Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie

Description

Rameau: Hippolyte Et Aricie / Hunt Lieberson, Mark Padmore (Hippolyte), Christie, Les Arts Florissants, Composer: Jean-Philippe Rameau, Performer: Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (Phèdre), Anna-Maria Panzarella (Aricie), Laurent Naori (Thésée), Mark Padmore, Eirian James (Diana), Gaëlle Mechaly (Cupid/Sailor Girl), Patricia Petibon (Priestess/ Shepherdess), Orchestra/Ensemble: Les Arts Florissants, Conductor: William Christie. This isn't a new recording of Hippolyte et Aricie, but a reissue of the one recorded in Paris at the Salle Wagram in 1996, following a wildly successful series of performances the year before at the Palais Garnier. Review - "Not surprisingly, Christie and Les Arts Florissants turn in a splendid and committed performance of Rameau's first opera. I'm glad they went with the 1733 original instead of later revisions, since this earliest version has - in addition to it's intrinsic musical value - considerable historical interest, being the first challenge to Lully's operatic sound, style, and structure. My only gripe is that, instead of the extensive notes, libretto and translation that accompanied the original release of this recording, we get an overly terse and sometimes confusing synopsis. Six stars for the recording."