Hippolyte et Aricie

"The stylish staging ... is a busy mix of ancient and modern, and it's an outstanding show musically. Elsa Benoit as Aricie sets the vocal standard with her gorgeous opening aria; Reinoud van Mechelen's Hippolyte and Stéphane Degout's Thésée match her, while the chorus and period band of Pygmalion under Raphaël Pichon are wonderfully committed, too".

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"Jean-Philippe Rameau's earliest opera Hippolyte et Aricie has certainly become his most successful work on recordings ... There is a special air of dedication which seems to infuse the performances of just about everyone involved in this production ... The resurgence of pandemic cases forced the closure of the theaters in France just as this was ready to reach the premiere. The company and the media sponsors decided to go ahead and stage the opera in the empty house ... This results in a rather strangely touching film of the curtain calls, with all of the artists, chorus, orchestra and extras seen standing silently in the empty auditorium to the sound of a superimposed applause track ... Vocally there are some real standout performances here ... Foremost among them is Stéphane Degout's superb assumption of Theseus ... The Ensemble Pygmalion are in fine form for their leader Raphaël Pichon. He directs the score with an admirable clarity that doesn't forget to add touches of individual flair here and there throughout this long score".

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"Pichon hat sich für die 1757er-Revision entschieden, sie verknappt und umgestellt. So tritt die Essenz der Geschichte ohne allzu viel schmückendes Barock-Divertissement zu Tage ... So beliebig und hässlich leer die szenische Zurichtung Jeanne Candels zwischen Treppen, Gipsköpfen, Putzkolonnen und Irrenhaus ohne jeden inhaltlichen Mehrwert ist, so spannungsvoll facettenreich erweist sich die musikalische Seite. Stéphane Degout als leidenschaftlicher Theseus sprengt fast sein Barockklangkostüm, ebenfalls ist Sylvie Brunet-Grupposo eine zerrissen leidende Phädra ... und Lea Desandre in verschiedenen Rollen ergänzen das stimmige Vokalensemble".

"This is at least the third production that William Christie has conducted and his enthusiasm inspires orchestra, chorus and all. If you enjoyed his and kent's The Fairy Queen, you will enjoy this".

"Eine französische Barockoper, die in einem monströsen Kühlschrank spielt ... Das ist so originell und unterhaltsam aufbereitet wie wendig geschnitten, und um das Barockglück voll zu machen, waltet im Graben der Altmeister William Christie, der mit lächelnd verzückter Miene ausnahmsweise ... The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment zu heiter vergnügtem, dabei delikat ausgekostetem Instrumentalspiel anleitet".

"Alexandre's rigorously historical production ... requires that singers almost always face the front and sing downstage, even when addressing lines to each other ... The controlled delivery of the drama is consequently unhurried and there are subtle ideas that might not be obvious at first viewing ... Stéphane Degout's dignified Theseus and Sarah Connolly's anguished Phaedra both sing magnificently".