French operas in the 17th and early 18th centuries bore little resemblance to the operatic conventions we recognize today, due to an emphasis on ancient mythology, pageant-like presentation, and relatively static narrative, typically represented in allegorical tableaux and spectacular ballets. Jean-Philippe Rameau's pastorale-héroique Naïs appeared in 1749, between the end of the Baroque and the beginning of the Classical eras, and it was composed to celebrate the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (for which Handel composed his ...
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French operas in the 17th and early 18th centuries bore little resemblance to the operatic conventions we recognize today, due to an emphasis on ancient mythology, pageant-like presentation, and relatively static narrative, typically represented in allegorical tableaux and spectacular ballets. Jean-Philippe Rameau's pastorale-héroique Naïs appeared in 1749, between the end of the Baroque and the beginning of the Classical eras, and it was composed to celebrate the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (for which Handel composed his celebrated Music for the Royal Fireworks). This 2018 Glossa release, recorded the previous year in Budapest by the Purcell Choir and the Orfeo Orchestra conducted by György Vashegyi, offers a feast of period sonorities and robust vocal performances, with Chantal Santon-Jeffery as Naïs, Reinoud Van Mechelen as Neptune, Florian Sempey as Jupiter, and Thomas Dolié as Pluto. The libretto may explicate the complicated doings of the gods, goddesses, titans, giants, and other Olympian figures,...
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