Zais Symphonies 1748 (Full Score)

Rameau Zais Symphonies 1748 (Full Score)

Performance material available for hire

Zaïs was Rameau’s first opera devoted entirely to “la féerie” – the enchanted world of middle-eastern myth, with its genies and fantastical aerial beings.  Premiered at the Paris Opéra on 29 February 1748, the work was much praised for the strength, elegance and diversity of its music and for the grace of its ballets.  Although Cahusac’s libretto came in for criticism, this delightful work proved popular: it was revived in 1761 and 1769, notching up over 100 performances during a period of more than two decades.

This edition is the first in a series that brings together the symphonies (orchestral pieces and dances) from operas published in “Opera Omnia Rameau”.

Presented in the order in which they appear in the opera, these pieces are derived from the critical edition of the full score (OOR IV.15) and retain the bar numbers and reference marks found in that volume.  This allows performers to refer where necessary to the critical notes which appear only in the critical edition of the full score.