Les surprises de l'Amour is an opéra-ballet in two entrées (three or four in later versions) and a prologue by the French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau. It was first performed in Versailles on 27 November 1748. The opera is set to a libretto by Gentil-Bernard. According to the usage of the time, it was originally just billed as a ballet[1] and was only later classified by scholars as an opéra-ballet,[2] although its content might more precisely ascribe it to the ballet héroïque genre.
The original 1748 version consisted of a prologue and two entrées (acts), "La lyre enchantée" and "Adonis". For its 1757 revival, Rameau cut the prologue and added a third entrée, "Anacréon". The composer had written another opera under the title Anacréon in 1754. The earlier work has a libretto by Louis de Cahusac and a completely different plot. Both are linked by the figure of the ancient Greek lyric poet Anacreon. William Christie and Marc Minkowski have recorded the 1757 Anacréon separately. The complete 1757 Les surprises de l'Amour did not appear on disc until Sébastien d'Hérin's recording in 2013.
- ^ cf. the 1757 libretto title page reproduced in Le magazin de l'opéra baroque (Page: "Les surprises de l'amour") Archived 1 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine and Charles Collé's review of the 1748 premiere (ibid)
- ^ Sadler, op. cit.