Cadmus et Hermione is atragédie en musique in a prologue and five acts byJean-Baptiste Lully. TheFrench-language libretto is byPhilippe Quinault, afterOvid'sMetamorphoses. It was first performed on 27 April 1673 by theParis Opera at theJeu de paume de Béquet.
The prologue, in praise of KingLouis XIV, represents him asApollo slaying the Python of Delphi. The opera itself concerns the love story ofCadmus, legendary founder and king ofThebes, Greece, and Hermione (Harmonia), daughter ofVenus andMars. Other characters includePallas Athene,Cupid,Juno, andJupiter.
WithCadmus et Hermione, Lully invented the form of thetragédie en musique (also known astragédie lyrique). From contemporaryVenetian opera, Lully incorporated elements of comedy among the servants, elements which he would later avoid, as would subsequent reformers in Italian opera.
A contemporary transcription of the overture by Jean-Henri d'Anglebert remains a possible part of theharpsichord repertoire.
In early 2008, the French ensembleLe Poème Harmonique staged a performance of the opera in Paris and Rouen, among other places.
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