Complete Works of Voltaire 28A - Oeuvres de 1742-1745 (I) (Hardcover, Critical edition)

This volume brings together a group of works which have never been edited before, and makes an important contribution to the study of Voltaire and music history. Voltaire's role as a courtier during this period was a complex one, as he sought to serve at both the French and Prussian courts; the names of the addressees of the verse written at this time show the numerous contacts made by Voltaire during his travels abroad and particularly during his postings to Berlin and the Hague. On his return to France in 1743, his attention turned to the court at Versailles, and there followed two royal commissions, "La Princesse de Navarre" and "Le Temple de la gloire", both written in collaboration with Rameau with whom Voltaire had a stormy working relationship. Although neither work received the critical acclaim Voltaire had hoped for, the first did secure for him the position of historiographe du roi and is integral to his ongoing experimentation in comic drama.