Music by Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687)
Libretto by Thomas Corneille (1625-1709)

Opera in prologue and five acts sung in French and Italian with English supertitles

Five fully-staged performances in Boston, MA
June 12, 13, 15 & 16, 2007 at 7pm and June 17, 2007 at 3:30pm
Cutler Majestic Theatre at Emerson College
219 Tremont Street in Boston, MA

Three fully-staged performances in Great Barrington, MA (The Berkshires)
June 22 & 23, 2007 at 7pm and June 24, 2007 at 2:30pm
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center
14 Castle Street in Great Barrington, MA

Directors

Paul O’Dette Music Director	Stephen Stubbs Music Director	Kathleen Fay Executive Producer
Gilbert Blin Stage Director	Lucy Graham Choreographer	Lenore Doxsee Lighting Designer
Anna Watkins Costume Designer	Ellen Hargis Assistant to the Stage Director & Vocal and Gesture Coach	Caleb Wertenbaker Set Designer
	Abbie H. Katz Associate Producer
Melinda Sullivan Assistant Choreographer & Ballet Mistress		John Powell Musicologist, Lully expert and Special Advisor

Returning to the lavish world of Louis XIV’s Versailles—home of the memorable 2001 Boston Early Music Festival production of Lully’s Thésée—Psyché was originally composed as a tragi-comédie et ballet in 1671 and represented the final product of the famous and successful partnership between Lully and Molière. In 1678 it was transformed into a magnificent tragédie lyrique which Lully created with the librettist Thomas Corneille, and it became one of Lully’s most beloved operas. With performances mounted throughout Europe well into the 18th century, an enormous number of musical manuscripts now survive for this one work. The variety of sources, coupled with the opera’s unusually versatile cast of singers, dancers, instrumentalists, and numerous stage machines have made modern stagings of Psyché nearly impossible—until now.

The challenges Psyché presents offer the Boston Early Music Festival a perfect opportunity to display the many strengths we have developed over the past decade: an all-star, Grammy-nominated Baroque orchestra; a cast of leading international opera stars; a colorful troupe of Baroque dancers and commedia artists bringing elegance, humor, and theatricality to the stage; awe-inspiring sets, stage machinery, and costumes based on historical models, historically-informed staging with ebullient choreography; and a children’s troupe of gifted singers and dancers, all coming together for another stunning spectacle for the eye and ear.

Lully’s inspired opera recounts Psyché’s mythic saga of power and passion through beautiful melodies and compelling drama. As the most beautiful woman in the world, Psyché is treated by her fellow mortals as a new goddess. This angers the divine Vénus, who enlists the aid of her son Amour to wreak a terrible revenge on Psyché. But he falls hopelessly in love with Psyché and after many heart-wrenching adventures, the couple is finally united in a grand wedding celebration attended by a throng of deities singing,
dancing, and merry-making—a true “Feast of the Gods.”

Please read the latest installment of our Director's Blog

View the Cast and Orchestra

Download a Synopsis of the opera

Download the complete Libretto, with English translation

Request a brochure to receive complete information on our 2007 Psyché performances, as well as official Festival Concerts, the international Exhibition, Fringe Concerts, Scholarly Symposia, Performance Masterclasses, and much more!

Or download a brochure (1.3MB PDF file)