The production of Platée at Palais Garnier, which is a revival from 1999, is again a good example on that it is possible to play the old baroque operas in a renewed setting, and it is working without being boring. Or that the audience is sitting with the feeling that they don’t understand why it has been done like this or like that.

Platee, Aimery Lefèvre (Momus), Mireille Delunsch (La Folie), Alain Vernhes (Cithéron), Paul Agnew (Platée) et François Lis (Jupiter). Foto: Christian Leiber

Honestly, I didn´t understand it all, and as the history is quit confusing, I am not sure what all the details were meaning. But the staging and very talented and amusing costumes by Laurent Pelly, dramatized and assisted by  Agathe Mélinand, well working decorations by Chantal Thomas, excellent lighted by Joël Adam. Well functioning choreography  for dancers and the whole choir and singers by Laura Scozzi and music was good, the production has a great atmosphere with a lot of good characters and excellent singers in the many roles. The Orchestra and Choir “Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble” were playing, singing and acting very good chef of the choir is Nicholas Jenkins

. The musical preparing and rehearsal work is by Jory Vinikour, who have been preparing his ensemble very well.

I enjoyed the continuo cembalo and cello following the recitatives, they did a good job. Marc Minkowski is a special capacity in the music world, and it was a pleasure not only to listen, but also to view his work with the entire ensemble. The Jean-Philippe Rameau music, first premiered in 1645, was floating brilliantly, and all the overtures and entr´acte music and the ballet parts was virtuously played
.

During the way there was a lot of amusing details, both on stage, but also between the singers/actors and the orchestra, as for example with Thalia/La Folie splendid played and sung by Mireille Delunsch, who got the evenings only, but well deserved very long applause. I loved her dress with the notes on. The very charming mute Frog, which name could have been in the program, as he was charming all the way, and was the only one who really loved Platée, which was wonderfully played and sung by Paul Agnew.

The role as Platée is shared with Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, who will sing his first Platée the 6^th December. We will make a short new review after his first performance at www.kulturkompasset.com

Xavier Mas was handsome playing and singing Thespis in the Prologue. Yann Beuron, Francois Lis and  Aimery Lefévre were all great looking and very well singing as Mercury, Jupiter and Momus. Alain Vernes is, as usual, a safe card as Cithéron. Judith Gauthier and Doris Lamprecht were singing L´Amor/Clarine and Junon. Marc Laborette was the Satyre.  

Without the ballet visualizing a lot of the big ballet parts, this performance could have been boring. But as the ballet was so well choreographed by Laura Scozzi, and always in surprising costumes by Laurent Pelly, which gave these parts their wonderful very different atmospheres, performed by a good group of different dancers, the ballet part became highlights. I loved the “Swans” – “Chickens” who looked and behaved like “Gees” ready for the Christmas party. Further one the stormy Girls with the stormy hair. The First Overture and the Prologue was visually a hit.

Platée by Jean-Philippe Rameau. Text by D´Adrien-Joseph le Valois after a novel by Jacques Autreau. Palais Garnier, Paris. Premiere 2 December 2009.