Rameau : Platée

Rameau : Platée

Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Platée is a masterpiece of the French operatic repertoire and was highly regarded by critics during the composer’s lifetime. Composed for the marriage of the Dauphin Louis, son of Louis XV, to the Infanta Maria Teresa of Spain, it was first performed at Versailles in 1745 and became an instant hit.

The plot revolves around the ugly and conceited frog Platée, the victim of a machination of the gods who make her believe that she is loved by Jupiter. Is this Rameau mocking Princess Maria Teresa of Spain – reputedly a woman of little beauty? Or the French court, which saw itself as a new Olympus?

This classic production from the Opéra national de Paris by Marc Minkowski and Laurent Pelly returns to the stage with an entirely new cast, featuring Julie Fuchs, Mathias Vidal, Jean Teitgen and Lawrence Brownlee in the title-role.

Rameau : Platée [DVD & Blu-ray]

Comédie lyrique (ballet bouffon) in a prologue and three acts (1745)

Music: Jean-Philippe Rameau
Libretto: Adrien-Joseph Le Valois d’Orville after Jacques Autreau

Platée: Lawrence Brownlee
Thalie, La Folie: Julie Fuchs
Jupiter: Jean Teitgen
Momus: Marc Mauillon
Un Satyre, Cithéron: Nahuel di Pierro
Thespis: Mathias Vidal
Mercure: Reinoud Van Mechelen
L’Amour, Clarine: Tamara Bounazou
Junon: Adriana Bignagni Lesca

Les Musiciens du Louvre
Conductor: Marc Minkowski
Chœurs de l’Opéra national de Paris
Chorus master: Ching-Lien Wu

Stage direction and costumes: Laurent Pelly
Set design: Chantal Thomas
Lighting design: Joël Adam
Choreography: Laura Scozzi
Dramaturgy: Agathe Mélinand