 It was first performed on 19 January 1674 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal by the Paris Opera.The opera was presented in celebration of King Louis XIV's victory against Franche-Comté, and the prologue features nymphs longing for his return from battle.The opera itself concerns Alceste, princess of Iolcos and queen of Thessaly, who in the first act is abducted by Licomède (Lycomedes), king of Scyros, with the aid of his sister Thetis, a sea nymph; Aeolus, the god of the winds; and other supernatural forces.