Achille et Polyxène (Achilles and Polyxena) is a tragédie lyrique containing a prologue and five acts based on Virgil's Aeneid with a French libretto by Jean Galbert de Campistron. The opera's overture and first act were composed by Jean-Baptiste Lully, who died from a conducting injury before he could complete the score. The prologue and the remaining acts are the work of his pupil Pascal Collasse who finished the work, eight months after Lully's death on 22 March 1687. Acts 1 and 4 of the ballet was created by Louis Lestang, and the ballet to the prologue and acts 2 and 3 were by Louis-Guillaume Pécour. The opera was first performed on 7 November 1687, by the Paris Opera at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris.
Analysis of the libretto and music
The libretto for this opera differs from those of Lully's earlier works with Philippe Quinault. Typically, Lully would begin his operas with a lively prologue, but this work has a somber prologue in which the Muses lament the king's desire for military expansion. Another difference is the tragic and somber ending of this opera in Act V. Lully usually ended his operas with a rousing ensemble number but this opera closes with the suicide of the heroine. The end of Act IV, the wedding scene, does contain a vibrant ensemble number at its close which would be more in keeping with a typical finale of one of Lully's operas.
Roles
Plot
The Prologue is set in "A place once designed for spectacle, now only a shell of its former self." Mercure, messenger of the Gods, questions the Muses to find out why their spirits are downcast. Melpomene replies that the king (i.e. Louis XIV), in his desire for conquest, has plunged the country into war and ignored the Muses and their feasts. The other Muses agree and add: "he does not approve of anything we do; we are not worthy in his eyes." Mercure interrupts and insists that they put aside worry and concentrate on the charming spectacle to be performed before them. The scene is transformed, "as though its former glory had been restored." The Muses agree to pay careful attention to the forthcoming play and to try especially hard to enjoy it despite their misgivings. Jupiter descends and urges their particular contemplation of the Greek hero, Achille. The Muses agree and await the tale of the invincible Achille and his famous battles.
Act I opens on the Isle of Tenedos, Achille's refuge after a quarrel with Agamemnon. Patrocle asks Achille if Hector's bravery in past battles has made him jealous. Achille responds that only the losses sustained by the Greeks give him pleasure: Agamemnon, king of the Greeks, is the focus of his rage. In a rousing aria ("Je cours asseurer ma memoire"), Patrocle declares that he will defeat Hector. Achille, though concerned for his friend's safety, agrees, saying, "if your heart is strong, so too will be your arms." After Patrocle exits, Achille, left alone, entreats the gods to protect his friend in a moving soliloquy. Diomede approaches and announces that without Achille's help, the Greeks will not overcome the Trojans. Achille insists that he is happy here, out of contact with the quarrelsome Greeks. Diomede chastises the hero, suggesting that his bravery is shallow and that he loves vain pleasure. Venus and the Graces, descending from the heavens, remind Achille of the pleasure he experienced with them when he was not in battle. The act concludes as Arcas rushes in to announce that Patrocle is dead. Achille swears vengeance on Hector in an impassioned aria ("Manes de ce Guerrier, dont je pleure le sort").
Act II takes place in a Greek camp on the eve of battle with the Trojans. Diomede is certain that, with Achille's help, the Greeks under Agamemnon will be victorious. Agamemnon remains uncertain and, seeing the advancing Achille, decides to move back. A chorus of soldiers sing the praises of the victorious Achille. Arcas assures the Trojan prisoners that Achille is not without compassion--hope should replace their fears. King Priam of Troy, his daughter Polixene and his daughter-in-law Andromaque conspire to soften Achille's heart. Each appeals to Achille with stories of their losses suffered in the war with Greece. But it is the beautiful Polixene who breaks Achille's heart with her moving aria, "Vous le sçavez, Dieux que j'atteste!" The great warrior pledges eternal peace with the Greeks.