Psyché

Composed for the Opéra-Comique, Psyché tells of the thwarted love between Eros and Psyche, manipulated by a cynical Mercury. The style of the work shows a strong Italian influence, reflected in the streams of vocalises from the heroine and Eros (the latter a transvestite role). The subject, set in the legendary times of ancient Greece, testifies to the renewed interest during the Second French Empire in mythological themes, of which Berlioz’s Les Troyens and Offenbach’s La Belle Hélène are the most striking examples.