Céphale Et Procris (Jacquet De La Guerre) at The Cockpit

An opera by the French composer Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre. Jacquet de la Guerre was born into a family of French artisans. She was recognised as a prodigy at a young age and was taken to court to be raised and trained under the protection of Louis XIV. Subsequently she enjoyed a successful career as a harpsichordist and composer.

Céphale et Procris was Jacquet’s only opera. It takes the form of a tragédie en musique in five acts with an Allegorical prologue. The libretto, by Joseph-Francois Duché de Vancy, is loosely based on the myth of Cephalus and Procris as told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The opera was first performed by the Paris Opera at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal on 17 March 1694.