Music TheoryPrint

Jean-Baptiste Lully

Proserpine (Lully)

Proserpine (Proserpina) is an opera with music by Jean-Baptiste Lully and a libretto by Philippe Quinault first performed at Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 3 February

Synopsis#

Based on Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the plot centers around the abduction of Proserpine by Pluton, with side plots concerning Cérès’s love for Jupiter and the love intrigue between Alphée and Aréthuse.

Recordings#

  • soloists, Le Concert Spirituel, conducted by Hervé Niquet (Glossa, 2 CDs, 2008)
  • soloists, Les Talens Lyriques, cond. Christophe Rousset (Chateau de Versailles label, 2025)

Further reading#

  • The New Grove French Baroque Masters, ed. Graham Sadler (Macmillan, 1986)
  • The Viking Opera Guide, ed. Amanda Holden (Viking, 1993)
  • Le magazine de l’opéra baroque by Jean-Claude Brenac (in French)
Composer
Jean-Baptiste Lully