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Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) Castor et Pollux - opera in five acts
Anna Maria
Panzarella (soprano) - Télaïre
Véronique Gens (mezzo) - Phébé
Judith van Wanroij (soprano) - Cléone
Finnur Bjarnason (tenor) - Castor
Henk Neven (baritone) - Pollux
Nicolas Testé (bass) - Jupiter
Thomas Oliemans (baritone) - High Priest
Anders J. Dahlin (tenor) - Mercury
Chorus of the Netherland Opera/Martin Wright
Les Talens Lyriques/Christophe Rousset
rec. live, Het Muziektheater, Amsterdam, 21, 25 January 2008
Notes by Reiner E. Moritz. 2 DVD set OPUS ARTE
OA0999D [62:03+72:17]
Castor et
Pollux was Rameau’s third opera, written at the age
of 54, and made his name in Paris as an opera composer.
Seventeen years after its premiere he drastically revised
it, dropping the prologue, and creating a whole new first
act, which basically alters the entire plot. Elements of
the third and fourth acts were also greatly changed. Since
then each version has had its partisans, but most critics
seem to agree that the work, in whatever version, is one
of his greatest, if not his masterpiece.
In this DVD the
1754 revised version is used. Castor and Pollux are brothers,
but only Pollux is immortal. Both love Télaïre, but she is
only interested in Castor. The latter is slain in battle
and Pollux offers to take his place in the underworld. After
much debate over the two brothers’ destinies, Zeus intervenes
and makes both brothers immortal, placing them in the Zodiac
as the constellation Gemini where they achieve yet another
type of immortality.
The standout
in the cast is actually not one of the most prominently featured
singers. In his role as an Athlete singing the aria Éclatez,
fière trompettes Anders J. Dohlin vocally and physically
commands the stage. Unfortunately, this is at the end of
Act 2. Henk Neven as Pollux is a better actor than singer,
but as such he is intensely affecting, especially in Acts
3 and 5. His singing of Ma voix, puissant maître du monde was
fine. Finnur Bjarnson I found less impressive in both regards,
although his singing with Anna Maria Panzera in the last
act is quite good. Ms. Panzera herself handles the famous
aria Tristes apprêts with great ability and her duet
with Phebe immediately afterward is equally good. As a great
admirer of Véronique Gens I could only wish there were a
little more for her to do in the first act, but her acting
and singing with Panzera in Act 2 is incredibly intense.
Her big moment is in Act 4 when she leads her forces into
hell to rescue Castor. Nicholas Testé is a solid if not awe-inspiring
Jupiter.
The
staging for the opera is rather unusual in that it consists
only of geometric shapes, but strikingly lit (by Jean Kalman)
while the costumes are extremely elaborate. However, I found
the latter very distracting; they looked neither eighteenth
nor twenty-first century, but rather like something out of
a bad science-fiction movie. I also don’t think that every
character in an opera needs to have dreadlocks. However,
the worst parts for me were the important dance episodes.
These were in that jerky, almost psychotic style so beloved
of many Continental choreographers nowadays. They not only
don’t fit the music, but detract from the flow of the drama.
Call me old–fashioned.
Music Director
Christopher Rousset and Stage Director Pierre Audi both do
a creditable if not always inspired job of keeping the music
and drama flowing, although Audi has his moments. Les Talens
Lyriques, however, play very expressively and have a real
command of the idiom. The Netherlands Opera Chorus is good
too, in fact, often uplifting. Although this is a production
originally for television I found that the cameras were frequently
too far away from the action for dramatic purposes and that
the venue produced a hollow sound which hampered the orchestra,
although not the singing.
As is usual with
Opus Arte productions, there is an illustrated cast-list,
synopsis and a documentary describing the creation of the
production. While there are musically more distinguished
versions of Castor et Pollux available on CD, this
is the only DVD version at present. Purchasers will have
to make their choice of which version to obtain based on
these considerations.
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