Returning to the lavish world of Louis XIV's Versailles, the BEMF 2007 Psyché is an exciting follow-up to our 2001 production of Lully's Thésée. Originally composed as a tragic-comedie ballet in 1671 (and representing the final product of the famous and successful partnership between Lully and Molière), Psyché was reshaped into a tragédie lyrique in 1678, with the spoken text of the 1671 version replaced with additional music. One of Lully's most extravagant and popular operas, Psyché enjoyed performances throughout Europe well into the second half of the 18th century. This popularity resulted in an enormous number of publications and performing editions, which coupled with the opera's unusually versatile cast of singers, dancers, and instrumentalists, as well as its call for elaborate stage machinery, has made modern stagings nearly impossible.

Now in the expert hands of the Boston Early Music Festival, Psyché will come to life as the magnificent and dazzling spectacle originally envisioned by Lully. As Venus strives for recognition as the most beautiful of all women, she sends her son Amour to seduce her only true rival, the mortal Psyché. But her plan fails when Amour and Psyché find true love, culminating in a grand wedding celebration attended by a throng of reveling deities, singers, and dancers.