Tag Archives: les arts florissants

Honest Injun?

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I confess to having mixed, nay conflicted, feelings about the 2003 Palais Garnier recording of Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes.  On the one hand there is some really good music, idiomatically played and sung by musicians utterly at home in this repertoire, there’s some brilliant dance; both the choreography and the execution, and there is spectacle on a grand scale.  On the other hand there’s a nagging sense of cultural appropriation and, perhaps worse, a feeling that the whole thing may just be a giant piss take.  Actually in some ways it’s all of the above and if one can get into the spirit of the thing it sort of works.

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Can’t get no Atisfaction

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Despite also featuring William Christie, Les Arts Florissants and François Roussillon, the 2004 Châtelet production of Rameau’s Les Paladins could hardly be more different from the recording of Lully’s Atys that I reviewed yesterday.  The work is based on Orlando Furioso and is an utterly anarchic parody of pretty much everything that Rameau had previously written.  It was considered shocking in its day.  The production by José Montalvo with choreographic help from Dominique Hervieu is completely mad and tremendous fun.

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L’opéra du roi

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Lully’s Atys was, apparently, Louis XIV’s favourite opera.  It’s not hard to see why.  Within the rigid conventions of its time and place it really is rather fine.  The plot is classical and convoluted.  After an allegorical prologue celebrating Louis’ successful winter campaign in the Low Countries we get the story proper.  The hero Atys loves the nymph Sangaride, daughter of the god of the river Sangar, who returns his affection  She is betrothed to Celenus, king of the Phrygians.  The goddess Cybèle fancies Atys and makes him her high priest.  Atys uses his position to nix the wedding which upsets both Cybèle and Celenus. Cybèle blinds Atys who kills himself but is immortalised by being turned into a tree by Cybèle.  All of this takes over three hours with lots of ballets and other set pieces.  The music is French 17th century court music so it’s a bit unvaried but much of it is very fine indeed.

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Umbrellas and underpants

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I’m not a huge fan of French baroque opera but I am a huge fan of Robert Carsen which is why I had a look at the DVD recording of his 2003 Paris Garnier production of Rameau’s Les Boréades. I’m still not a huge fan of French baroque but Carsen certainly makes the most of the work on offer.

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