Composed in 1748, Jean-Philippe Rameau's acte de ballet Pygmalion is based on the tale in Ovid's Metamorphosis of the sculptor Pygmalion, who fell in love with a beautiful statue he had carved, and how the god Cupid brought it to life. This familiar story is better known in updated versions, such as George Bernard Shaw's 1913 stage play Pygmalion , the 1938 film based on that play, and the 1956 musical My Fair Lady, though Rameau's version is quite removed from these modern retellings. Rather, this work is a hybrid ...
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Composed in 1748, Jean-Philippe Rameau's acte de ballet Pygmalion is based on the tale in Ovid's Metamorphosis of the sculptor Pygmalion, who fell in love with a beautiful statue he had carved, and how the god Cupid brought it to life. This familiar story is better known in updated versions, such as George Bernard Shaw's 1913 stage play Pygmalion , the 1938 film based on that play, and the 1956 musical My Fair Lady, though Rameau's version is quite removed from these modern retellings. Rather, this work is a hybrid between the stylized ballets of Jean-Baptiste Lully that flourished at Versailles and the innovative Parisian operas, with which Rameau found success in the later part of his career. This recording by Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques offers a lively performance in authentic period style, with straightforward vocal parts (quite unlike the florid singing found in Italian operas of the time) and colorful orchestral accompaniment. The performance features Cyrille...
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