ATYS By Quinault

About This Book

Atys is the libretto by Philippe Quinault (1635–1688) for the tragédie en musique composed by Jean-Baptiste Lully, first performed at Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 10 January 1676. Based on Ovid, the opera tells the tragic story of the Phrygian youth Atys and his forbidden love for the nymph Sangaride, who is claimed by the goddess Cybele. Atys was Louis XIV's favorite opera — known at court as l'opéra du roi — and its revival by William Christie and Les Arts Florissants in 1987 was a landmark event in the French Baroque early-music revival. The libretto is in the public domain.

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