RAMEAU: Platee (Paris Opera, 2002) (PAL)

Jean Philippe RAMEAU (1683-1764)
Platée

Conductor: Marc Minkowski
Orchestra: Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble
Director: Don Kent
Libretto by: Adrien-Joseph Le Valois d'Orville

DV-OPPLT

Picture Format: 16:9 Anamorphic
Sound Format: LPCM stereo, Dolby Digital 5.0, DTS 5.0
Running Time: 150 minutes
Region Code: PAL 2
Booklet Languages: GB, F, D
Recording Date: February 2002

• The opera Platée by Jean Philippe Rameau is not just a comic opera but an opera in which the Gods of Olympus play a part.

• With his tragedies lyriques Jean Baptiste Lully had banned all comical characters from the opera, and musical comedies had become unfashionable. Thanks to works by André Campra and Jean-Joseph Mouret, however, the genre had not disappeared completely, and Rameau made his own contribution with Platée.

• On a musical level, Rameau was able to allow his creativeness free reign, because Platée is a so-called ballet bouffon of a distinctly light-entertainment character. Platée was above all to be a great spectacle with lengthy ballet passages, magnificent costumes and, first and foremost, brilliant music.

• Described by Le Monde as a "veritable revelation musically and dramatically", this is the Opera National de Paris' stunning and vibrant production of 2002. Directed by the formidable Mark Minkowski, very much at home in this genre, it carries a style reminiscent of Rocky Horror, while still providing a perfect vehicle for the operatic talents of its stars.

Cast

Platée: Paul Agnew
La Folie, Thalie: Mireille Delunsch
Thespis, Mercure: Yann Beuron
Juno: Doris Lamprecht
Citheron, a Satyr: Laurent Naouri
L'Amour, Clarine: Valerie Gabail
Momus: Franck Leguerinel