Tragédie lyrique en cinq actes et un prologue créée le 1er octobre 1733 à l’Académie royale de musique sur un livret de Simon-Joseph Pellegrin, présentée ici dans la version remaniée en 5 actes correspondant aux reprises données à partir du 25 février 1757 à l’Académie royale de musique
OPÉRA EN VERSION DE CONCERT
REINOUD VAN MECHELEN, Hippolyte
MARIE LYS, Aricie
APHRODITE PATOULIDOU, Phèdre
CHRISTIAN IMMLER, Thésée
JULIETTE MEY, Diane
NEIMA FISCHER, La prêtresse de Diane, une matelote, une chasseresse, une bergère
PHILIPPE ESTÈPHE, Tisiphone
LYSANDRE CHÂLON, Pluton
KIERAN WHITE, Première Parque
JORDAN MOUAÏSSIA, Mercure et Deuxième Parque
ADRIEN FOURNAISON, Troisième Parque
CHOEUR DE CHAMBRE DE NAMUR
THIBAUT LENAERTS, chef de choeur
LES TALENS LYRIQUES
CHRISTOPHE ROUSSET, direction
The plot of Hippolyte et Aricie unfolds in ancient Greece, yet Rameau and Pellegrin do not portray the cradle of the arts and democracy. Instead, they depict an archaic Greece in its most untamed and primal aspects. In this opera, passions are unleashed with extraordinary intensity: Phèdre’s devouring and incestuous love is set against Aricie’s innocence, Thésée’s vengeful jealousy against Hippolyte’s terror. The religious dimension is transformed into a striking mysticism, vividly expressed in the invocations to the gods, pages of sublime power. In response to such a poignant libretto, Rameau composes music of striking contrasts, whose impact is truly exceptional. The second act, set entirely in the Underworld, is particularly remarkable in this regard. Though it is the composer’s first tragédie lyrique, it stands as a summit he would never surpass. André Campra recognised this at once, claiming that the opera contained enough music for ten!
Rameau reworked Hippolyte et Aricie many times over the years. I have chosen to present his final version, dating from 1757: notably, he removed the prologue entirely, giving the work a greater sense of unity and enhancing its dramatic impact. This recording of a testamentary Hippolyte et Aricie will complete our discography devoted to Rameau’soperatic works, following Zoroastre, Castor et Pollux, Les Indes galantes, and Zaïs.
Christophe Rousset