Should an unfinished Rameau opera be reconstructed or left to languish in the dust of libraries? Of course “Io” had to be made performable on the stage! And a performance has now taken place.
Like “Myrthis” and “Zéphire”, “Io” belongs to a group of works by Rameau which were not performed, are undated, and about which we know neither the name of the librettist, the circumstances of composition, nor the theatre for which they were intended. Furthermore, like “Myrthis”, “Io” remained unfinished. So the question arose of whether this opera should be published as part of the “Opera omnia” in an incomplete form – thereby relegating it to just documentary interest – or whether to opt to complete the work and make a lyric work from it.
The discovery of key points of poetic and musical similarity between “Platée” and “Io” convinced me to attempt a reconstruction which I entrusted to Thomas Soury.
Firstly, with regards to the poetic text, the presence of the characters of La Folie and Junon, which only appear in Rameau in these two operas, is noteworthy; secondly, the essential dramaturgical elements are common to both, such as the seduction by Jupiter of a simple nymph (despite the legendary jealousy of his wife Junon), and especially the unexpected apparition of La Folie who steals Apollon’s lyre to animate the final divertissement and to deliver her “delirium”. The plot of “Io” is based on a kind of comedy with two masked divinities, Jupiter (in the guise of Hylas) and Apollon (in the guise of Philémon). They endeavour to seduce the nymph Io each for himself, aside from their divine status. Mercure comes to inform Jupiter that Junon suspects him of a new infidelity, but Jupiter insists on seducing the young Io. Mercure, however, informs him that Apollon has the same intentions. In order to test Io’s inclination, Jupiter invites the nymph to declare her desire to Philémon/Apollon. The resulting quid pro quo tips the tone of the text towards comedy. At which point Apollon, full of hope, presents himself to Io. There follows a rapid exchange between the three protagonists in the course of which Io is forced into choosing between Jupiter and Apollon. She discovers with astonishment that Hylas is Jupiter personified. The shadow of the legitimate queen Junon does not prevent the lovers from rejoicing whilst Apollon, disconsolate at his setback, deserts his empire. It is then that La Folie steals his lyre from him and proposes to answer to his “delirium” in hosting the “divertissement” to celebrate the illegitimate union of Jupiter and Io.
“Platée” draws on the same plot, but with her face uncovered and with the difference that Platée is ugly, unlike Io. As far as La Folie is concerned, she appears at the end of the second act at the moment when Jupiter has convinced Platée to marry him. Armed with Apollon’s lyre, La Folie delivers a bouquet of breathtaking airs and tirades to end on a “stroke of genius”. By addressing Momus and his retinue directly, she offers the same verse as in “Io” (“Secondez-moi”).
The links with “Platée” also apply on a musical level. Some musical motifs from the only choreographed piece surviving from “Io”, “L’Entrée pantomime des grâces, des Plaisirs et des jeux déguisés”, are reprised and developed in Platée, from the “Air pour les Fous gais” and La Folie’s ariette “Aux langueurs d’Apollon, Daphné se refusa”.
Although the musical sources of “Io” are deficient (because they are limited to a late copy and incomplete material), they are nevertheless reliable because they belonged to the great Rameau collector Decroix who ensured that the works in his collection, notably “Io”, were “collected and copied on the basis of the composer’s original scores”.
The happy and bold initiative of completing “Io” enabled it to be programmed in May 2023 by the Opera Lafayette in New York and Washington, D. C. to great success.
Sylvie Bouissou
(from [t]akte 2/2024 / translation: Elizabeth Robinson)