Music
Jean- Philippe Rameau

Conductor
William Christie

Stage Directors and Choreographers
José Montalvo
Dominique Hervieu

Atis: Topi Lehtipuu
Argie: Stéphanie dOustrac
Nérine: Sandrine Piau
Manto: François Piolino
Orcan: Laurent Naouri
Anselme: René Schirrer
Un Paladin: Emiliano Gonzalez-Toro

The Orchestra and Choir of Les Arts Florissants
Choirmaster: François Bazola


Les paladins, Rameau's last completed stage work, may have been written when he was in his mid-70s, but it is an exuberant, youthful comedy that gleefully experiments with the traditions of serious opera, ballet and popular comedy.

Loosely based on The Barber of Seville, this is a stylish, spectacular production that employs simple but dazzlingly effective techniques involving projections and video screens that the cast interacts with. Examples include a naked chorus line flying down to 'roll up' the backdrop, 'giant' performers and a tube train arriving on stage. Hi-tech, spectacular stuff...

History
When Les Paladins was premièred at the l'Académie Royale in 1760 it was, by Rameau's standards, a flop. The story, based on a fable by La Fontaine who took his material from L'Arioste, is more or less the same story as The Barber of Seville, but transposed to Venice in the Middle Ages.

Rameau produced brilliant music and in the vein of Platée went all out for parody and spoof. This is why the audience of the time did not know what to make of the work, which was considered neither one thing or the other. Charles Collé poured scorn on Duplat de Monticourt's libretto which, however, Rameau used to get back at the Italians in Act II, Scene 5 by maliciously juxtaposing un air un peu gai la francaise with un duo amoroso litalienne - and this shortly after the bitterly fought Querelle des Bouffons. But even his critics had to admit that the choreographed intermezzi such as l'Entrée des Paladins, des Troubadours and des Chinois were magnificent. The music was more colourful than ever before and Rameau used the clarinets to great effect.

The famous Jean-Georges Noverre claimed: It is due to the variety and harmony of Monsieur Rameau's compositions; to the flow and ingeniousness of his music, that dance owes all its progress. It was awakened and brought out of the lethargy it had sunk into as soon as this composer of learned yet delightful, sensual music, appeared on the scene.