Locke: Cupid and Death

Opera in staged version

Cast

Presentation

Homepage Locke: Cupid and Death

Cast

Perrine Devillers

Lieselot De Wilde

Yannis François

Nicholas Merryweather

Lucile Richardot

Antonin Rondepierre

Fiamma Bennett and Soufiane Guerraoui Actors

Josèphe Cottet Violin

Béatrice Linon Violin

Mathilde Vialle Viola da gamba

Etienne Floutier Violone in G

Lucile Perret Flute

Thibaut Roussel Theorbo

Angélique Mauillon Harp

Jean-Miguel Aristizabal alternating with François Guerrier Virginal

Sébastien Daucé Organ, virginal

Ensemble Correspondances

Sébastien Daucé Conductor

Jos Houben and Emily Wilson Stage Direction

Oria Puppo assisted by Clémentine Tonnelier Set Design, Costumes, and Masks

Julia Brochier and Sabine Schlemmer Costume and Mask Creation

Katherina Lindekens Dramaturgy

Christophe Schaeffer Lighting

Presentation

English opera had its beginnings with the masque Cupid and Death, created in 1653 by Matthew Locke before the Portuguese ambassador in London, and the only surviving musical score of a masque. The story is drawn from Aesop: Death and Cupid, staying in the same inn, are victims of the Chamberlain, who switches their bows during the night, thus reversing their roles. Cupid ends up killing young lovers with his arrows, while Death brings the dying elderly back to life—who then fall in love!—resulting in absolute chaos and a comic tangle. Dance, music, and theater were brought together in this project, where James Shirley (1596–1666) wrote the dramatic text, and Christopher Gibbons (1615–1676) composed the instrumental interludes.

English masques, shows that were quite similar to early French court ballets, strongly incorporate a supernatural dimension. The lyrical quality Locke brings to Cupid and Death makes it the precursor of the semi-opera, which would develop from 1670 and whose most brilliant composer would be Purcell (Locke’s pupil). Matthew Locke was one of the principal English musicians of the mid-17th century, “Composer in Ordinary to His Majesty” and organist of the Royal Chapel, composing in 1660 for the coronation of King Charles II.

A fine connoisseur of this pivotal early Baroque period, Sébastien Daucé brings together his team of remarkable singers and instrumentalists, allowing Jos Houben and Emily Wilson to construct a theater of origins, a true surprise machine that serves the comic mystery of this curious contest between Death and Love.

Co-production: Opéra Royal / Château de Versailles Spectacles, Centre International de Créations Théâtrales, Athénée Théâtre Louis-Jouvet, Théâtre de Caen, Opéra de Rouen Normandie, Théâtre Impérial – Opéra de Compiègne, L’Atelier Lyrique de Tourcoing, Ensemble Correspondances, Opéra de Rennes, Château d’Hardelot – Centre culturel de l’Entente cordiale

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