Orphée [ɔrfeə] ("Orpheus") is an opera by the French composer Louis Lully, with contributions from his brother Jean-Baptiste Lully the Younger. It was first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique (the Paris Opera) on 21 February 1690. It takes the form of a "tragédie en musique" in three acts and a prologue. The libretto is by Michel Duboullay. This opera was created as a satirical response to Louis Lully's father's tragicomedie et ballet, "Ballet de Psyche," which proclaimed the greatness of King Louis XIV's power and the calm that occurred because of his reign. Louis Lully chose the story of Orpheus in relation to the monarch as a commentary on the villainous tendencies of his rule of France.
Prologue