Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie (Glyndebourne)

Ed Lyon (Hippolytus); Christiane Karg (Aricia); Sarah Connolly (Phaedre); Stéphane Degout (Theseus); Katherine Watson (Diana); François Lis (Pluto/Jupiter/Neptune); Julie Pasturaud (Œnone); Samuel Boden (Mercury);

In Glyndebourne’s first-ever staging of a opera by Rameau, director Jonathan Kent presents a production which, in his own words, ‘strives to appeal to every sense and show audiences how engrossing and musically ravishing French Baroque opera can be’. Rameau’s inventive take on Racine’s great tragedy Phèdre is brought to life by Paul Brown’s colourful and elegant designs and Ashley Page’s playful choreography. Ed Lyon and Christiane Karg give captivating performances as the titular young lovers, while Sarah Connolly, making a welcome return to Glyndebourne, ‘invests Phaedra with both grandeur and a desperately human vulnerability’ (The Independent). Leading exponent of early music William Christie ‘sets an exhilarating pace, galvanising the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment to playing of tremendous panache’ (The Daily Telegraph).

Reviews

"Few nights at the opera will be as rewarding as this one." (The Arts Desk)

"Rameau’s music is one reason to hasten to East Sussex. Another is Jonathan Kent’s inventive staging." (The Times)

"Sarah Connolly combines a luscious voice and volcanic stage presence as Phaedra, and her climactic outpouring of despair in Act 4 is scalp-prickling." (Bloomberg.com)

"With William Christie conducting the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment ... the music couldn't be better presented; Christie's ability to conjure up ceremonial grandeur, tender intimacy and rhythmic variety may be sleight of hand from the greatest Rameau interpreter of our time, but it's totally compelling. So too is much of the cast, especially Ed Lyon's Hippolytus, Christiane Karg's Aricia, and Stéphane Degout's Theseus; as Phaedra, Sarah Connolly plays the stepmother from hell to the manner born." (The Guardian ★★★★)

"Katherine Watson’s imperious Diana, Ed Lyon’s coltish Hippolytus, and Francois Lis’s dark-toned Pluto are all spot-on, while Emmanuelle de Negri and Mathias Vidal purvey a ravishing sweetness of sound. Sarah Connolly invests Phaedra with both grandeur and a desperately human vulnerability; Stephane Degout’s Theseus sends up prayers to Neptune in singing of transcendent beauty. The diction and phrasing is perfectly idiomatic; the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment is on top form." (The Independent)

"... one of the great French Baroque entertainments ... Christie conducts a superb Glyndebourne cast." (Gramophone)

"... one of the great French Baroque entertainments ... Christie conducts a superb Glyndebourne cast." (The Daily Telegraph)