Les âges (English: The Ages) or Le ballet des âges is an opéra-ballet in a prologue and three acts by the French composer André Campra. The libretto is by Louis Fuzelier. It was first performed by the Académie royale de musique at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal on 9 October 1718.
Structure
The three acts were entitled:
- La jeunesse ou L'amour ingénu (Youth or Naive Love)
- L'âge viril ou L'amour coquet (Manhood or Pretty Love)
- La vieillesse ou L'amour enjoué (Old Age or Playful Love)
The 1718 printed score includes a further act entitled Les âges rivaux (Rival Ages), which is numbered as the third entrée, while La vieillesse ou L'amour enjoué (with some alterations) is turned into the fourth entrée.
Roles
References
Further reading
- (in French) Original libretto: Les Ages, Balet Representé pour la Premiere Fois par l'Académie Royale de Musique, Le Dimanche neuf Octobre 1718, Paris, Ribou, 1718 (accessible for free online at Gallica, Bibliothèque Nationale de France)
- The Viking Opera Guide ed. Holden (Viking, 1993)
- Le magazine de l'opéra baroque
External links
- Les âges: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
