Alcyone

Alcyone, or Alcione, is a lyric tragedy in five acts and a prologue with a musical score by Marais and a libretto by Houdard de La Motte. This work has been remembered by musicologists for its musical description of a storm in the fourth act; this portion of its score is credited with being one of the earliest instances of descriptive music in French opera. Alcyone was revised many times, but the storm music remained intact. Its first run lasted from 18 February until 27 April 1706 at the…