Rossi: Le Palais des Sortilèges

Azione in musica in three acts with the prologue on Giulio Rospigliosi's libretto (the future Pope Clement IX), inspired by Orlando furioso by Ariosto, created in Rome in 1642.

Luigi Rossi (1597-1653) created the first large-scale opera with Le Palais Enchanté in Rome in 1642, in the private theatre of the palace of the papal family of Cardinal Barberini. While Rossi's L'Orfeo was of major importance in the history of opera in France when it was performed in Paris in 1647, the first opera commissioned especially for the French court at the request of Mazarin, Rossi's first - and only other - opera, Il Palazzo incantato, was first performed in February 1642. It was a monster work - sixteen soloists, double and triple choirs of six and twelve voices, numerous ballets, seven hours of performance time at the premiere! - Il Palazzo marks the last flamboyance of opera as it was practiced in Rome before the Eternal City banned it for a long time.

The libretto, written by Cardinal Rospigliosi, the future Pope Clement IX, is a first adaptation of Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, a masterpiece of Italian poetry that would become the subject of many operas. In this work, the enchanted palace-labyrinth, where the Atlantean magician locks up and makes the fine flower of chivalry and gallantry lose their mind, presents the most inventive and shimmering profusion of lamenti, arias and ensembles created during an ephemeral Roman spring. This veritable grand spectacle opera, with an opulent orchestra and star castrati, met with great success and reflected on the fame of its patrons. Leonardo García Alarcón, an inexhaustible explorer of forgotten repertoires, takes us on a journey through a profuse work brought to life by Fabrice Murgia's skilful staging, using the "enchantment" of modern images to multiply the facets of this eventful piece: Actors, acrobats, dancers and singers are swept up in the Magic Palace and lose their way with fear and love, until they lose their footing in the sublime and festive music, the central point of this lyrical resurrection.

Coproduction Opéra Royal / Château de Versailles Spectacles, Opéra de Dijon, Opéra national de Lorraine.
In collaboration with le Chœur de chambre de Namur.

Saturday December 11th share "15 minutes with" at 18h30 at the Royal Foyer. Upon presentation of your ticket for that evening and within the limits of available seats.