratis ... Les représentations exceptionnelles de l'Opéra de Paris à la fin de l'Ancien Régime.. La sortie au spectacle (XIXe-XXe siècles) : le cas français, HAL, 2010, France, halshs-00586863).
  12. "In the course of many revivals, however, the number and order of entrées was frequently altered" (Sadler).
  13. Pitou, article: Spectacle coupé, p. 502.
  14. BBC. "BBC Proms Calendar". BBC Website. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  15. "All 51 songs from the Marie Antoinette (2006) Soundtrack".
  16. "Les Indes galantes - Opéra - Programmation Saison 19/20". Opéra national de Paris (in French). Retrieved 2019-07-02.

Sources

  • Spire Pitou, The Paris Opéra – An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers – Rococo and Romantic 1715–1815, Westport (Connecticut), Greenwood Press, 1985 (ISBN 0-313-24394-8)
  • Graham Sadler, Indes galantes, Les, in Stanley Sadie (ed), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Grove (Oxford University Press), New York, 1997, II, pp. 795–796. ISBN 978-0-19-522186-2
  • Stéphane Wolff, L' Opéra au Palais Garnier, 1875–1962 Paris, Entr'acte, 1962.

Online sources

External links

Jean-Philippe Rameau
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