Paul Agnew

The Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera collaborate in Wayne McGregor's production of Handel and Gay's classic opera, in which the nymph Galatea falls in love with a shepherd named Acis.

"William Christie and Les Arts Florissants propel this exuberant production of Jean-Philippe Rameau's second opera to great heights. Andrei Serban's extravagant, highly baroque staging presents the four exotic love stories vibrantly. In 'Le Turc généreux' Osman sets free his captive, Emilie, whom he loves, so that she may be reunited with her former lover, Valère; 'Les Incas de Pérou' is all about the rivalry of the Inca Huascar and the Spaniard Don Carlos, both in pursuit of Princess Phani; 'Les Fleurs' offers a Persian love intrigue, as the Sultana Fatime tries to detect whether her husband Tacmas has his eye on the lovely Atalide; and 'Les Sauvages' takes us to North America, where a Spaniard and a Frenchman compete for the love of Zima, daughter of a native chief, who prefers one of her own people." — from the DVD cover

Director Robert Carsen and his creative team flood the stage with summer blossoms, drifts of autumn leaves, winter snows and thunderous spring storms. The cast of 140 are attired in elegant costumes inspired by late 1940s Dior. This mythical tale of a young queen, Alphise, determined to abdicate rather than contemplate an enforced marriage to a descendant of Boreas, is nothing less than highly-charged.

Platée est une comédie lyrique de Jean-Philippe Rameau, qualifiée de "ballet boufon" à sa création, le 31 mars 1745 à Versailles, à l'occasion du mariage du fils de Louis XV, le dauphin Louis, avec l'infante espagnole Marie-Thérèse. Certains esprits rieurs verront de nombreuses allusions à cet hymen dans l'intrigue entre Jupiter et Platée, notamment à cause de la réputation de laideron qui précédait la pauvre Marie-Thérèse. L'oeuvre se compose d'un prologue et de trois actes, sur un livret tiré de "Platée ou Junon jalouse" du dramaturge Jacques Autreau. C'est l'opéra le plus populaire de Rameau avec "les indes galantes" Rarement l'orchestre ramellien aura été si séduisant, les rythmes si inventifs que dans cette cruelle mais hilarante histoire placée sous le signe de la Folie d'un laideron qui se croit irrésistible.

Ton Koopman and Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir. Recorded live at Joriskerk, Amersfoort, the Netherlands, Mar 22-23, 2005.

A production of Lully's 1686 tragédie lyrique masterpiece directed by William Christie at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées.

Platée is a character whose self-deception and entrancement places her in the middle of a heartless plot, devised by the gods to cure Juno of her obsessive jealousy over Jupiter and his romantic attachments. Jupiter pretends to fall in love with Platée only to abandon her once Juno arrives, proving she has no reason to be jealous. Comedy had traditionally played little part in French opera. Lully soon eliminated comic episodes from his tragedies; from then until the appearance of this work, only a handful of operas had comic themes. That for Platée is the mock marriage between the god Jupiter and an ugly marsh nymph, who is totally convinced of her own charms.