Les surprises de l'Amour

Les surprises de l'Amour is an opéra-ballet in two entrées (three or four in later versions) and a prologue by the French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau. It was first performed in Versailles on 27 November 1748. The opera is set to a libretto by Gentil-Bernard. According to the usage of the time, it was originally just billed as a "ballet" and was only later classified by scholars as an opéra-ballet, although its content might more precisely ascribe it to the ballet héroïque genre.

The work was commissioned by Madame de Pompadour to celebrate the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle and premiered at the third-season opening of her Théâtre des Petits Appartements for the inauguration of the Theatre's new venue upon the Grand Escalier des Ambassadeurs (Ambassadors’ Grand Staircase) in the Palace of Versailles, starring Madame De Pompadour herself in two of the original soprano roles, Urania and Venus. In its first form, the work was composed of an allegorical prologue relating to the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, "Le retour d’Astrée", and of two entrées, "La lyre enchantée" and "Adonis". Les surprises de l’amour was the first opera specially written by Rameau for the Théâtre des Petits Appartements and was also his first work that was given in the course of its programmes. It was not particularly successful: scenery, costumes, machinery and the new theatre venue were much admired, but the opera itself got the king to openly yawn and to confess he "would like better a comedy".

The work was revived at the Paris Opéra in 1757 to inaugurate the new directors, François Francœur and François Rebel. The prologue, which was no longer relevant, was cut, and a new overture was performed in its place. The two original entrées were heavily revised: "Adonis" was renamed "L’enlèvement d’Adonis" ("The rape of Adonis") and a third entry, "Anacréon", was added. Its first run lasted until 14 August 1757, but only its second and third entrées were performed after 10 July (the original La lyre enchantée was replaced by a version of Les sibarites, an acte de ballet by Rameau to a libretto by Jean-François Marmontel, first performed in 1753). The different entrées were swapped around at various times for later performances and the "self-sufficiency of each portion of Les Surprises de l’Amour made the tripartite work a likely source of material for the programs of fragments growing popular in the years before the Revolution".

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Wikipedia