Zaïde, reine de Grenade (Zaïde, Queen of Grenada) is a ballet-héroïque written by the French Baroque composer Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace Royer, to a text by the Abbé de La Marre, first performed in 1739.
Royer's "sparse but sensuous orchestral textures with flutes and oboes very prominent" have been praised in Zaïde together with "his exuberant choral writing and his fluid treatment of recitative and aria".[1]
Zaïde was first performed, under the direction of the composer, on 3 September 1739 for the wedding of King Louis XV's daughter, when it ran for 44 performances, and was revived for the wedding of the Dauphin in 1745, and again for the wedding of Marie Antoinettein1770. It has been performed at concert in 2005 in London in a new edition by Lionel Sawkins.[1]
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 3 September 1739[2] Conductor: Royer |
|---|---|---|
| Zaïde | soprano | Marie Pélissier |
| Isabelle | soprano | Eremans |
| Octave | tenor (haute-contre) | Pierre Jélyotte |
| Almanzor | tenor (haute-contre) | Denis-François Tribou |
| Zuléma | baritone | François Le Page |
| Ballerina | Marie Sallé | |
| Ballerino | Louis Dupré |
The plot is quite simple. Queen Zaïde in the Alhambra has to decide between the love of two rival Moorish princes and chooses the good prince.
