Phaëton (Lully)

Synopsis#

Phaëton, the prideful and reckless son of the Sun and the ocean nymph Clymene, is driven to abandon his lover Theona by his ambition for the hand of Libya, daughter of the king of Egypt. On the day of the wedding, Libya’s enraged lover Epaphus, himself the son of Jupiter, disputes Phaëton’s claim to divine lineage. Desiring to prove himself, Phaëton convinces his father to allow him to drive the sun-chariot for one day. In the course of his flight he loses control of the horses, threatening the earth beneath with fiery destruction; Epaphus entreats his father to put an end to the danger, and Jupiter strikes the chariot down with a thunderbolt. Phaëton falls to his death.

Recordings#

• Lully: Phaéton / Marc Minkowski, Les Musiciens du Louvre. Erato (1993). Catalogue# 91737 (2 CDs)
• Christophe Rousset Aparté, 2 CDs, 2011

References#

Notes Sources * 1742 libretto: Phaeton, Tragedie représentée pour la première fois à Versailles devant le Roi, le mercredi 6 janvier 1683 et à Paris (…) Remise au théâtre le mardi 13 novembre 1742. Paris: Ballard (accessible for free online at Gallica - B.N.F.) * Brenac, Jean-Claude. “Phaëton” page, Le magazine de l’opéra baroque website (Accessed 6 September 2006), (French only) * La Gorce, Jérôme de (2001). “Lully. (1) Jean-Baptiste Lully Lulli, Giovanni Battista (i)” in Sadie 2001. * Lajarte, Théodore (1878). Bibliothèque musicale du Théâtre de l’Opéra, volume 1 1671–1791 . Paris: Librairie des Bibliophiles (copy at Internet Archive) * “Phaëton (1683)” pages, The Jean-Baptiste Lully Collection website, University of North Texas Music Library (Accessed 6 September 2006). * Parvopassu, Clelia, Phaéton, in Gelli, Piero & Poletti, Filippo (ed), Dizionario dell’opera 2008, Milan, Baldini Castoldi Dalai, 2007, pp. 1015-1016, (reproduced online at http://www.operamanager.com/cgi-bin/process.cgi?azione=ricerca&tipo=OP&id=10760 Opera Manager) * Pitou, Spire (1983–1990). The Paris Opéra: An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers (3 volumes). Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. . * Rosow, Lois (1992). “Phaëton” in Sadie 1992, vol. 3, p. 991. * Sadie, Stanley, editor (1992). The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (4 volumes). London: Macmillan. . * Sadie, Stanley, editor (2001). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition. London: Macmillan. (hardcover), (eBook), and Grove Music Online.

External links#

• Phaëton at the University of North Texas Digital Collections website: High-resolution images of the 1683 edition
• Phaëton at the University of North Texas Digital Collections website: High-resolution images of the 1709 edition