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{{short description|Opera by Jean-Baptiste Lully}}
[[File:Lully - Isis - score, Paris 1719 - title page.png|thumb|Cover of ''Isis'']]
'''''Isis''''' is a French opera (''[[tragédie en musique]]'') in a prologue and five acts with music by [[Jean-Baptiste Lully]] and a libretto by [[Philippe Quinault]], based on Ovid's ''[[Metamorphoses]]''. The fifth of Lully's collaborations with Quinault, it was first performed on 5 January 1677 before the royal court of [[Louis XIV]] at the [[Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye]] and in August received a run of public performances at the [[Théâtre du Palais-Royal (rue Saint-Honoré)|Théâtre du Palais-Royal]].<ref name=PitouLajarte>Pitou 1983, pp. 239–241; Lajarte 1878, [https://books.google.com/books?id=3AM6AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA31 pp. 31–32].</ref> It was Lully's first published score (partbooks in 1677);<ref>Rosow 1992, p. 827.</ref> a full score was published in 1719.

==Performance history==
''Isis'' was revived only once during the remaining 38 years of Louis XIV's reign, on 14 February 1704. It was revived again in 1717–1718 and 1732–1733.<ref name=PitouLajarte/>

==Roles==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Role
!Voice type<ref>According to Parvopassou, unless otherwise stated in footnote.</ref>
!Premiere cast<ref>According to the original 1677 libretto.</ref> 5&nbsp; January&nbsp;1677
|-
|colspan=3 align=center|'''Prologue'''
|-
| [[Pheme|Fame]]
| [[soprano]]
| Marie Verdier
|-
| [[Neptune (mythology)|Neptune]]
| [[Bass (voice type)|bass]]
| M Forestier
|-
| First [[Triton (mythology)|Triton]]
| taille ([[baritenor]])
| [[Louis Gaulard Dumesny]]<ref>This singer, later to become the leading haute contre, made his ''Opéra'' debut in this performance, as a "''[[Baritenor|taille]]''", interpreting the minor role of a ''Triton'' (''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', I, article: "Dumesnil, [Duménil, Dumény, Du Mesny, du Mény]", p. 1273)</ref>
|-
| Second Triton
| haute-contre<ref name="Mezzo">This haute-contre part is unusually notated in the [[Clef#Mezzo-soprano clef†|mezzosoprano clef]] on the period printed score cited below as an [[Isis (Lully)#External links|external link]].</ref>
| M Nouveau
|-
| [[Apollo]]
| [[haute-contre]]
| Dominique de La Grille,
|-
| [[Clio]]
| <ref name="Tra" />
| M Regnier
|-
| [[Calliope]]
| soprano
| Mlle Des Fronteaux
|-
| [[Melpomene]]
| soprano
| Mlle Caillot
|-
| [[Thalia (Muse)|Thalia]]
| soprano
| Mlle Piesche
|-
| [[Urania]]
| <ref name="Tra">No part for this [[Travesti (theatre)|travesti]] character is written in the period printed score cited below as an [[Isis (Lully)#External links|external link]], nor is the character itself mentioned by Parvopassou.</ref>
| M Datys
|-
| [[Erato]]
| [[flutist]] (''dessus de flûte'')
| M Philbert
|-
| [[Euterpe]]
| flutist  (''dessus de flûte'')
| M Piesche
|-
| [[Terpsicore]] 
| [[violinist]]  (''dessus de violon'')
| M Favre
|-
| [[Polymnie]]
| violinist (''dessus de violon'')
| M Joubert
|-
|colspan=3 align=center|'''Acts 1–5'''<ref>According to Parvopassu the tragedy also features four more characters (not mentioned in the original libretto): Famine (haute-contre), War (bass), Flood (haute-contre), Blaze (bass).</ref>
|-
| Hierax
| [[baritone]]<ref name="baritone">This part is stated by Parvopassu as a bass one, but it is notated in the [[Clef#Baritone clef†|baritone clef]] on the period printed score cited below as an [[Isis (Lully)#External links|external link]].</ref>
| Jean Gaye
|-
| Pirante
| haute-contre
| François Langeais
|-
| [[Io (mythology)|Io]] / [[Isis]]
| soprano
| [[Marie Aubry]]
|-
| Mycene
| soprano
| Mlle Sainte-Colombe
|-
| [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]] 
| haute-contre
| Bernard Clédière
|-
| [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] 
| bass
| [[François Beaumavielle]]
|-
| [[Iris (mythology)|Iris]]
| soprano
| Mlle Beaucreux
|-
| [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]] 
| soprano
| Mlle Saint-Christophe
|-
| [[Hebe (mythology)|Hebe]]
| soprano
| Marie-Madeleine Brigogne
|-
| [[Argus Panoptes|Argus]] 
| baritone<ref name="baritone" />
| Antoine Morel
|-
| A [[nymph]] representing [[Syrinx]] 
| soprano
| Mlle Verdier
|-
| A sylvan representing [[Pan (god)|Pan]]
| bass
| M. Godonesche
|-
| A [[Erinyes|Fury]] 
| haute-contre
| Benoît-Hyacinthe Ribon
|-
| First [[Parcae|Fate]]
| soprano
| Mlle Bony
|-
| Second Fate
| haute-contre<ref name="Mezzo" />
| François Langeais
|-
| Third Fate
| bass<ref>According to Parvopassu the third Fate is a haute-contre part, but it is notated in the [[Clef#Bass clef|bass clef]] on the period printed score cited below as an [[Isis (Lully)#External links|external link]], and was sung by Monsieur Forestier, the same artiste that also performed the Prologue bass role of Neptune.</ref>
| M Forestier
|-
|}
The ballets were danced by [[Pierre Beauchamp]], [[Louis Pécourt]], Magny, and Boutteville.

==Synopsis==
===Prologue===
The prologue, which includes the usual [[paean]] to [[Louis XIV]], takes place in the palace of [[Pheme|Fame]] (''La Renommée'') with Rumors (''Rumeurs'') and Noises (''Bruits'') dancing in attendance to the goddess. When Fame sings of "the glory and triumphant valor of the greatest of heroes," she is referring to Louis XIV. She is visited by [[Apollo]] with his retinue of [[Muses]], who arrive from the sky, and [[Neptune (mythology)|Neptune]] with his retinue of [[Triton (mythology)|Tritons]], who arrive from the sea. Both groups are equipped with [[violin]]s, [[lute]]s, and [[natural trumpet|trumpet]]s. When Neptune sings of the conqueror's recent adventures at sea, he is referring to the French [[Battle of Palermo|naval victory]] over the Dutch and Spanish in 1676 in the [[Franco-Dutch War]].<ref>Pitou 1983, p. 240.</ref>

===Acts 1–5===
The plot of the tragedy of ''Isis'' is loosely adapted from one of the episodes in [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Metamorphoses]]''. Its plot parallels that of Lully's previous opera, ''[[Atys (Lully)|Atys]]'' (in which  Sangaride, promised to Celoenus, is pursued by another and acquires a goddess as a rival). ''Isis'' centers around the [[God (male deity)|god]] [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter's]] love for the [[nymph]] [[Io (mythology)|Io]] and the jealousy of [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]].
 
Io, daughter of [[Inachus]], is promised in marriage to Hierax, but is pursued by Jupiter, and yields to this love in spite of her feelings of guilt.

Juno has Io imprisoned and tortured, leading Io to cry out to Jupiter for help. He swears faithfulness to Juno if she will spare Io, and Juno turns Io into a goddess: [[Isis]], the Egyptian goddess.

==Scandal==
Lully's contemporaries interpreted this story as representing the volatile situation between two of the King's mistresses. The character of Io was equated with [[Isabelle de Ludres|Madame de Ludres]], Louis XIV's new favorite at court, to whom he had given lavish gifts. His long-time mistress, [[Madame de Montespan]], "was furious and did everything she could to humiliate her."<ref>Pitou 1983, p. 241.</ref> The subsequent ''scandale'' of the premiere ended the collaboration between Lully and Quinault for a time, and led to the dismissal of a number of members of Lully's artistic circle.

==Recordings==
*''Isis'' Soloists, [[La Simphonie du Marais]], conducted by [[Hugo Reyne]] (Accord, 3 CDs, 2005)
*''Isis'' Soloists, [[Les Talens Lyriques]], conducted by [[Christophe Rousset]] (Aparte, 2 CDs, 2019)

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Reflist}}

'''Sources'''
* ''The New Grove French Baroque Masters'', ed. Graham Sadler (Macmillan, 1986)
* ''The Viking Opera Guide'' ed. Holden (Viking, 1993)
* [http://perso.orange.fr/jean-claude.brenac/Operabaroque.htm Le magazine de l'opéra baroque by Jean-Claude Brenac (in French)]
* Parvopassu, Clelia ''Isis'', in Gelli, Piero & Poletti, Filippo (ed), ''Dizionario dell'opera 2008'', Milan, Baldini Castoldi Dalai, 2007, pp.&nbsp;671–672
* Pitou, Spire (1983). ''The Paris Opéra: An Encyclopedia of Operas, Ballets, Composers, and Performers. Genesis and Glory, 1671–1715''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. {{ISBN|9780313214202}}.
* Rosow, Lois (1992). "''Isis'' (ii)", vol. 2, p.&nbsp;827, in ''[[The New Grove Dictionary of Opera]]'' (4 volumes), edited by [[Stanley Sadie]]. London: Macmillan. {{ISBN|9781561592289}}.
* Sadie, Stanley (ed.), ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Grove (Oxford University Press), New York, 1997 ({{ISBN|978-0-19-522186-2}})

== External links ==
* ''Isis'' [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k104070p.r=lully+.langEN libretto of 1677], [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k15205776/f3.image.r=Isis%201677 a different edition of the 1677 libretto] (mentioning the names of performers), [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b55006681s/f7.image.r=lully%20.langEN printed partbooks of 1677] (for performances at the Palais-Royal), [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k109670x.r=isis%201677?rk=150215;2 period printed score, s.d.] (but 1700 according to Gallica), and [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8446951f/f5.image.r=lully%20.langEN score of 1719] at [[Gallica]]
* [https://digital.library.unt.edu/permalink/meta-dc-74 ''Isis'']: High-resolution images of a 1677 manuscript copy of ''Isis''
* [https://digital.library.unt.edu/permalink/meta-dc-59 ''Isis'']: High-resolution images of the first edition of ''Isis'' (1719)
* {{IMSLP2|work=Isis%2C_LWV_54_%28Lully%2C_Jean-Baptiste%29|cname=''Isis''}}
* [http://sitelully.free.fr/livretisis.htm ''Isis'']: Libretto

{{Jean-Baptiste Lully}}
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[[Category:Operas by Jean-Baptiste Lully]]
[[Category:Tragédies en musique]]
[[Category:French-language operas]]
[[Category:Operas]]
[[Category:1677 operas]]
[[Category:Operas based on Metamorphoses]]
[[Category:Egyptian mythology in music]]
[[Category:Libretti by Philippe Quinault]]