F. Francœur & F. Rebel - Zélindor, Roi Des Sylphes - Air gai

François Francœur (1698 - 1787) & François Rebel (1701 - 1775)
Zélindor, Roi Des Sylphes (1745) -
- Scène IV - Air gai -
Opera Lafayette Orchestra, Ryan Brown.

* Painting: Portrait of a lady, said to be Marie-Madeleine Guimard, called Mademoiselle Guimard, ballerina of the Paris Opéra by Jean-Frederic Schall (1752 - 1825).

** The divertissement, Zélindor, roi des Sylphes (Zélindor, King of the Sylphs) was commissioned as part of the entertainment which King Louis XV provided to his court in Versailles during the winter season. Although Louis XV did not care much for music—he preferred light comedy—he felt duty bound to follow the tradition established by his great-grandfather, Louis XIV, the Sun King, of offering lavish musical entertainments.

The poem was written by François-Augustin Paradis de Moncrif (16871770) and the music by François Rebel and François Francœur. It was first performed before the king and his court on Wednesday, 17 March 1745 and repeated a week later on 24 March 1745. Such was the success of this ballet that it was used for the celebrations of the victory of Fontenoy at the Paris Opéra on 10 August 1745, preceded by a Prologue, called Le Trophée (The Trophy), in praise of the victorious Louis XV. Zélindor then played thirty times at the Paris Opéra between 1746 and 1753 and again for a run of 32 uninterrupted performances between 17 June and 31 August 1766.

1745 was not only the year of the great victories of France in the wars of the Austrian Succession, it was also the year King Louis XV met Madame dEtiolles who became his new mistress (11 February 1745). She was invited to the great ball at Versailles on 24 February for the wedding of the Dauphin Louis with the Infanta Maria-Theresa of Spain and, on 9 July 1745, Madame dEtiolles was made Marquise de Pompadour. Madame de Pompadour was officially presented to court on 14 September 1745. From then until her death on 15 April 1764, she became a force to be reckoned with, particularly in the domain of the arts.

Madame de Pompadour had a small theatre built first in Versailles and then at her castle of Bellevue. There, she and a few courtiers would perform light comedies and ballets to entertain the king and a few selected friends. At Bellevue, on 4 and 6 March 1753, she performed the rôle of Zélindor. This is not the only instance of private performances of Zélindor, roi des Sylphes. In December 1747, it was performed for the Duchesse du Maine in her château at Sceaux. There, the rôle of Zirphé was sung by Madame du Châtelet, who, with her lover, Voltaire, was a guest of the Duchesse. Voltaire much admired the poem of Moncrif and would often address the poet as mon très aimable Zélindor or mon cher sylphe. In fact, in the summer of 1748, Voltaire and Madame du Châtelet organized a performance of this ballet in Commercy to entertain the court of Stanislas, the father-in-law of King Louis XV. Further testament to Zélindors success is the fact that it was translated into Italian and performed at the court of Parma on 18 December 1752.

While Zélindor was considered by dAlembert to be one of the most successful ballets to have graced the Paris Opéra stage, it does not seem to have been revived since the end of the eighteenth century.

*** It is not known which part of their composition was composed by Francœur and which part by Rebel. When questioned about it they would always say: This piece is by both of us. The eighteenth-century French musicologist and composer Jean-Benjamin de Laborde (17341794) claims that the more dramatic pieces were written by Rebel while Francœur composed the more lyrical ones. Whatever the case may be, the text of Zélindor fired the imagination and creativity of Rebel and Francœur. They filled their score with evocative tone paintings, touching melodies, and graceful dance tunes. No wonder that Zélindor, roi des Sylphes, was so well received by the elite at Versailles as well as by the general public at the Paris Opéra and elsewhere.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• François
• Francœur
• 1698
• 1787
• Rebel
• 1701
• 1775
• Zélindor
• Roi
• Sylphes
• 1745
• Scène
• Air
• gai
• Opera
• Lafayette
• Orchestra
• Ryan
• Brown

[szilvavirag]

Who's painting is it?

[Harmonieuniverselle]

It's now written on the movie details :)

[RachelPortman]

Composizione carina, ma banale e superficiale come tutto il barocco francese! BELLA L'ORCHESTRA COMUNQUE... MI PIACE MOLTO... il compositore un po' meno