Description
Rameau : Hippolyte et Aricie
Hippolyte et Aricie, Rameau’s intensely dramatic lyrical tragedy, is adorned with shimmering colours at Glyndebourne under the direction of William Christie. In Jonathan Kent’s daring production!
Set in Troezen, Greece, Hippolyte et Aricie tells the tragic story of the thwarted love between Hippolyte, the son of Theseus, and Aricie, the daughter of the fallen king. Theseus, jealous and furious, opposes their union because of a prophecy foretelling his own destruction. He favors the love of Phaedra, his second wife, for Hippolyte, which sets off a chain of deceptions and misunderstandings. Phaedra, consumed by an incestuous love, accuses Hippolyte of attempted rape, leading to his conviction…
For this first staging of a Rameau opera at Glyndebourne, director Jonathan Kent offers a production that, in his own words, “strives to appeal to all the senses and show the audience how captivating and musically delightful French Baroque opera can be.” Rameau‘s inventive version of Racine’s great tragedy Phèdre is brought to life by Paul Brown‘s colourful, elegant sets and Ashley Page‘s playful choreography. Ed Lyon and Christiane Karg deliver stellar performances as the titular young lovers, while Sarah Connolly, making a welcome return to Glyndebourne, “invests Phèdre with both grandeur and a desperately human vulnerability” (The Independent). One of the leading exponents of early music, William Christie, “sets an exhilarating pace, galvanising the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment to playing of extraordinary panache” (The Daily Telegraph).
SPECIAL FEATURES :
- An opera to surprise and delight
- Cast gallery
Rameau : Hippolyte et Aricie [DVD & Blu-ray]
Tragédie lyrique in five acts (1733)
Music : Jean-Philippe Rameau
Libretto : Simon-Joseph Pellegrin after Phèdre by Racine
The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Glyndebourne Chorus
Conductor : William Christie
Stage direction : Jonathan Kent
“Few nights at the opera will be as rewarding as this one.” – THE ARTS DESK
“Rameau’s music is one reason to hasten to East Sussex. Another is Jonathan Kent’s inventive staging.” – THE TIMES
“Sarah Connolly combines a luscious voice and volcanic stage presence as Phaedra, and her climactic outpouring of despair in Act 4 is scalp-prickling.” – BLOOMBERG.COM
“William Christie … as usual sets an exhilarating pace, galvanising the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment to playing of tremendous panache.” – THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
“With William Christie conducting the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment … the music couldn’t be better presented; Christie’s ability to conjure up ceremonial grandeur, tender intimacy and rhythmic variety may be sleight of hand from the greatest Rameau interpreter of our time, but it’s totally compelling. So too is much of the cast, especially Ed Lyon’s Hippolytus, Christiane Karg’s Aricia, and Stéphane Degout’s Theseus; as Phaedra, Sarah Connolly plays the stepmother from hell to the manner born.” – THE GUARDIAN
“Katherine Watson’s imperious Diana, Ed Lyon’s coltish Hippolytus, and Francois Lis’s dark-toned Pluto are all spot-on, while Emmanuelle de Negri and Mathias Vidal purvey a ravishing sweetness of sound. Sarah Connolly invests Phaedra with both grandeur and a desperately human vulnerability; Stephane Degout’s Theseus sends up prayers to Neptune in singing of transcendent beauty. The diction and phrasing is perfectly idiomatic; the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment is on top form.” – THE INDEPENDENT
“… one of the great French Baroque entertainments … Christie conducts a superb Glyndebourne cast.” – GRAMOPHONE
HD recording : Glyndebourne Festival | 06/2013
TV direction : François Roussillon
Release date : 1er juillet 2014
Distribution : Naxos Distribution
2 DVD
Reference : OA1143D
Barcode : 809478011439
Running time : 186 min. (opera) + 15 min. (bonus)
Subtitles : FR / ENG / JAP / KOR
Image : Color, 16/9, NTSC
Sound : PCM 2.0, DTS Digital Surround 5.1
Region code : 0
1 BLU-RAY
Reference : OABD7150D
Barcode : 809478071501
Running time : 186 min. (opera) + 15 min. (bonus)
Subtitles : FR / ENG / JAP / KOR
Image : Color, 16/9, Full HD
Sound : PCM 2.0, DTS HD Master audio 5.1
Region code : A, B, C
Founded as a production company by Hans Petri in 1999, Opus Arte released its first DVD in 2001. From the outset, the label has been releasing recordings from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, one of the closest and longest-standing relationships they have had. So much so that in 2007 the ROH acquired Opus Arte, which in turn became their in-house DVD label. In 2018 the label joined the Naxos family, although its continues to work very closely with the ROH and maintains its base of operations at the Royal Opera House in London.
Opus Arte now boasts a catalogue of over 800 programmes, including recordings in 4K, 3-D and Dolby ATMOS, and was one of the first labels to release high definition content on Blu-ray. They proudly associate with many of the world’s finest arts organisations, which aside from the Royal Opera House includes Glyndebourne, Dutch National Opera & Ballet, Teatro Real, Bayreuth, Shakespeare’s Globe and the Royal Shakespeare Company.
As of 2024, Naxos, Opus Arte and Bel Air Classiques have agreed to pull their resources together to further highlight their shared values of artistic excellence, innovation and transmission.
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<strong><em>Hippolyte et Aricie</em></strong>, <strong>Rameau</strong>'s intensely dramatic lyrical tragedy, is adorned with shimmering colours at <strong>Glyndebourne</strong> under the direction of <strong>William Christie</strong>. In <strong>Jonathan Kent</strong>'s daring production!){kind=link}