![]() Watch it in the cinema, or online, and be ready for some evil twists in the awkward ‘happily ever after’ final act, required by the conventions of Rameau’s time but out of place in the 21st century – Kent has created the happily-ever-after from hell. It is a marvellous moment of theatre and Connolly – her bearing, her voice, her pathos – is breathtaking. The opera’s great moment comes when, having learnt that the stepson whose love she craved is dead, Sarah Connolly’s tortured Phèdre intones her Plaint, which for me has as powerful an impact as Dido’s Lament (see below). Diane’s austere regime is cold and frigid. And it’s pretty clear where Kent’s sympathies lie – he has set the whole piece in a huge frig. The premise of Hippolyte et Aricie is a dialectic between Diane, goddess of chastity, and L’Amour (Cupid) as to whether unbridled passion should hold sway or whether our lives should be ruled by chastity and austerity. As Glyndebourne’s director, Jonathan Kent, puts it, ‘Pellegrin lifts things straight from the Racine and then, set by Rameau, things which are pretty astonishing in the Racine become completely heartbreaking.’ I’ve written about Glyndebourne’s production together with a podcast with Christie and you can see it live in cinemas or streamed online on July 25. He persuaded Glyndebourne to stage it and the sheer musical invention and glorious complexity of the work means Rameau’s thrilling reinterpretation of Racine’s Phèdre has to feature in my list. According to William Christie, Hippolyte et Aricie is Rameau’s masterpiece. Rameau may have been France’s undisputed master of harmony, but he was all of 50 when he completed his first opera in 1733. Here’s a guide to 10 of the best Baroque operas, with some highly recommended recordings to go with them. Now, following fascinating productions this summer of both Charpentier’s Medea (ENO) and Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie (Glyndebourne), the neglected genre of French Baroque is ready to take its place at the top table. ![]() Italian and English Baroque operas have gained popularity in the UK in recent decades – helped along by some inspired productions by Glyndebourne and English National Opera.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |