Synopsis

Prologue

Prometheus descends from the sky, carrying a torch with the heavenly fire he has stolen from the gods.  He uses it to bring a group of statues to life; they become the first humans. Jupiter is angry at Prometheus for the theft, and sends the Passions (e.g. hatred, jealousy, rage,despair) to take over the hearts of the newly-created  men and women.  Prometheus is horrified to see his creation ruined.  Luckily, Imagination appears out of a cloud, and after explaining to the statues-become-people how imagination will enrich their lives, she reassures Prometheus that she knows how to deal with these monstrous Passions – she will cause the god of Love to be born,  and Love (Amour) and Imagination together will remedy the situation.  Amour appears at Imagination’s command,  and instructs the Passions to obey him.  He then orders them to be chained up with garlands of flowers. (They protest: "What torment!  What violence!")  With the Passions tamed,  both Statues and Passions alike acknowledge the value and the power of love.

First Entrée

A  powerful Fairy (La Fée) explains to her young confidante, Céphise, that when she was young she was briefly in love with the king of the Génies, Almazis, and he with her;  but that in order to preserve her power, she renounced her romantic attraction to him.  Now her daughter,  Zélide, is falling in love with Almazis’ son Emire, and La Fée is afraid that her old flame, who is now her enemy,  will get his revenge on her through his son's love for her daughter.  Destiny has called La Fée elsewhere, and she commands Céphise to keep Zélide safe from “the power of a conqueror”, namely Emire,  while she is gone.  In order to do that, Céphise will have to use “talents” and “pleasures” – the distractions of dancing and entertainment (certainly familiar to all the nobility at Versailles!).  Céphise enlists the help of Doris, played by the famous dancer Camargo in the original production.  Zélide enters and sings about her feeling that the object of her love is nearby – a melancholy air, simultaneously sweet and sad:  the expression of lovesickness.  Céphise tries to cheer her up by having her watch Doris dance, saying that Zélide should take Doris as a model and preserve her independence.  But Zélide says that although she used to be carefree in the past, now she just feels more and more troubled.  An offstage chorus of Génies calls to Zélide, Emire appears, and Céphise and Doris work together to try and keep the lovers apart.  Doris dances an enchantment between them.  However, Emire and Zélide are completely single-minded about their attraction to one another.  Finally Emire calls on his Génies to come and break Doris' enchantment.  A dancing Génie dances a seductive Passacaille and even succeeds in overcoming Céphise’s resistance to love.  Céphise gives up, and tells Doris that they might as well leave, since Love has used their own weapon (dance) against them.  They exit, and the Génies bear Zélide and Emire away to his kingdom.

Third Entrée*

Apollo is disguised as the sacrificial priest in the land of a tribe of savages who practice human sacrifice to the sun god (Apollo).  They live in a northern land where the sun goes away for many months every year, and each time the sun returns, they sacrifice a young woman,  as an offering of thanksgiving.  Apollo has disguised himself because he is in love with Marphise, the daughter of the king, who is scheduled to be sacrificed.  When the entrée begins, he reveals his true identity and his love for Marphise to a savage who is assisting him, saying that he has come to abolish the tradition of blood sacrifice.  The people of the tribe enter, bearing Marphise to the altar (Marche pour le Sacrifice).  The king orders the priest (Apollo) to sacrifice the victim.  Apollo replies that they should all leave him alone with Marphise, and that it is the will of the sun god who speaks through him.  They leave.  Marphise faints, and when she revives Apollo is on his knees, weeping.  She is astonished and puzzled, since he is the one who is supposed to be sacrificing her, and he is trembling with fear.  Without revealing his true identity, he says that he has come to save her, and that, in fact, the god of day only wants love for sacrifice, not the traditional sacrifice of blood.  She has never heard of love, and gradually becomes convinced that she should transfer her allegiance to this new god (Amour).  And of course, in the process of learning from Apollo about the god of love,  she falls in love with him.  When the rest of the tribe returns, she has a new dilemma – not only will she lose her life, but she will also lose her new-found love. 

Apollo announces to the people that the Sun wishes to have a purer offering, and that blood sacrifice disgusts him.  The tribe asks him what the god wants them to do.  Apollo replies that the Sun god wants them to give him Marphise in marriage.  They respond with anger. (“What audacity! What arrogance! – Let us have revenge on this traitor!")  So Apollo, using his full godly power, orders the sun to disappear, and to go to some other place that is purer, leaving this land in darkness.  There is a subterranean rumbling and sudden darkness. The people are terrified, imploring the sun to return.  The king still thinks the solution is to execute Marphise immediately.  But Apollo finally reveals his true identity, and tells them that as long as they let him marry Marphise,  he will bring the sun back, which he does. ("Night, disappear – I order it – obey!")

Apollo declares his love for Marphise. ("Before the universe I say that I love you")  The savages kneel to him in respect.  He tells them that they must celebrate his marriage.  They dance and sing in his honor.  He then reminds them not to irritate the gods by violent behavior, but to imitate him and to love one another instead.  They comply, and love is triumphant in the final celebration.

*Eighteenth-century opera-ballets usually consisted of a prologue and three or more "entrées", each with its own independent story line related to the theme of the opera-ballet, which was set forth in the prologue. We have omitted the second Entrée, a retelling of the story of King Midas, for reasons of length and of theatrical and musical balance.