Rameau, Maître À Danser
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2019 Winter/Spring Season Brooklyn Academy of Music Adam E. Max, Katy Clark, BAM Board Chair President William I. Campbell and Nora Ann Wallace David Binder, BAM Board Vice Chairs Artistic Director Rameau, maître à danser By Jean-Philippe Rameau Les Arts Florissants BAM Howard Gilman Opera House Mar 1 & 2 at 7:30pm; Mar 3 at 3pm Running time: approx. one hour and 55 minutes, including intermission Musical direction by William Christie Staging by Sophie Daneman Choreography by Françoise Denieau Restaging of choreography by Gilles Poirier Costume design by Alain Blanchot Lighting and set design by Christophe Naillet 2019 Winter/Spring is programmed by Joseph V. Melillo. Season Sponsor: Leadership support for opera at BAM provided by Aashish & Dinyar Devitre, and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Major support for opera at BAM provided by Sarah Billinghurst & Howard Solomon Major support for Rameau, maître à danser provided by Anne H. Bass Support preserving the vitality of BAM programming provided by the Lichtenstein family and generous donors to the BAM Harvey Fund Support for the Signature Artists Series provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation Rameau, maître à danser Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau Daphnis et Églé La Naissance d’Osiris Heroic pastoral based on a libretto Ballet based on a libretto by Charles Collé, 1753 by Louis de Cahusac, 1754 Élodie Fonnard Eglé Magali Léger Pamilie Reinoud Van Mechelen Daphnis Sean Clayton Un berger Magali Léger Amour Cyril Costanzo Le grand prêtre de Jupiter Cyril Costanzo Grand prêtre François Lis Jupiter Rameau, maître à danser comprises two “actes de ballet” by Jean-Philippe Rameau: Daphnis et Églé and La Naissance d’Osiris. These intimate and rarely staged works were composed for the “grand spectacles” danced at the court of Louis XV. Based on a libretto by Cahusac, La Naissance d’Osiris was commissioned to celebrate the birth of the Duke of Berry, the future Louis XVI; Rameau went on to use passages in his “tragédie lyrique” Zoroastre. Originally destined to liven up hunting parties at Fontainebleau, Daphnis et Églé is also proof—beneath its slight, yet utterly charming scenario—of Rameau’s artistic genius. Thanks to a semi-staging which captures the spirit of the “théâtre de la foire” (fair theater) centered around a rural community, highlighting the idea of the pastoral idyll so beloved in France’s Age of Enlightenment, and the delicious choreography of the late Françoise Denieau, this production has achieved enormous public and critical success since it was first performed in France in 2014. This revival is given in memory of Françoise Denieau, choreographer of this production. Production: Théâtre de Caen. Co-production: Les Arts Florissants (with the support of the Selz Foundation), Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles. Executive Production of the revival: Les Arts Florissants with the support of Le Bureau Export. CHOIR ORCHESTRA Oboe Soprano Violin Pier Luigi Fabretti Maud Gnidzaz Emmanuel Resche Astrid Knöchlein Virginie Thomas Bernadette Charbonnier Bassoon High Tenor Myriam Gevers Niels Coppalle Renaud Tripathi Patrick Oliva Amélie Boulas Sébastian Monti Catherine Girard Percussion Tenor Sophie Gevers-Demoures Marie-Ange Petit Benjamin Alunni Michèle Sauvé Musette Jean-Yves Ravoux Augusta Mckay Lodge François Lazarevitch Matthieu Peyregne Viola Basso Continuo Bass Galina Zinchenko Cello Laurent Collobert Kayo Saito David Simpson Christophe Gautier Jean-Luc Thonnerieux Doublebass Julien Neyer Cello Jonathan Cable Elena Andreyev Harpsichord DANCERS Alix Verzier Béatrice Martin Romain Arreghini Cyril Poulet Bruno Benne Flute Andrea Miltnerova Serge Saitta Artur Zakirov Olivier Riehl Robert Le Nuz Anne Sophie Berring Photo by Phillippe Delval Who’s Who SYNOPSES Daphnis et Églé La naissance d’Osiris Daphnis and Églé consider themselves Outside the Temple of Jupiter in Egyptian friends rather than lovers. Meeting in front Thebes, shepherds and townspeople sing of the Temple of Friendship, they plan to in praise of Cupid, while waiting for an swear an eternal friendship that will ensure unspecified event that will complete their their happiness. A group of shepherds happiness. Pamilie and a companion praise the god of Friendship, and the High extol love and constancy, and shepherds Priest of the temple warns them against bring gifts into the temple. At the sound of the unhappiness that Cupid brings. Just thunder, the people scatter. But the High as Daphnis and Églé are about to enter Priest calms their fears and announces the temple to perform their vow, thunder the god’s imminent appearance. Jupiter, is heard. The High Priest, divining the true accompanied by Cupid and the Graces, nature of their feelings, rebukes the couple descends in splendor and announces to and banishes them from the temple. Upset the Egyptians the birth of the god Osiris— and confused, Daphnis and Églé exchange the hero for whom they have longed. The tender reproaches but remain unaware of people celebrate the news. Jupiter ascends the increasingly amorous nature of their into the heavens, leaving behind Cupid sentiments. Cupid descends and explains and the Graces, who join in the general that it is love rather than friendship that celebrations. they feel. As the Pleasures and Sports enter and the Temple of Friendship is transformed © Graham Sadler into the Temple of Love, Cupid points out the moral: Love hides beneath a veil of friendship, and all friends are lovers when close to the object they adore. Les Arts Florissants receives financial support from the Ministry of Culture and Communication, the Département de la Vendée and the Région Pays de la Loire. The ensemble has been in residence at the Philharmonie de Paris since 2015 and has obtained the French national label “Centre Culturel de Rencontre”.. The Selz Foundation, American Friends of Les Arts Florissants, and Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank are Principal Sponsors. In 2019, Les Arts Florissants celebrates its 40th anniversary! Rameau, maître à danser WILLIAM CHRISTIE (musical director), harpsi- by the Franco-American harpsichordist and chordist, conductor, musicologist, and teacher, conductor William Christie, the ensemble, named is a pioneer in the rediscovery and introduction after a short opera by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, of French Baroque music to a wide audience. has played a pioneering role in the revival of a Born in Buffalo, NY and educated at Harvard Baroque repertoire that had long been neglected and Yale, the turning point in his career came in (including the rediscovery of countless treasures 1979 when he founded Les Arts Florissants. As in the collections of the Bibliothèque Nationale director of this vocal and instrumental ensemble, de France). Today that repertoire is widely per- major public recognition came in 1987 with the formed and admired: not only French music from production of Lully’s Atys at the Opéra Comique the reign of Louis XIV, but also more generally in Paris (the production’s US debut was present- European music of the 17th and 18th centuries. ed at BAM in 1989; its revival was presented The ensemble is directed by William Christie at BAM in Sep 2011), followed by many other who, since 2007, has regularly passed the con- successes in the French and European Baroque ductor’s baton over to British tenor Paul Agnew. repertoire. Notable among his recent operatic Since the 1987 production of Lully’s Atys at the work are: Campra’s Les Fêtes vénitiennes in Opéra Comique in Paris, which was triumphantly 2015 at the Paris Opéra Comique and at BAM; revived in 2011, Les Arts Florissants has enjoyed Theodora in 2016 at the Théâtre des Champs- its greatest successes on the opera stage. Les Elysées; in 2018, Handel’s Jephtha at the Arts Florissants enjoys an equally high profile Opéra national de Paris, Ariodante at the Wiener in the concert hall, as illustrated by its many Staatsoper, L’Incoronazione di Poppea at the acclaimed concert or semi-staged performances Salzburg Festival, and John Gay’s The Beggar’s of operas and oratorios. Each season Les Arts Opera on European tour. As a guest conductor Florissants gives around 100 concerts and opera Christie often appears at opera festivals including performances in France—at the Philharmonie Glyndebourne (Giulio Cesare in 2018) and opera de Paris, where they are artists in residence, houses such as the Metropolitan Opera and the Théâtre de Caen, Opéra Comique, Théâtre Zurich Opernhaus. His extensive discography des Champs-Élysées, Château de Versailles, as includes more than 100 recordings. The most well as at numerous festivals—and are an active recent, Un jardin à l’italienne, Bien que l’amour, ambassador for French culture abroad, regularly and Bach’s B Minor Mass were released by invited to New York, London, Brussels, Vienna, harmonia mundi in the collection, “Les Arts Madrid, Barcelona, Moscow, and elsewhere. Florissants.” Wishing to further develop his work The group has performed at BAM numerous as a teacher, in 2002 Christie created with Les times; its most recent presentations are Les Fêtes Arts Florissants a biennial academy for young vénitiennes (2016), and Atys and Le Jardin singers, Le Jardin des Voix. Since 2007 he has de Monsieur Lully (2011). The ensemble has been artist in residence at The Juilliard School produced an impressive discography: nearly 100 in New York. In 2012, he launched the festival recordings (CD and DVD) and its own collection Dans les Jardins de William Christie in his own in collaboration with harmonia mundi, under gardens, located in the French village of Thiré the baton of William Christie and Paul Agnew. In in the Vendée. Christie has bequeathed his real recent years, Les Arts Florissants has launched estate assets to the Foundation Les Arts Floris- several education programs for young musicians. sants–William Christie, created in 2017. The most emblematic is the Academy of Le Jardin des Voix; created in 2002, it is held every LES ARTS FLORISSANTS two years and has brought a substantial number William Christie, Musical Director, Founder of new singers into the limelight.