About the work
Andromaque is André Grétry’s only tragédie lyrique, premiered on 6 June 1780 at the Académie royale de Musique in Paris. The libretto by Louis-Guillaume Pitra closely follows Jean Racine’s tragedy of the same name (1667); Grétry composed the score in just thirty days.
Plot
After the fall of Troy, Andromache, Hector’s widow, lives as a captive at the court of Pyrrhus, who courts her although betrothed to Hermione. Driven by jealousy, Hermione demands that her suitor Oreste murder Pyrrhus, a deed that brings death to nearly everyone involved except Andromache and her son Astyanax.
Cultural significance
A planned staging was blocked in 1778 by the Comédie-Française, which claimed Racine’s text as its property; the opera did not reach the stage until 1780. As his only tragédie lyrique, Andromaque shows the composer best known for opéra comique working in a serious register indebted to Gluck.