Rameau, airs et scènes

With the choir and orchestra of Les Arts Florissants taking center stage, William Christie revisits some of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s greatest operas, selecting his favorite passages to reinterpret them during a “tailor-made” evening. 

A major figure of the French Baroque and a cornerstone of Les Arts Florissants’ repertoire, Jean-Philippe Rameau is the author of some of the most fundamental operas for the musical aesthetics of the Grand Siècle, which William Christie has played a major role in bringing back to light. This anthology-style program brings together excerpts from several of his masterpieces. Blending dance suites and memorable scenes—whose long-forgotten arias are now well known to audiences—it illustrates Rameau’s inexhaustible verve and extraordinary genius, from the refined and jubilant spirit of opera-ballets such as Les Fêtes d’Hébé or Les Paladins, to the dramatic power of great lyric tragedies such as Hippolyte et Aricie, Castor et Pollux, Zoroastre, and Les Boréades.

A key ingredient in the Ensemble’s success, the Les Arts Florissants choir features prominently in this tailor-made programme specially conceived by William Christie. The singers will have the opportunity to showcase their versatility and brilliance alongside the orchestra, conducted by Emmanuel Resche-Caserta. Generous, varied, and dazzling, this large-scale project will allow audiences to rediscover the full splendor of Rameau’s great operatic productions!