Creation and Success

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Creation and Success.

With the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668),France enjoyed a brief respite from war while Molière and Lullyentertained the court of Louis XIV with a succession of ever-grander theatrical divertissements: George Dandin, Monsieur de Pourceaugnac, Les Amants magnifiques, and Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. Psyché, the Carnaval entertainment for 1671, departed markedly from these earlier comédies-ballets. “Les deux grands Baptistes” conceived of this dramatization of the classical fable of Psyche and Cupid as a tragi-comédie et ballet–that is, a play in which the subject and characters are drawn from tragedy but for which the dénouement is happy, and which is intercalated with balletentrées.[1] Psyché further incorporated the elaborate set-changes and mechanical-effects of the pièce en machines, the most spectacular form of theater in France before the tragédie en musique.

Psyché came about from Louis XIV’s wish to re-use the Salle des Machines housed in the TuileriesPalace. Built in 1659-60 by Le Vau and equipped by Gaspare Vigarani and his sons, Carlo and Lodovico, this capacious playhouse was designed for operatic productions.[2] Not only was the stage equipped with machinery capable of accomplishing all kinds of complex mechanical effects, but its auditorium could comfortably accommodate a very large audience. Its acoustics, however, proved to be so deplorable that the playhouse had lain dormant since the 1662 performance of Cavalli’s Ercole amante.

According to LodovicoVigarani, the scene in which Pluto appeared in Act 5 of Ercole amantehad made a vivid impression on the audience.[3] Eight years later, Louis XIV (who had danced in itsintermèdes) expressed his wish to see this enfer set re-used in another production.[4] In the mid 18th-century, François-Joseph de La Grange-Chancel recounted that:[5]

The late king, having resolved to give to his whole court one of these grand fêtes in which he loved to relax from his labors, wished to take opinion of Racine, Quinault, and Molière—who, among the great minds of the day, he regarded to be most capable of contributing by their talents to the magnificence of his pleasures.
For that purpose he requested from them a subject in which could figure an excellent set décor that depicted the underworld—which was carefully preserved in the warehouse.
Racine proposed the subject of Orpheus, Quinault The Abduction of Persephone (which he subsequently made into one of his finest operas), and Molière, with the aid of the great Corneille, took Psyché as his subject—which won out over the two others. / Le feu Roi ayant résolu de donner à toute sa cour une de ces grandes fêtes dans lesquelles il aimait à se délasser de ses travaux, voulut prendre avis de Racine, de Quinault et de Molière, que parmi les grands génies de son siècle, il regardait comme les plus capables de contribuer par leurs talents, à la magnificence de ses plaisirs.
Pour cet effet, il leur demanda un sujet où pût entrer une excellect décoration qui représentait les enfers et qui était soigneusement dans ses garde-meubles.
Racine proposa le sujet d’Orphée, Quinault L’Enlèvement de Proserpine, dont il fit dans la suite un de ses plus beaux opéra, et Molière, avec l’aide du grand Corneille, tint pour le sujet de Psyché, qui eut la préférence sur les deux autres.

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Having won the commission, Molière and Lully then sought assistance from their rival Quinault, and from the veteran playwright Pierre Corneille—whose Bérénice was then in production at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal. The preface tothefirst editionof Psychéinforms the reader that Molière drew up the plan and organization of the work, while Quinault composed the sung lyrics—with the exception of the plainte italienne, which were probably written by Lully himself.[6] Never had a spectacle been mounted in France with such a collaboration of artistic talent. Voltaire would declare that “Only Racine was missing from this society of great men, in order that all of the most excellent men of the theater that ever were might have been reunited to serve a king who merited being served by such men” (“Il ne manquait à cette société de grands hommes que le seul Racine, afin que tout ce qu'il y eut jamais de plus excellent au théâtre se fût réuni pour servir un roi qui méritait d'être servi par de tels hommes”) .[7]

Theaforesaid preface goes on to explain that,“Carnival was approaching, and the pressing orders of the king, who wished to give this magnificent entertainment several times before Lent, had made it necessary for [Molière] to accept a little help” (“Le Carnaval approchoit, & les Ordres pressans du Roy, qui se voulait donner ce magnifique Divertissement plusieurs fois avant le Caresme, l’ont mis dans la necessité de souffrir un peu de secours”). However, Molière’s biographer Grimarest insists thatthe playwright had been at work on a dramatization of the fable of Psyche and Cupid long before Corneille came to his aid.[8] As Manuel Couvreur observes, “the quality of the text of Psyché and the length of a score that adapts itself perfectly to each dramatic situation lends little credibility to excessive haste” (“la qualité du texte de Psyché, l’ampleur d’une partition qui s’adapte parfaitement à chaque situation dramatique rendent peu crédible une précipitation excessive”).[9]

At any rate, it would seem that the king had wished to give Psyché during the first week of January 1671—for Carlo Vigarani wrote on12 December 1670 that “a grand spectacle is being prepared, which will be given on Epiphany in the theater of the Tuileries” (“On prépare un grand spectacle, qui sera donné à l'Épiphanie sur le théâtre des Tuileries”).[10] Furthermore, Louis XIV intended to share this entertainment with his people—and he arranged to have several evenings set aside for the Parisian public to attend.[11] Paris was all abuzz in anticipation of this eventwhenRobinet reported:[12]

All is being prepared at the Tuileries
For the royal mummeries,
For ball, comedy, and ballet,
Where all will be a passing fancy. / Tout se prépare aux Thuilleries,
Pour de royales Momeries,
Pour Bal, Comédie & Balet,
Où tout fera du Feu violet.

The première performance began at 5:00 p.m. on 17 January 1671. The Gazette de France(24 Jan. 1671, pp. 81-83) gave an account of the première, in which we learn that:

Their majesties, consisting of Monseigneur le Dauphin, Monsieur, Mademoiselle, Mademoiselle d’Orléans, and all the Lords and Ladies of the Court, attended, for the first time, in the Machine Theater of the TuileriesPalace, the entertainment of a grand ballet, danced in the entráctes of the tragicomedy of Psyché, performed by the King’s Company, with all the brilliance and all the splendor imaginable. / Leurs Majestés, avec lesquelles estoyent Monseigneur le Dauphin, Monsieur, Mademoiselle, Mademoiselle d'Orléans, & tous les Seigneurs, & Dames de la Cour, prirent, pour la premiére fois, dans la Sale des Machines, au Palais des Thüilleries, le Divertissement d'un grand Balet, dansé dans les Entr'Actes de la Tragi-Comédie de Psiché, représentée par la Troupe du Roy, avec tout l'éclat, & toute la pompe imaginable.

The amount of space devoted to the sets and staging (details of which are taken directly from the court livret) was no doubt meant to impress foreigners with the magnificence of the Sun King's royal entertainments. Indeed, Carlo Vigarani states that his machine-effects for Psychésurpassed those created by his father for Ercole amante.[13] Camillo Balliani, the envoy from Mantua, attests that subsequent performances included many further additions.[14]

The Marquis de Saint-Maurice attended the second performance of 19 January 1671, and he provides a few more details about the production.[15] Saint-Maurice was impressed by the five-hour length of the performance, and he reported that Vigarani's machines and set-changes all worked smoothly. Moreover, the multiple on-stage bands of instrumentsin the Dernier Intermèdewere particularly diverse and colorful:[16]

We were invited there the day before yesterday, and we remained there five hours; I admit…that I have never seen anything better performed nor more magnificent, which could not be otherwise, owing to the quantity of dancing masters—there being seventy of them which danced together in the final entrée. What is also marvelous is the quantity of string instruments, of instrumentalists, and of singers—which were more than three hundred in number, all magnificently costumed…but as for the final scene, it is indeed the most astonishing thing that may be seen, for in an instant appears more than three hundred persons suspended, either in a cloud or in a glory, and that makes the loveliest symphony imaginable with strings, theorbos, lutes, harpsichords, oboes, flutes, trumpets, and cymbals. / Nous y fûmes conviés avant-hier et nous y demeurâmes cinq heures; j'avoue. . .que je n'ai encore rien vu ici de mieux exécuté ni de plus magnifique et ce sont des choses qui ne se peuvent pas faire ailleurs à cause de la quantité des maîtres à danser, y en ayant soixante-dix qui dansent ensemble en la dernière entrée. Ce qui est aussi merveilleux est la quantité des violons, des joueurs d'instruments et des musiciens qui sont plus de trois cents, tous magnifiquement habillés. . . .mais pour la dernière scène, c'est bien la chose la plus étonnante qui se puisse voir, car l'on voit tout en un instant paraître plus de trois cents personnes suspendues ou dans des nuages ou dans une gloire, et cela fait la plus belle symphonie du monde, en violons, théorbes, luths, clavecins, hautbois, flûtes, trompettes et cymbales.

This 19 January 1671 of Psyché was given“in the presence of the papal nuncio, the Venetian ambassador, and several other ministers” (“en présence du Nonce du Pape, de l'Ambassadeur de Venise, & de quelques autres Ministres”; Gazette de France, 24 Jan. 1671). Thereafter, the court departed for the Château de Vincennes to continue its Carnival festivities, where the actors of the Hôtel de Bourgogne performed Quinault's Bellérophon, and Molière’s company performed Corneille's Bérénice (Gazette de France, 31 Jan. 1671). On 24 January the court returned to Paris, “and in the Evening the great Ballet was danced over again, where the Court appeared not, to give the greater liberty to those of the Town to be present there” (The London Gazette no. 542, 27 Jan. 1670 [OS]).[17] Performances continued “several times” (“plusieurs fois”) throughout the week (Gazette de France, ibid.), and on 28 January the court went to Versailles“in order to continue, similarly, in this beautiful place, the entertainment of the season” (“pour continüer, pareillement, en ce beau Lieu, les Divertissement de la Saison”; Gazette de France, ibid.). The king and court returned to Paris on 3 February, and “the on same day, and on the 5th, their majesties enjoyed once again the entertainment of the ballet” (“Le mesme jour, & le 5, Leurs majestes eurent, derechef, le Divertissement du Balet”; Gazette de France, 7 Feb. 1671). According to The London Gazette no. 545 (7 Feb. 1670 [OS]), “The Grand Ballet hath for these three or four last days been danced over again, to give the greater opportunity to all sorts of people, to see and admire the Magnificence of those Divertisements.” The final court performance took place on 9 February, when “their majesties took, again, the entertainment of the ballet of Psyché” (“Leurs Majestez prirent, encor, le Divertissement du Balet de Psiché”; Gazette de France, 14 Feb. 1671).

Psyché was by far the most costly court production of its day. The expense account submitted by Louis-Marie d'Aumont de Rochebaron, “first gentleman of his majesty’s chamber” (“premier gentilhomme de la chambre de Sa Majesté”), reveals that a total of 334,645 livreswere spent on this production.[18] In addition to the 21,773 livres paid to Vigarani, payments were made to 21 artisans responsible for the fabrication of the sets, decorations, and machinery. Even more costly were the costumes, made by Jean Baraillon and Claude Fortier, “maîtres tailleurs du Roy”. Costume accessories (masks, perruques, feather headdresses, costume jewelry, gloves, silk hose, garters, and shoes) and stage properties (eight vases used in the Second Intermède, the ass ridden by Silenus, the painted devices, the armor, and a wooden horse for the Dernier Intermède) attest to the amount of attention lavished on the details of this production. Other costs included catering, the security and maintance of the Salle des Machines, the hiring of Swiss Guards to keep order, and the leasing of carriages. Of special interest are the expenses related to music and dance: 330 livres paid to a boilermaker for trumpets; 200 livres paid to Martin Hotteterre for woodwind instruments; 1400 livres paid to Lully’s copyists; 300, 200, and 150livres paid respectively to the dancing masters Pierre Beauchamps, Nicolas Delorge, and Antoine Desbrosses; 90 livres paid to the lutenist Leonard Itier; 150 livres paid to the flautist Philbert Rebille; 80 livres paid to Jean-Henry d’Anglebert for the tuning of the harpsichords; and 1156 livres paid for the catering and transport of the acrobats.

Subsequent performance history.

Molière and his Troupe du Roybegantheir 1671-72 season with a gala production of Psyché, completewith “machines, decorations, music, ballet, and generally all the ornaments necessary for this grandspectacle” (“machines décorations Musique Ballet Et generallement tous les ornamens necessaries pour ce grand spectacle”).[19] During the Lentenbreak the company resolved to remodel the interior of their playhouse, to have their stage rebuilt in order to accommodate machines, and henceforth to have a permanent theater orchestra of twelve strings. Moreover, the company hired professional singers to perform “on-stage, unmasked, and dressed like the actors” (“sur le Theastre a Visage descouuert habillez comme les Comediens”).[20]

The first run of 39 performances lasted from 21 July until 25 October of 1671; the second run of13 performances from 15 January to 6 March 1672; and the third run of 31 performances from 11 November 1672 until 22 January 1673—a grand total of 83 performances.[21] While Robinet assured his readers that the spectacle was the same as that given in the Tuileries,[22]

It has the same ornaments,The same brilliance, the same embellishments.
The airs, the choruses, the symphony,
Without the least cacophony,
Are here, as they were there.
You see there, beyond that,
The same scene changes
That one can only imagine with difficulty:
The seas, the gardens, the deserts,
The palace, the heavens, the underworld,
The same gods, as well as goddesses,
With either blond or brunette tresses. / Il a les mêmes Ornemens, Même éclat, mêmes agrémens. Les Airs, les Chœurs, la Symphonie, Sans la moindre Cacophonie, Sont ici, comme ils êtoyent là. Vous y voyez, outre cela, Les divers Changemens de Sçène Qu'on ne s'imagine qu'à peine Les Mers, les Jardins, les Deserts, Les Palais, les Cieux, les Enfers, Les mêmes Dieux, mêmes Déesses, Soit à blondes, ou brunes Tresses.

the livret published for the Palais-Royal performances reveals that, in fact, there had been many changes made with regard to (1) the number of performers in the Prologue and intermèdes, (2) the internal organization of the acts, (3) the décor, and, most notably, (4) the organization of the Dernier Intermède. This production utilized significantly fewer singers and approximately half as many dancers. Instead of the 300 singers, dancers, and instrumentalists who appeared in the Dernier Intermède at court, the livret specifies that “a chorus of all the voices and all the instruments, numbering forty, join together in the general dance and end the fête of the wedding of Cupid and Psyche” (“un choeur de toutes les voix et de tous les instruments, qui sont au nombre de quarante, se joint à la danse générale et termine la fête des noces de l’Amour et de Psyché”). The reduced scale of the sets and machine-effects may be attributed to the differences in the performing spaces—for the remodeled stage of the Théâtre du Palais-Royal was neither as wide nor as deep as that of the Salle des Machines.

Excerpts from Psyché were also performed during Louis XIV’s extended tour of Flanders in the spring of 1671. Evidently a fully-staged performance of Psyché in Lille had been planned, for Carlo Vigarani was to accompany the royal entourage: “The king, who has left Paris for Versailles and Saint-Germain, will go to Flanders; Carlo will accompany him, because his majesty is planning to give this summer at Lille a grand fête with machines” (“Le Roi, qui a quitté Paris pour Versailes et Saint-Germain, ira en Flandre. Carlo l'accompagnera parce que Sa Majesté comte donner cet été à Lille une grande fête avec des machines”).[23] The Gazette d’Amsterdamstates that no fewer than 150 carpenters and workmen, accompanied by numerous painters, left Paris on 13 March “to work on the machines”.[24] While en route to Flanders, Louis and his court were received at Chantilly by the king's cousin, the Prince de Condé. During the evening of 25 April Condé gave his royal guests a banquet in which excepts from the Second Intermède ofPsyché were performed in the Cabinet des Peintres.[25]

For reasons unknown, the Lille performance of Psychéwas abandoned. Instead,on 23 May 1671 Louis XIV celebrated the near-completion of the fortifications at Dunkerquewith a gala production of the Prologue and Dernier Intermède of Psyché. Vauban hurried the completion of the Royal Bastion so that it could serve as a set for this “bellicose festival” (“fête belliqueuse”)—which the 30,000 soldier-workmen would attend. After the opening chorus praised the king (who had interrupted his great exploits to bring peace to the land, “a signal was given to the troops to cease work” (“le Signal fut donné aux Troupes, pouar cesser le Travail”). “At the end of the same air, where Venus was invited to descend from the heavens to bring back the blissful days, the queen arrived amidst the graces, followed by the ladies [of the court], who had assumed a certain air of conquest” (“Sur la fin du mesme Air, où l'on invitoit Venus à descendre du Ciel, pour r'amener les beaux Jours avec elle, la Reyne qui en a toutes les graces, arriva, süivie des Dames, qui avoyent pris un certain air de Conqueste”). The strings and chorus were stationed in tents on either side, while trumpets and timpani were positioned in a third tent. Seven hundred drums of the regiment occupied the ramparts,while fifes, oboes, and trumpets occupied the fosse, and 80 cannon were placed on the courtine between the basion and the castle. “All of these different sounds and timbres, combined together, created a type of harmony to which the ear had not yet been accustomed, and which gave a pleasure mingled with fright that raised the spirit while entertaining it, and caused one to admire the grandeur and magnificence of the king” (“Tous ces bruits, & ces sons différans, meslez ensemble, faisoyent une espéce d’Harmonie, à laquelle l’oreille n’avoit point, encore, esté accoûtumée: & qui donnoit un plaisir meslé d’efroy, qui élevoit l’Ame en la divertissant, & faisoit admirer la grandeur du Roy, aussi bien que sa magnificence”).[26]