Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie

I have a whole shelf for DVDs of Rameau operas I've watched once. Often they are beautifully conducted by the gifted William Christie but I cannot abide watching them again. I listen to them but will not view. Why? Because they are the victims of "Regie Konzept (Director's Concept) Disease." Beautiful music is playing but some gross distorted bodies are doing "modern concept dance". Squirms and squiggles abound as their bodies are stretched over stumps and lumps and their eyes widen in pseudo-religious ecstasy. There's Zoroastre, Castor et Pollux, Les Indes Galante etc etc. (I also have a bunch of Handel operas afflicted with a similar disease). Trying to convey the art and meaning of the composer and librettist's work appropriate to the spirit of the composition seems to be an anathema to these "Regies" Ah! but now along comes our savior Emmanuelle Haim. She and her crew strive to give us this great art in it's native habitat; in it's own reality. Cheers! all 'round.This opera is a monumental "Tragedie en Musique". It is Rameau's first (1733) and probably greatest. It is the worthy product of Rameau and Abbe Pellegrin's adaptation of the Phaedre tragic love story found in Racine's "Phedre", Euripides "Hippolytus" and Seneca's "Phaedre". Early performances of this opera were troubled by the cast finding the work too difficult to perform even after several cuts and alterations. It never reached the popularity of later Rameau works such as Castor et Pollux, Les Indes Galante or Les Boreades. From 1908 on revivals of the complete Hippolyte et Aricie have gradually attained and affirmed the value of this monumental work. Ms Haim has used the stilted style of sung declamation to emphasize the tragedy of Theseas and Phaedra. The act three monologue of Phaedra as she prays to Venus about her guilty love for her step-son Hippolytus is "Cruelle mere des amours" with it's subtle changes of harmony and tempo is one of the most enchanting pieces in all Baroque opera that I know.The cast is uniformly talented and appropriate to the roles. The sets are gorgeous, subtle and have the feeling of the world of Rameau and Abbe Pellegrin. Ms. Haim is a genius in bringing together these talented instrumentalists, dancers, singers. set designers, costumers etc to produce a magnificent, successful and beautiful performance. I think Rameau would have been pleased.

Act II in Hades alone is worth 5 stars. This is one of the best productions I have seen on dvd. I’m only through the first disc but so far everything seems to be flawless. I’ve been a fan of Haim ever since watching the Poppea with Sonya Yoncheva (the one you can purchase). The music is played at a top notch level. As I was getting settled in my space I started the disc and before even sitting down I was immersed as the opening notes played and the initial images and credits appeared. This is a traditional staging. It is not boring at all. Like any opera, you have to sit back and take it all in. I am watching with English subtitles, but the quality of the music and atmosphere of the staging is enough to hold one’s attention even without knowing the story. I love the upside down fake heads that become right side up real heads. You really feel like the character in Hades got himself into a bad predicament.

I saw this production at the Palais Garnier, I left thinking that I had seen a major accomplishment. I often see performances that are really good, *but* there is some aspect that was either annoying or just not up to the quality of the other aspects. This is a performance for which there is no "but…". It was superlative. The DVD is really good. Had I not actually seen the production on stage, I would probably think that the DVD is superlative. It just doesn't quite capture the full richness of the performance. There was just too much happening on stage to be captured by any single sequence of camera shots. The staging was spectacular and sensitive to the period. The orchestra and cast were commensurate. Few baroque performances on DVD attain this quality.I don't generally like comparing performances unless to compare particular strengths. However, current trends in baroque opera are acutely painful. I saw the original Christie production of this opera when it was at BAM, which was, if recorded, never released. It was sensitive to its period, while executing a large number of contemporary visual jokes (Mercury arrived with a balloon bouquet, Neptune's train was made of seaweed and continued to cross the stage long after Neptune had left, and so forth.) I enjoyed it immensely. The CD from that production is still unparalleled, especially for the trio of les parques. However, Christie's current DVD of this opera may well have set a new standard in uglification. Don't support ugly opera, get this one instead.

There are three outstanding aspects of this opera dvd: 1) The singers, all of them, give brilliant performances. I want to especially highlight Stephane Degout as Theseus who dominates Act Two (?) which occurs in the Underworld as a helpless hero pleads for the life of his friend. Rameau's librettist does not even attempt to be faithful to the mythological story. What we have instead is the Man of the Enlightenment eloquently arguing for humane behavior even from those with absolute power. Theseus has no special powers or authority beyond this moral appeal. Stephane Degout sings Rameau's gorgeous, sensuous music with the most beautiful baritone tones. I was so taken with his singing that I immediately played Act Two a second time before moving on with the opera. Emmanuelle Haim and her orchestra once again show themselves among the leading artists of the Baroque tradition. Enough said. 2) The production (Thank all the gods and goddesses) is a period production just like the instruments and performance style. No director has distorted the baroque meaning by foisting contemporary mores on the 17th century work. We opera listeners are really smart people: we don't need these anachronistic directors forcing their views on us. WE CAN DO THE WORK OF INTERPRETATION AND CONTEMPORARY APPLICATIONS OURSELVES. Got that! I mean it. I fed up with these ugly contemporary MORALITY TALES. 3) This is one of Rameau's supreme masterpieces. Enough said.

If you are a fan of Rameau with his dotted rhythms and block chords then you are going to love this production.It is a love story with plenty of intervention from the gods. The vagaries and twists of the plot are far too many to summarise. When watching it is advisable to have the synopsis to hand.The costumes are brilliant, designed for the event and fantastic in the true sense of fantasy, ladies in long skirts and square cut necklines, without being too revealing.The men have short stiffened skirts with breeches and stockings they have high necklines. The costumes apart from some lead characters are in sepia tints with stylistic variations.There are artistic backdrops for scenes which are noticeable for their quality.I like the way gods descend from the heavens or appear from the underworld.The dance sequences are very good with the dancers in costumes following the same theme in colouring and in style as are the chorus when on stage.The production is spread over 2 discs with acts 1 and 2 on the first disc and 3 to 5 on the second.I have not singled out individual singers as there are some 15 named roles, there is not a weak link among them. the chorus who do get a lot of work are very pleasing to the ear.The production is nearly 3 hours long so I watched over two eveningsThe glossy booklet could have been more informative, there is a cast listing, attributions for production teams and synopsis but no timings or attributions for arias, which I would have liked..

Everything about this production of Hippolyte et Ariche is top grade: music, orchestra, staging, costumes, direction, acting, singing and dancing are all of the very best. and it's an absolute delight to watch over and over again without tiring of it. Even though this is not Blu-Ray, both sound and picture quality are of the very best. The inspiring joie de vivre, so typical of Rameau's works, is well portrayed and delivered here. and this period in the evolution of opera deserves to be better known and more popular. I always think that Rameau's music has the ability to both inspire and relax at the same time and this is very true of this production. It's as if we are being told: although life is full of pain, conflict and trouble, it's nevertheless possible to overcome all this if we go about things the right way even in the face of adversity. Music and dancing are all around us waiting for us to join in, always remembering that even the most mundane of tasks has its music.Most of the female costumes are low cut, long sleeved, narrow waisted, puffed out and long skirted with the hair worn up and away from face and shoulders, all of which is inexplicably attractive. Some of the female dancers appear clad in what seem to be long knickers or bloomers reaching to just below the knee and over which they wear a lattice framework as if they had forgotten to put on their flared-out skirts. It's all fascinating to watch. Most of the male singers and dancers wear knee breeches under flared kilts and have hairstyles very similar to the female ones. There are lots of arrows carried in quivers on the backs of bow bearing men and women and we have the de rigueur classical conflict between Cupid and Diana.(Diane) Gods and goddesses such as Diana and Neptune always appear comfortably seated from above in the clouds. It's all exceptionally well done.One of the special delights of this production is Jael Azzaretti in the role of L'Amour (Cupid). who receives an especially warm ovation for her verging on b canto performance towards the end of the work. But everyone and everything about this great production is inspiringly good including Le Concert d'Astree Orchestre et Choeur directed by Emmanuelle Haim. It's so encouraging to see a female conductor. I'm so pleased I bought this and I would be very surprised if there are any opera lovers who wouldn't enjoy it as much as I do.

The opera's main characters are all taken from classic Greek mythology and retells the tale of Phaedra, based on Euripides. Paèdra, wife of the absent Tésée, is consumed with an incestuous love for her stepson Hippolyte but dare not confess it. Her nurse draws the secret from here and reveals it to Hippolyte. Paèdra, overcome with shame and fearing lest her guilty love be made known to Tésée by her stepson, decides to hang herself, but before doing so leaves tablets on which she accuses the youth of having attempted her honor and declares that she is ashamed to live after such an affront. Tésée returns and, without allowing Hippolyte to clear himself, calls upon Neptune to fulfill a promise the god had once made and to compass the young man's death.The production does its best to replicate a sense of the original spectacle using period style props, backdrops and stage effects. The sets, forest glades, pillared halls, curved stone vaults etc., are all painted canvases sliding in and out and up and down. Acting throughout is stylized and all are at ease with the theatrical gestures of the time. The costumes are exquisitely crafted and there are powdered wigs and exaggerated make-up. Batteries of candles for soft, warm lighting add to the attempt to make a Baroque opera actually look Baroque onstage.True period authenticity is fascinating, but the main problem with these reconstitutions, is that the heavy make-up, elaborate costumes and stiff poses are passion-killers and none of it really does anything for a dramatic style, that already feels dated. The attempt to replicate a candlelit environment means that fantastic costumes full of greens, reds, and golds end up looking dusty, faded and murky. Still, it's great fun to watch the DVD, just like being at the court of Louis XIV.The tenor Topi Lehtipuu sounds a little edgy as Hippolyte, but the soprano Anne-Catherine Gillet is a lovely Aricie who sings with generous tone. However, their roles never really come to life. The splendid mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly makes a sympathetic character of Paèdra, erupting in jealous rage and touching in bitter regret. The baritone Stéphane Degout gives a masterful, dignified performance as Tésée. Emmanuelle Haïm, who understand the Baroque and its aesthetic so well, and the Orchestra and Chorus of Concert d'Astrée do justice to Rameau's score.In the light of today's large screens it is a pity that we have to make do with such low-definition image quality. However, this visually sumptuous production is one of the most delightful productions I have seen and heard for a long time and it is a 'must have' for Baroque fans. Others have been warned.

A wonderful baroque production of a fabulous baroque opera. This is how all early opera should be done rather than the loony self-obsessed eurotrash productions that are foisted on us. I haven't seen it but I guess the Christie/Glyndebourne alternative is in this category.In this case the director has used very authentic staging and scenery contemporaneous of the time (1733). I particularly liked the sepia/mud green palette of the costumes and the appropriately matched browns of the backdrops and side panels...and they moved in and out in the correct manner.The mannerisms and singing quality of the performers were spot-on too...and of course...There's Sarah Connelly!!If you are a baroque fan and fancy Rameu's first opera I'd recommend you go for this version. You won't be disappointed.

Rameau is so great, so inventive. But his operas don't cut the mustard dramatically, being hampered by ridiculous mythical plots. From that point of view, this is the more sensible and engaging. The performance is good, the production 'authentic'; though not as brilliantly so as - in a similar vein - the Christie Lully 'Atys'.