Musicologists now think that Rameau and Cahusac originally intended ''La naissance d'Osiris
to be part of a multi-act opéra-ballet called Les beaux jours de l'Amour
. There is some evidence this work was substantially complete by May 1751, but for unknown reasons it was never staged. The other acts were Nélée et Myrthis (never completed and unperformed until the 20th century) and Anacréon, first performed separately at Fontainebleau on 23 October 1754. The Rameau scholar Sylvie Bouissou believes that La naissance
would have been the first act of Les beaux jours de l'Amour''. Like
Anacréon, ''La naissance d'Osiris'' was salvaged for performance before the court at Fontainebleau. It thus became one of a series of operas celebrating the births of the children of the
Dauphin of France and his wife
Maria Josepha. On this occasion the royal baby was the Duc de Berry, the future King Louis XVI. The conductor
Hugo Reyne notes the historical irony of identifying Louis XVI with Osiris, a god who was murdered, just as Louis was to be guillotined in 1793. The opera appeared on 12 October 1754 as part of a triple bill alongside revivals of Rameau's
Pigmalion and
Les incas de Pérou (the second act of the 1735
opéra-ballet Les Indes galantes). Documents show it went into rehearsal on 26 August, three days after the birth of the prince. The manuscripts show it was adapted for the occasion from ''Les beaux jours de l'Amour''; originally Pamilie was merely an unnamed "shepherdess". A lengthy account of the premiere appeared in the October 1754 edition of the journal
Le Mercure de France. In the same issue, Cahusac explained the Egyptian background of the work: As she was leaving the temple of Jupiter, a Theban woman named Pamyles heard a voice announcing the birth of a hero who would one day bring happiness to Egypt. This hero was Osiris, whom Pamyles brought up and who was subsequently one of the most illustrious benefactors of humanity. To preserve the memory of this event, the Egyptians established the Festival of Pamylia. Osiris had already featured in the first act of Rameau's
opéra-ballet ''
Les fêtes de l'Hymen et de l'Amour (premiered 1747 and revived in July 1754). The reviewer in Le Mercure de France
described the richness of the scenery in La naissance'': the pillars of the temple were carved with hieroglyphics; there were sphinxes and a palm-tree. He also gave a detailed account of the final dance in which the ballerina Mademoiselle Catinon played Cupid and Mademoiselle Puvigné a shepherdess. The reviewer praised the singing of the prima donna
Marie Fel as Pamylie. There is no evidence ''La naissance d'Osiris
was ever revived in the 18th century, probably because it was too closely linked with the occasion of the premiere. However, Rameau did reuse some of the music in his later works: Anacréon
, Les Paladins and Les Boréades''. ==Music==