Jean-Philippe Rameau specialized in tragédie lyrique but goes all-out for the laughs in this 1745 opera about Platée, an extraordinarily ugly nymph whom Jupiter pretends to fall in love with as part of a scheme to teach his wife, Juno, the foolishness of her jealousy. Platée is still pretty funny in this 2002 production from the Opera National de Paris, even if Laurent Pelly's staging sometimes goes overboard with slapstick touches (having characters prance about in underwear, for instance), and the set—basically a largely unadorned section of the theater—is uninspired (although the addition of foliage as the plot proceeds gives it increasing color). The modern dress at the beginning is also rather dull, but the suits and dresses gradually become brighter too, and the costumes for Platée and her woodland companions—including a chorus of dancing frogs—are amusing. Musically, the performance is fairly strong, with Marc Minkowski ensuring that the original-instrument group Les Musiciens du Louvre tease out the echoes of outdoor sounds, and tenor Paul Agnew is absolutely brilliant, both vocally and in acting terms, in the “drag” title role. Some of the other singers strain over the baroque filigree—Vincent Le Texier's Jupiter sounds overtaxed, as does Doris Lamprecht's Juno—but overall this is a satisfying presentation of a Rameau rarity that was first performed to celebrate the wedding of the dauphin to a Spanish princess who was (like the nymph) considered fairly homely. Presented in PCM stereo, this is recommended. (F. Swietek)
Platée
(2002) 150 min. In French w/English subtitles. Blu-ray: $39.99. Arthaus Musik (dist. by Naxos of America). Volume 30, Issue 1
Platée
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