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Christophe Rousset - Platée, La Calisto and Semele
Sensual pleasures of an insatiable god
Christophe Rousset & Les Talens Lyriques delight in Jupiter’s amorous follies Platée, La Calisto and Semele in three Baroque operas by Rameau, Cavalli and Handel
Strasbourg, Paris, Brussels, London - Spring & Summer 2010
Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmzy8jYK-m4 Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques thrust their energies into three ravishingly sensuous operas by Rameau, Cavalli and Handel in Strasbourg, Paris, Brussels and London. The operas catalogue Jupiter’s conquests with the deluded nymphette Platée, would-be wife La Calisto and run-away bride Semele, but jealous wife Juno is never more than a lightening bolt behind to scupper his liaisons. With his period instrument orchestra and a stellar line-up of soloists including Danielle de Niese, Veronique Gens, Vivica Genaux and Lawrence Zazzo, Rousset will whip up a whirlwind of passions, lust, jealousy, seduction, mania, ambition, blindness and revenge - love in all its myriad manifestations.
Rousset traces the erotic exploits of the god in three separate mythological tales:
• Rameau’s Platée at the Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg and Mulhouse in a new production by director Mariame Clément from 12 March, followed by a concert performance of La Calisto in Brussels at BOZAR, on 1 April.
Followed by two operas at the Theatre des Champs-Elysées:
• Cavalli’s La Calisto in a new production by Macha Makeïeff from 5 May 2010
• Handel’s Semele in a revival of David Mc Vicar’s production from 30 June, followed by a concert performance of Semele in London at the Barbican on 8 July.
Christophe Rousset, celebrated harpsichordist and conductor, specialises in baroque and classical repertoire with a particular focus on the Naples-Paris axis. He has delved into the operas, which have emanated from these two major musical centres and how they impacted on contemporary composers across Europe from Handel to Mozart. Over the following months, Rousset explores early 17th Century Italian opera, French opera created nearly a century later for the court of Versailles and an English oratorio by Handel, inspired by the composer’s early exposure to opera in Italy.
Opéra National du Rhin, Strasbourg
Platée by Rameau NEW PRODUCTION Directed by Mariame Clément
Opening night: 12 March at 20.00 14 March at 15.00, 16,18, 20, 22 March at 20.00 Mulhouse: 28 March at 15.00 & 30 March at 20.00 Bozar, Brussels: 1 April at 19.30 (concert version)
In a new production for the Opéra National du Rhin et Mulhouse, Christophe Rousset and Mariame Clément mount a modern interpretation of Rameau’s first comic opera Platée, who is jilted in her wedding dress.
Rameau, who only started to write opera at the ripe age of 50, was promoted by the Court of Versailles to glorify the art of French opera in direct rivalry with its Italian counterpart. Written in 1745 during the Guerre des Bouffons, the battle between the warring factions of the Italian and French operatic styles, Platée itself is a parody of an Italian opera. Commissioned for the wedding in Versailles of the Dauphine to the purportedly unflattering Infanta Maria Teresa of Spain, Platée tells the tale of an ugly water nymph in the form of a frog who is deluded by the advances of Jupiter. Despite its scantily veiled allusions, the opera proved a huge success and was a precursor to Rameau’s other comedy Les Paladins, which has been recently revived over the past decade.
Naive Platée is fooled into believing that Jupiter will swoop down and marry her: "The god of thunder, drawn to earth by your beauty, wishes to cast at your feet both his heart and the Universe". Little does she know that she is the victim of a scam invented by Jupiter to wind up his over-jealous wife Juno. Platée adorns herself in wedding gown but at the last minute is abandoned at the altar, when Juno arrives in a rage. The long-suffering wife, scorning the nymph for her unseemly appearance, zooms back up to heaven with her philandering husband.
Rousset has a rare affinity for and intimate connection with Rameau’s music, having won a Gramophone Award for his recordings of the composer’s complete harpsichord music and also for the album of Overtures. He teams up with Mariame Clement, who updates the opera with a modern staging setting it in the post-war era of enchanted prosperity and consumerism, that will evoke the world of Jacques Tati’s film Mon Oncle. They are joined by a cast which includes Emiliano Gonzalez Toro in the lead role, Judith van Wanroij as Juno, François Lis as Jupiter, Céline Scheen as L’Amour and Clarine, Cyril Auvity as Thespis and Mercure, Evgueniy Alexiev as Momus and Cithéron, Christophe Gay as Un Satyre and Salomé Haller as Thalie and La Folie.
The run in Strasburg is followed by a concert performance of La Calisto in Brussels at the BOZAR on 1 April.
Rousset will again be collaborating with Mariame Clement next year in Vienna on Rameau’s most celebrated opera Castor et Pollux.
Theatre des Champs-Elysées
La Calisto by Cavalli NEW PRODUCTION Directed by Macha Makeïeff
Opening night: 5 May at 19.30 Run: 7 May at 19.30, 9 May at 17.00, 11, 14 at 19.30
In recent years, there has been a flurry of excitement at the rediscovery of Francesco Cavalli’s music and in particular his playfully erotic opera La Calisto, which has resulted in a number of productions in opera houses across Europe. Cavalli, who worked initially as a singer under Monteverdi, became a prolific composer of 20 operas and was in demand abroad. His opera Ercole Amante was commissioned for the wedding of Louis XIV in France.
Rousset returns to the music of Cavalli following a production of the composer’s Didone in Lausanne 9 years ago. He’s working with a second female director this season, Macha Makeïeff on a contemporary staging of La Calisto.
As Rousset explains:
“Typical of Venetian Commedia dell’Arte, La Calisto is a whirlwind comedy of errors, mistaken identities, misplaced attractions, deceptions, thwarted advances and future promises. The music has an incredible verve and lightness. I am greatly looking forward to working with Macha, who brings a warm-hearted humour and tenderness to her depiction of human foibles.”
Originally written for the Venice Carnival in 1652, the opera recounts the tale of innocent nymph Calisto, who wants to remain chaste all her days. When Jupiter/Giove discovers her beauty, he tries to seduce her to no avail. In the spirit of masquerading and cross-dressing at the heart of carnival, Jupiter disguises himself as the goddess Diana to lure the nymph, who falls for his deception. The real goddess Diana in the meantime has succumbed to the passionate embraces of Endemione, who later discovers his lover’s supposed two-timing. As confusion and suspicion spreads, Juno swoops down to take her revenge, turning the nymph into a bear. Ever-resourceful Giove promises her a place in heaven as compensation when her life as a bear on earth runs out.
Following her performances of Eternità in the Covent Garden production of the same opera, Véronique Gens joins the Paris cast in the role of jealous Juno. Calisto is sung by Sophie Kathäuser, the Belgian soprano alongside Lawrence Zazzo as Endimione, Giovanni Battista Pardo as Jove, Marie-Claude Chappuis as Eternità and Diana, Milea Stori as Linfea, Cyril Auvity as Natura and Pane, Mario Cassi as Mercurio and Sabina Puértolas as Il Satirino.
Theatre des Champs-Elysées
Semele by Handel Revival of production by director David Mc Vicar
Opening night: 30 June at 19.30 Run: 2 July at 19.30, 4 July at 17.00 and 6 July at 19.30 London’s Barbican: 8 July at 18.30
In his second production of the opera this season following the hotly-debated opening of the season at La Monnaie with Chinese artist Zhang Huan working in opera for the first time, Christophe Rousset will lead the revival of David Mc Vicar’s production of Semele with a stunning cast. Semele is a rare hybrid work, a would-be opera couching its eroticism in the form an English oratorio to pay lip service to Puritanism. On her wedding day Semele pleads not to be given in marriage to Athamas, for she is in love with Jupiter, and begs the god for help. Semele, surrounded by flames, is seized by a mighty eagle and snatched heavenward, leaving a diffusion of 'Celestial odour and ambrosial dew'. Jupiter installs his concubine in a new palace but Semele, restless and unable to sleep, is anxious about her delicate status in heaven. Jupiter distracts her enveloping her in embraces and flattery, ‘I must with speed amuse her’. Jupiter’s enraged wife takes her revenge on Semele, appearing in disguise, flattering the mistress with her own reflection to which Semele responds “Myself I shall adore”, and then dupes the upstart into a scheme to bring about her own destruction.
As Christophe Rousset explains:
“Driven by vanity, lust and ambition, Semele risks everything for her love of Jupiter and ultimately dies for it in a fireball of thunder and lightning. Handel has taken a very human story and has veiled it with music of sumptuous beauty evoking pathos for Semele’s ambition and Juno’s jealousy.”
David Mc Vicar teams up again with Danielle de Niese following their sensational collaboration on the hugely popular production of Giulio Cesare for Glyndebourne Opera, which has been revived twice since its first run. The critically-acclaimed mezzo-soprano Vivica Genaux takes the part of formidable Juno, making a strong duo for the two main tragic heroines. The star cast also includes Richard Croft as Jupiter, Peter Rose as Cadmus and Ino, Jaël Azzaretti as Iris, Stephen Wallace as Athams and Claire Debono as Cupid.
Following the run in Paris, Rousset will bring the cast to London’s Barbican for a concert performance on 8 July.
Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques
Since winning the prestigious first prize in the 7th Bruges Harpsichord Competition at the age of 22, he has built his reputation as a harpsichordist, conductor but above all as a “musical archaeologist”. His insatiable curiosity has led him to explore the overlooked repertoire of 17th and 18th Century, much of which has remained hidden in libraries, un-played for centuries.
To this end, Rousset founded his own period instrument orchestra Les Talens Lyriques in 1991. Inspired by the work of the earlier generation of period instrument conductors such as Sir John Eliot Gardiner, William Christie, Rousset has paved his own distinct path that bucks the conventions.
In his quest to understand the musical history along the Paris-Naples axis, Rousset has reignited interest in the forgotten contemporaries of Handel and Mozart. His driven conviction has led him to mount performances of dusty opera scores by Jommelli, Martin y Soler, Cimarosa and Traetta.
Rousset’s vivacity has inspired and guided his orchestra to unearth hidden gems, which have gone on to become award-winning recordings. Amongst these, the discography includes Mozart’s early opera Mitridate, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, and more recently aria albums with sopranos Veronique Gens and Joyce di Donato.
They have made several premiere recordings including Lully’s Roland, Salieri’s La Grotta di Trofonio, Jommelli’s Armida Abbandonata, Traetta’s Antigona and Martin y Soler’s Il tutore burlato, and mostly recently Manuel Garcia’s Califfo di Bagdad.
Rousset’s team also created the soundtrack to the film Farinelli about the celebrated castrato. The recording was an incredible feat, which blended soprano and countertenor voices to re-imagine this lost vocal range. The recording catapulted Rousset into the limelight.
As it approaches the end of its second decade there is a freshness to Les Talens Lyriques, personified by their relentless energy, capricious humour and stylish verve coupled with a piquant sensuality. Above all, this is always tempered by an integrity to the original styles of the period.
For further information, please contact: Nicky Thomas Media Consultancy Mobile: 00 44 7768 566530 Email: nickycathomas@btinternet.com
Christophe Rousset & Les Talens Lyriques delight in Jupiter’s amorous follies Platée, La Calisto and Semele in three Baroque operas by Rameau, Cavalli and Handel
Strasbourg, Paris, Brussels, London - Spring & Summer 2010
Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmzy8jYK-m4 Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques thrust their energies into three ravishingly sensuous operas by Rameau, Cavalli and Handel in Strasbourg, Paris, Brussels and London. The operas catalogue Jupiter’s conquests with the deluded nymphette Platée, would-be wife La Calisto and run-away bride Semele, but jealous wife Juno is never more than a lightening bolt behind to scupper his liaisons. With his period instrument orchestra and a stellar line-up of soloists including Danielle de Niese, Veronique Gens, Vivica Genaux and Lawrence Zazzo, Rousset will whip up a whirlwind of passions, lust, jealousy, seduction, mania, ambition, blindness and revenge - love in all its myriad manifestations.
Rousset traces the erotic exploits of the god in three separate mythological tales:
• Rameau’s Platée at the Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg and Mulhouse in a new production by director Mariame Clément from 12 March, followed by a concert performance of La Calisto in Brussels at BOZAR, on 1 April.
Followed by two operas at the Theatre des Champs-Elysées:
• Cavalli’s La Calisto in a new production by Macha Makeïeff from 5 May 2010
• Handel’s Semele in a revival of David Mc Vicar’s production from 30 June, followed by a concert performance of Semele in London at the Barbican on 8 July.
Christophe Rousset, celebrated harpsichordist and conductor, specialises in baroque and classical repertoire with a particular focus on the Naples-Paris axis. He has delved into the operas, which have emanated from these two major musical centres and how they impacted on contemporary composers across Europe from Handel to Mozart. Over the following months, Rousset explores early 17th Century Italian opera, French opera created nearly a century later for the court of Versailles and an English oratorio by Handel, inspired by the composer’s early exposure to opera in Italy.
Opéra National du Rhin, Strasbourg
Platée by Rameau NEW PRODUCTION Directed by Mariame Clément
Opening night: 12 March at 20.00 14 March at 15.00, 16,18, 20, 22 March at 20.00 Mulhouse: 28 March at 15.00 & 30 March at 20.00 Bozar, Brussels: 1 April at 19.30 (concert version)
In a new production for the Opéra National du Rhin et Mulhouse, Christophe Rousset and Mariame Clément mount a modern interpretation of Rameau’s first comic opera Platée, who is jilted in her wedding dress.
Rameau, who only started to write opera at the ripe age of 50, was promoted by the Court of Versailles to glorify the art of French opera in direct rivalry with its Italian counterpart. Written in 1745 during the Guerre des Bouffons, the battle between the warring factions of the Italian and French operatic styles, Platée itself is a parody of an Italian opera. Commissioned for the wedding in Versailles of the Dauphine to the purportedly unflattering Infanta Maria Teresa of Spain, Platée tells the tale of an ugly water nymph in the form of a frog who is deluded by the advances of Jupiter. Despite its scantily veiled allusions, the opera proved a huge success and was a precursor to Rameau’s other comedy Les Paladins, which has been recently revived over the past decade.
Naive Platée is fooled into believing that Jupiter will swoop down and marry her: "The god of thunder, drawn to earth by your beauty, wishes to cast at your feet both his heart and the Universe". Little does she know that she is the victim of a scam invented by Jupiter to wind up his over-jealous wife Juno. Platée adorns herself in wedding gown but at the last minute is abandoned at the altar, when Juno arrives in a rage. The long-suffering wife, scorning the nymph for her unseemly appearance, zooms back up to heaven with her philandering husband.
Rousset has a rare affinity for and intimate connection with Rameau’s music, having won a Gramophone Award for his recordings of the composer’s complete harpsichord music and also for the album of Overtures. He teams up with Mariame Clement, who updates the opera with a modern staging setting it in the post-war era of enchanted prosperity and consumerism, that will evoke the world of Jacques Tati’s film Mon Oncle. They are joined by a cast which includes Emiliano Gonzalez Toro in the lead role, Judith van Wanroij as Juno, François Lis as Jupiter, Céline Scheen as L’Amour and Clarine, Cyril Auvity as Thespis and Mercure, Evgueniy Alexiev as Momus and Cithéron, Christophe Gay as Un Satyre and Salomé Haller as Thalie and La Folie.
The run in Strasburg is followed by a concert performance of La Calisto in Brussels at the BOZAR on 1 April.
Rousset will again be collaborating with Mariame Clement next year in Vienna on Rameau’s most celebrated opera Castor et Pollux.
Theatre des Champs-Elysées
La Calisto by Cavalli NEW PRODUCTION Directed by Macha Makeïeff
Opening night: 5 May at 19.30 Run: 7 May at 19.30, 9 May at 17.00, 11, 14 at 19.30
In recent years, there has been a flurry of excitement at the rediscovery of Francesco Cavalli’s music and in particular his playfully erotic opera La Calisto, which has resulted in a number of productions in opera houses across Europe. Cavalli, who worked initially as a singer under Monteverdi, became a prolific composer of 20 operas and was in demand abroad. His opera Ercole Amante was commissioned for the wedding of Louis XIV in France.
Rousset returns to the music of Cavalli following a production of the composer’s Didone in Lausanne 9 years ago. He’s working with a second female director this season, Macha Makeïeff on a contemporary staging of La Calisto.
As Rousset explains:
“Typical of Venetian Commedia dell’Arte, La Calisto is a whirlwind comedy of errors, mistaken identities, misplaced attractions, deceptions, thwarted advances and future promises. The music has an incredible verve and lightness. I am greatly looking forward to working with Macha, who brings a warm-hearted humour and tenderness to her depiction of human foibles.”
Originally written for the Venice Carnival in 1652, the opera recounts the tale of innocent nymph Calisto, who wants to remain chaste all her days. When Jupiter/Giove discovers her beauty, he tries to seduce her to no avail. In the spirit of masquerading and cross-dressing at the heart of carnival, Jupiter disguises himself as the goddess Diana to lure the nymph, who falls for his deception. The real goddess Diana in the meantime has succumbed to the passionate embraces of Endemione, who later discovers his lover’s supposed two-timing. As confusion and suspicion spreads, Juno swoops down to take her revenge, turning the nymph into a bear. Ever-resourceful Giove promises her a place in heaven as compensation when her life as a bear on earth runs out.
Following her performances of Eternità in the Covent Garden production of the same opera, Véronique Gens joins the Paris cast in the role of jealous Juno. Calisto is sung by Sophie Kathäuser, the Belgian soprano alongside Lawrence Zazzo as Endimione, Giovanni Battista Pardo as Jove, Marie-Claude Chappuis as Eternità and Diana, Milea Stori as Linfea, Cyril Auvity as Natura and Pane, Mario Cassi as Mercurio and Sabina Puértolas as Il Satirino.
Theatre des Champs-Elysées
Semele by Handel Revival of production by director David Mc Vicar
Opening night: 30 June at 19.30 Run: 2 July at 19.30, 4 July at 17.00 and 6 July at 19.30 London’s Barbican: 8 July at 18.30
In his second production of the opera this season following the hotly-debated opening of the season at La Monnaie with Chinese artist Zhang Huan working in opera for the first time, Christophe Rousset will lead the revival of David Mc Vicar’s production of Semele with a stunning cast. Semele is a rare hybrid work, a would-be opera couching its eroticism in the form an English oratorio to pay lip service to Puritanism. On her wedding day Semele pleads not to be given in marriage to Athamas, for she is in love with Jupiter, and begs the god for help. Semele, surrounded by flames, is seized by a mighty eagle and snatched heavenward, leaving a diffusion of 'Celestial odour and ambrosial dew'. Jupiter installs his concubine in a new palace but Semele, restless and unable to sleep, is anxious about her delicate status in heaven. Jupiter distracts her enveloping her in embraces and flattery, ‘I must with speed amuse her’. Jupiter’s enraged wife takes her revenge on Semele, appearing in disguise, flattering the mistress with her own reflection to which Semele responds “Myself I shall adore”, and then dupes the upstart into a scheme to bring about her own destruction.
As Christophe Rousset explains:
“Driven by vanity, lust and ambition, Semele risks everything for her love of Jupiter and ultimately dies for it in a fireball of thunder and lightning. Handel has taken a very human story and has veiled it with music of sumptuous beauty evoking pathos for Semele’s ambition and Juno’s jealousy.”
David Mc Vicar teams up again with Danielle de Niese following their sensational collaboration on the hugely popular production of Giulio Cesare for Glyndebourne Opera, which has been revived twice since its first run. The critically-acclaimed mezzo-soprano Vivica Genaux takes the part of formidable Juno, making a strong duo for the two main tragic heroines. The star cast also includes Richard Croft as Jupiter, Peter Rose as Cadmus and Ino, Jaël Azzaretti as Iris, Stephen Wallace as Athams and Claire Debono as Cupid.
Following the run in Paris, Rousset will bring the cast to London’s Barbican for a concert performance on 8 July.
Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques
Since winning the prestigious first prize in the 7th Bruges Harpsichord Competition at the age of 22, he has built his reputation as a harpsichordist, conductor but above all as a “musical archaeologist”. His insatiable curiosity has led him to explore the overlooked repertoire of 17th and 18th Century, much of which has remained hidden in libraries, un-played for centuries.
To this end, Rousset founded his own period instrument orchestra Les Talens Lyriques in 1991. Inspired by the work of the earlier generation of period instrument conductors such as Sir John Eliot Gardiner, William Christie, Rousset has paved his own distinct path that bucks the conventions.
In his quest to understand the musical history along the Paris-Naples axis, Rousset has reignited interest in the forgotten contemporaries of Handel and Mozart. His driven conviction has led him to mount performances of dusty opera scores by Jommelli, Martin y Soler, Cimarosa and Traetta.
Rousset’s vivacity has inspired and guided his orchestra to unearth hidden gems, which have gone on to become award-winning recordings. Amongst these, the discography includes Mozart’s early opera Mitridate, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, and more recently aria albums with sopranos Veronique Gens and Joyce di Donato.
They have made several premiere recordings including Lully’s Roland, Salieri’s La Grotta di Trofonio, Jommelli’s Armida Abbandonata, Traetta’s Antigona and Martin y Soler’s Il tutore burlato, and mostly recently Manuel Garcia’s Califfo di Bagdad.
Rousset’s team also created the soundtrack to the film Farinelli about the celebrated castrato. The recording was an incredible feat, which blended soprano and countertenor voices to re-imagine this lost vocal range. The recording catapulted Rousset into the limelight.
As it approaches the end of its second decade there is a freshness to Les Talens Lyriques, personified by their relentless energy, capricious humour and stylish verve coupled with a piquant sensuality. Above all, this is always tempered by an integrity to the original styles of the period.
For further information, please contact: Nicky Thomas Media Consultancy Mobile: 00 44 7768 566530 Email: nickycathomas@btinternet.com
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