Antonia Bembo: Ercole Amante

Paris Opera

183 min

Available until 09/06/2027

Hercules has fallen in love with his son's lover and refuses to accept her rejection... Venetian composer Antonia Bembo’s opera is a baroque jewel from a little-known female composer, written in France in 1707. This production, the first from the Paris Opera, is brought to the stage by Netia Jones and conducted by Leonardo Garcia-Alarcón.

The ageing demigod Hercules has fallen madly in love with the young Iole, the daughter of King Eutyro - and the lover of his own son Hyllus. When she rejects his advances, Hercules cannot accept it and asks the help of Venus, goddess of love.

The Venetian Antonia Bembo, who fled her violent husband to be welcomed by the court of Louis XIV in France, wrote this baroque opera as early as 1707, but it has never been performed on stage to this day. The surprisingly modern work, which is now entering the repertoire of the Paris Opera in a production by Netia Jones and conducted by Leonardo García-Alarcón, rehabilitates the unjustly forgotten composer and can finally be heard exactly where it was written over 300 years ago.

Filmed on 5 June 2026 at the Opéra national de Paris.

Director

François Roussillon

Production

FRANCOIS ROUSSILLON ET ASSOCIES

Country

France

Year

2026