Hippolyte et Aricie

*Hippolyte et Aricie*
Hippolyte et Aricie
Opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau
	Portrait of Jean-Philippe Rameau by Joseph Aved in 1728
Librettist	Simon-Joseph Pellegrin
Language	French
Based on	Phèdre; by Racine
Premiere	1 October 1733; Theatre in the Palais-Royal, Paris

Hippolyte et Aricie (Hippolytus and Aricia) was the first opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau. It was premiered to great controversy by the Académie Royale de Musique at its theatre in the Palais-Royal in Paris on October 1, 1733. The French libretto, by Abbé Simon-Joseph Pellegrin, is based on Racine's tragedy Phèdre. The opera takes the traditional form of a tragédie en musique with an allegorical prologue followed by five acts. Early audiences found little else conventional about the work.