Hellé

Hellé (Helle) is an opera by the French composer Étienne-Joseph Floquet, first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique on 5 January 1779. It takes the form of a tragédie lyrique in three acts. The libretto, by Pierre Lemonnier, is based on the Greek myth of Helle. At this time, there was little demand for operas by native French composers and Floquet struggled to have Hellé staged. When it eventually appeared in 1779, it was booed, despite Floquet's attempt to imitate the style of Piccinni, and ran for only three performances.