Le temple de la Gloire (The Temple of Glory) is an opéra-ballet by
Jean-Philippe Rameau with a libretto by Voltaire. The work was first performed in a five-act version on 27 November 1745 at the Grande Écurie, Versailles to celebrate the French victory at the Battle of Fontenoy. Set as an allegory of Love and Beauty in opposition to Envy, the opera’s three acts celebrate Art as an envoy of Peace and Harmony.

Act 1: Bélus
Scene: The grove of the Muses, the Temple of Glory in the background.
King Bélus has deserted his love, the princess Lydie, in a quest for glory through brutal military conquest. Lydie seeks consolation with the Muses, and the local
shepherds and shepherdesses try to comfort her with their dances. Bélus and his warriors arrive. The gods have rejected his claim to enter the Temple of Glory
because of his tyranny. Lydie and the shepherds persuade him that a true king should spread happiness among his people rather than wage war.

Act 2: Bacchus
Scene: Outside the Temple of Glory
Bacchus' followers celebrate his conquest of Asia. Bacchus boasts of his invention of wine to his lover Érigone. As he approaches the Temple of
Glory the High Priest forbids him to enter: he may have won fame by spreading drunken debauchery, but only deeds of virtue bring lasting glory. Undiscouraged, Bacchus & his followers begin their travels again.

Act 3: Trajan
Scene: The city of Artaxata partly in ruins. Triumphal arches.
The Emperor Trajan's wife, Plautine, has followed him to Armenia, where he is fighting to crush a rebellion by five kings. Plautine persuades the priests of Mars and the priestesses of Venus to pray for Trajan's success. Trajan returns victorious with the conquered kings in chains, but he magnanimously forgives them and frees them. Glory descends from the skies to offer Trajan a laurel wreath, and the scene changes to her temple. Trajan says he is not worthy of such a great honor and asks for the gods to transform it into the Temple of Happiness for all the world instead. The “lesson” is for King Louis XV to practice forgiveness and beneficence, even to his enemies. Both dance and singing provide a symmetrical balance of words and gesture, especially the Dance of the Muses. As a professor of harmony, Rameau knew how to make colors, a rich tapestry in sound. The libretto for the Chorus is acute, given Voltaire’s love of vocal pageantry. Every age, every sex, every rank, deserves justice and the opportunity for Happiness.

In April 2017, conductor Nicholas McGegan and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale partnered with Cal Performances, Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles, and New York Baroque Dance Company to produce the modern premiere of Rameau's original, ornate version of his opera. As Philharmonia Baroque Chorale director Bruce Lamott writes in the program notes, Rameau differs greatly from the contemporary Italian opera seria’s “string-of-pearls alternation of arias and freely sung recitatives” by presenting “an unpredictable variety show of dances, choruses, ensembles, and shorter arias interspersed with lyrical recitatives and audacious harmonic surprises.”