Cephale Et Procris

Only a few years were necessary before Grétry became one of the most prominent personalities of the French musical world. The successes that he booked after his first opéra comique Le Huron (1769) won him the high esteem and personal friendship of the Dauphine, after which the Court opened its doors to him and several of his works were performed there in succession. Official confirmation of his status came in 1773, when Louis XV commissioned him to write a large-scale work for a special occasion: this was to be Céphale et Procris.