About the work
Dardanus is a tragédie en musique by Jean-Philippe Rameau to a libretto by Charles-Antoine Leclerc de La Bruère. Its premiere on 19 November 1739 at the Paris Opéra met only moderate success because the libretto was seen as weak; for the 1744 revival Rameau rewrote almost the entire last three acts, and a further, tightened version without the prologue followed in 1760.
Plot
The young warrior Dardanus loves Iphise, daughter of his enemy King Teucer, though she is promised to the allied warrior Anténor. Aided by the sorcerer Isménor, Dardanus and Iphise grow close; when Dardanus defeats a monster and even saves Anténor's life in the process, the warring sides reconcile and the couple is allowed to marry.
Cultural significance
Only the third version, revised in 1760, secured Dardanus its reputation as one of Rameau's finest stage works; despite its originally weak plot, the opera is still valued today for its musical daring.