About the work
Tragédie en musique in a prologue and five acts to a libretto by Jean Galbert de Campistron, based on Virgil's 'Aeneid'. Jean-Baptiste Lully composed only the overture and first act before his death on 22 March 1687; his pupil Pascal Collasse completed the work, which was first performed on 7 November 1687 at the Académie royale de musique in Paris — the last opera Lully began.
Plot
The hero Achille first withdraws from the fighting at Troy but returns after the death of his friend Patrocle and conquers the city. During the peace negotiations he falls in love with the Trojan princess Polyxène, while the jealous Junon uses the captive Briséis to plot against their union. At the wedding ceremony, Pâris kills the unarmed Achille, and Polyxène takes her own life.
Cultural significance
As the first stage work after Lully's death, it was measured against his earlier successes and found wanting; contemporary satirical verses criticised Collasse's music as weak. The opera was revived only once, in 1712 with a newly written prologue, and has remained largely forgotten since.