Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)
Platée (1745)
Lawrence Brownlee – Platée (tenor)
Julie Fuchs – La Folie, Thalie (soprano)
Reinoud van Mechelen – Mercure (tenor)
Mathias Vidal – Thespis (tenor)
Jean Teitgen – Jupiter (bass)
Adriana Bignani Lesca – Junon (mezzo)
Nahuel di Pierro – Cithéron, Satyr (bass)
Tamara Bounazou – L’Amour, Clarine (soprano)
Marc Mauillon – Momus (bass)
Les Musiciens du Louvre, Grenoble/Mark Minkowski
Staging – Laurent Pelly
rec. live, June, 2022, Palais Garnier, L’Opéra de Paris
BelAir BAC524 Blu-ray [153]
In 2022 the Paris opera celebrated the 20th anniversary of the celebrated Laurent Pelly production of Platée by staging this revival. The original 2002 production was filmed at the time and released on DVD by Arthaus (and on Blu-ray several years later). My colleague Paul Corfield Godfrey did not like the production all that much (review); after seeing this revival , I find the entire staging to be a brilliant, well thought out representation of Rameau’s opera-ballet.
Pelly, along with his designer Chantal Thomas, and choreographer Laura Scozzi, have come up with a constantly amusing reimagining of a masterpiece of the French Baroque era. They manage to pay tribute to the performing traditions and satirize them at the same time. Dance has a very strong presence in this work, far more than in the tragédies lyriques. Scozzi has devised a series of very amusing satires in movement of the Baroque divertissements, which don’t stray too far from the intent of the librettist. A perfect example of this is the ballet of the Three Graces in the third act. Scozzi’s choreography for this is funny, elegant and an exhibition of fantastic athletic control by the three dancers.
Lawrence Brownlee is touchingly absurd as the ugly water nymph Platée. His sweetly grainy sounding tenor is a well known quantity in the operas of Bellini and Rossini. Taking on the challenge of a role made for the particular voice of the baroque high French tenor (the haute–contre) brought some risk for a non-French speaking singer who specializes in an entirely different repertoire. I am pleased to report that he succeeds magnificently. His tone is more substantial than that of any other singer that I have heard in this role. He easily encompasses the wide range of the music that Rameau had written for Pierre de Jéliote, the most famed tenor during the time of Louis XV. His first air “Que ce séjour est agréable” is a perfect illustration of Brownlee’s mastery of the music. He completely immerses himself in the character of the ridiculous nymph, somehow managing to be sillier and more affecting than Paul Agnew was on the original Arthaus DVD. Brownlee’s French pronunciation is very good, although not entirely flawless. He also manages to use his large frame to enhance his portrayal of Platée. He cavorts around Chantal Thomas’ difficult multi-level set with the same grace as any of the dancers. This is a truly remarkable achievement for Brownlee and it his finest work to date.
Julie Fuchs seems to be one of the more important French sopranos these days. As Folie she delivers a knockout performance of a character that can easily overstay their welcome in this opera, as she did in one or two other performances that I have seen. Fuchs understands the complex nature of this very unpredictable character, and she demonstrates that the music is sheer child’s-play for her.
Marc Mauillon is an utterly adorable Momus as he cavorts around the challenging set while throwing himself heart and soul into the extrovert comedy of both the role, and Pelly’s slightly over –the-top concept of the character.
For the remainder of the large cast, Mathias Vidal is a hard working Thespis, while Nahuel di Pierro is an engaging Cithéron. Jean Teitgen is a potent Jupiter, his large bass easily encompassing the role. As his jealous wife Junon, Adriana Bignani Lesca is a passionate fire-breathing Goddess, although she is in somewhat hoarse voice on this occasion. Tamara Bounazou is a delectable Amour/Clarine. On the other hand, Reinoud van Mechelen gives a surprisingly pallid performance of Mercure; his voice doesn’t seem to have the same impact in the larger space of the Palais Garnier as it did at the Opéra Comique as seen on the Blu-ray of Mondonville’s Titon et L’Aurore (review).
Marc Minkowski now has three recordings of Platée featured on his resumé. I was not fond of the 1988 Erato CD set and I never take it out to listen to now. The 2002 DVD on Arthaus finds him and Les Musiciens du Louvre in more inspired form. By 2022, his interpretation has matured with the passing years. I have the impression that he is allowing a little more room for pathos to register alongside the innate satire of the piece. The sound and picture of the BelAir Blu-Ray are superb. In the booklet there is an interesting article by Minkowski relating his journey with Platée and the Pelly production.
Mike Parr
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Production details
Laurent Pelly – Staging and Costumes
Chantal Thomas – Sets
Laura Strozzi – Choreography
Joël Adam – Lighting
Agathe Mélinand – Dramaturge
Ching-Lien Wu – Chorusmaster
Video details
Region code – 0 (worldwide)
Picture format: HD 16:9
Sound format DTS Master Audio 5.1/ PCM stereo 2.0
Sung in French; subtitles in French, English, German, Spanish
