Rameau: Platée

Yesterday, we started rehearsals for Platée, Jean Philippe Rameau’s opera buffon about an ugly water nymph who believes that Jupiter is in love with her. Just how the hell Akamus is going to pull this production off in April, when we perform it in Amsterdam, is beyond me, as our attempts to shake off the stoicism of ‘Prussian baroque’ in favor of the creamy French style have often proved impossible. Fortunately, René Jacobs will be at the helm, and moreover, the Dutch aren’t French, so perhaps we have a chance to succeed.

I’ve also decided this time to not just sit in the middle of the orchestra and suffer, but instead use the opportunity to rediscover the glory of French baroque music. The Prussians be damned- I just downloaded a copy of the score with the entire libretto, and will use that to base my own judgments on performance matters. I’m also considering buying a copy of the Opéra de Paris production with Les Musiciens du Louvre under the direction of Marc Minkowski. It definitely seems worth it: