Rameau - Les Indes Galantes / Petibon, Croft, Hartelius, Agnew, Rivenq, Berg, Strehl, Christie, Les Arts Florissants, Paris Opera

I saw a clip from this production on YouTube and knew I just had to get the DVD, which I found here on Amazon at a very good price.The DVD is excellent, clear and sharp and the menus (in French) get you around the disc pretty easily. All of the content is in French, but the subtitles cover it nicely for those who don't understand the language.Pros:Fantastic performances and productionThe Extras sections are very helpful in understanding the operaCons:None to speak of, except two-line subtitles are hard to read when the white type appears over an orange or yellow background.Review:Baroque Opera is something of an acquired taste to be sure. Often, these operas are performed in an historical perspective, with singers used as they were originally intended (counter-tenors or female singers for "castrati", etc.) While this may be accurate to the history, it is difficult for our modern tastes."Les Indes" as presented here takes a more modern approach. The orchestration is rich and full, the singers are strong, and there is a lot of wonderful choreography. Although the pacing is a tad slow, the music of course, sustains it, and the set designs, costuming, make-up, choreography, and performers make up for the pacing.Anyone new to this DVD of the production (or the opera itself) would get a lot out of the Extras section, especially the bonus film called "Swinging Rameau". This explains the synopsis of the opera (which is made up of four separate love stories), the approach taken in the production, and answers all questions about why they did what they did. You see, they are focusing on the imagination here, the imagination of the composer in telling the stories in music, and the imagination of the company in bringing the composer's vision to life.While this approach may not be to everyone's tastes, I certainly found it inventive and intriguing.A lot of historical Baroque Opera involves people standing around on stage, either singing or waiting to sing. This can get very tedious. In this production, the choreographer keeps things moving -- both the principles and extras in the cast -- so we don't get bored. There is a lot to see at every turn. It is thought provoking.This performance also has a lot of whimsy to it. It's good humored fun, reflective of the opera (it's not a comic opera, but it is certainly "light" compared to the more common "tragic" operas of the time) and while it is always professional, it takes a light hearted approach that is engaging and makes the opera much more accessible.I have read some reviews that claim this performance is more like a circus than an opera. Certainly, I can see the reference, as many of the dancers are acrobatic, the make up and costuming is bold and engaging, and the props are big and bold.In a scene about a shipwreck, they use props for the waves to great effect, in another scene there are mountains that move and shake, and there is a giant golden chicken or turkey brought in at the end -- why I have not figured out, nor why they turn it so the audience is looking at its backside... may be an "in" joke! Yet, the sets are minimal and bright, giving the whole thing a "circus" and entertaining atmosphere to be sure. But this opera is no joke or parody. It is serious and genuine to itself with a charm that is hard to describe. I think this approach makes it fun, and when was the last time a Baroque Opera was fun to watch?The cast is superb -- no other way to describe them. The singers -- principles as well as chorus -- are clear, on pitch and on time, and they move about and use facial expressions to engage the audience. The dancers are excellent, well timed, at times absolutely thrilling to watch. The choreography is a mix of traditional baroque ballet with modern interpretative dance, and it works! This again is a modern approach to historical "set singing", and I think a good one. The camera work is also quite good, with plenty of close-ups as well ensemble shots.Perhaps the best part of the opera is the end, with a fully orchestrated and choreographed performance of "Les Sauvages" (also the name of that story in the opera). This started life as a harpsichord piece which Ramaeau re-worked into the opera. As a harpsichord piece, it was -- and is -- one of the "top 10", and as an orchestral and choral piece, Rameau gave it even more life and excitement, as does this performance. It is the highlight of a show filled with highlights -- so much so that when they roll the credits, the conductor and cast reprise the music in a dance of joy. Very moving stuff.In short this DVD and performance celebrates Rameau and his music.I would recommend this opera DVD to anyone who loves good music. It has great re-play value, and you do have to watch it more than once to get all the inside jokes, the subtleties, the nuances. That makes it a good value for the money.A+++ for this wonderful production and technically excellent DVD!

as is the case with many opera lovers I welcome updated productions, (Rameau's Les Paladins by Christie and Les Arts Florissants is an excellent example): but hopefully the updating has a point: in this case there's no such thing, so, if you can somehow shut out most of the visual nonsense, the orchestra and nearly all the onstage performances can be praised unreservedly, and after all this is the only DVD of the "Les Indes Gallants" currently availableorchestra - 5 starssinging - 5 starsacting - 3 starsdancers - 5 stars pluschoreography - 5 stars pluslighting, especially during the dancing - 5 starsdesign for the dancers - 4 starsdesign for the principals and chorus - 1 star (by a designer who seems to pay little attention to the bodies being dressed, and has little regard for the female leads)staging of the action - 0 starsAndre Serban has earned a magnificent reputation for his body of work in the theatre - unfortunately on the evidence of the production it hasn't been carried over into the world of opera: clumsy, excessive, never still, too much commentary and not enough revelation or trust in his singers: when he stops fussing as in the glorious 'Tendre Amour' time stops and Rameau's glory is revealed - unfortunately this is for less than three minutes in a performance of more than two and a half hours: as for the rest one movement will never suffice when ten extras are possible and visually the final result proves more is less, especially in the essentially offensive final entree 'Les Sauvages': if only choreographer Blanca Li had taken over the whole thingas it is, coupled with the costume travesties, it's amazing that the work of Nathan Berg, Richard Croft, Malin Hartelius and Christophe Sel can survive unscathed, but elsewhere the fine singing of other excellent performers is visually undermined with vapid and inappropriate costumes for their physiques (notably Paul Agnew, Nicolas Cavalier, Anna Maria Panzarella, Jaerl Azzaretti)and most unforunately other fine singers are allowed to indulge in their habits of unnecessary preening and posturing (Danielle de Niese, whose work at Glyndebourne is much more restrained, is all show and tell; Patricia Petibon, a superb Despina in the 2009 Salzburg 'Cosi" seems to be sending everything up throughout; Francois Piolino postures so badly that one wonders why on earth Phani would prefer this jackanapes to the imposing Huascar)in my next visitation cutting out most of the staging excesses and simply moving onto some of the arias and the ballets will be the goal

This charming production captures the spirit of 18th century France while cleverly updating for a more modern audience. It is full of charms and if too modern for your taste consider that you might have been bored by a show more authentic. At times it is a bit too silly but then aren't most operatic comedies? Wonderful and clever sets and costumes in each entree or act. The singers are marvels all around with only the basses having a few minor problems with low notes but don't you? The finale includes Plains Native Americans, Navaho or Hopi, Brazilian and I don't know what. Throughout the show there is marvelous and creative dancing ranging from 18th century technique to modern particularly in the Buffalo dance. Even the chorus and soloists get into dancing inspired by classic Plains dance moves while singing which is not easy to do without shaking the vocal sound. Try it at home. They even crank it up a notch singing with corn cob pipes in their mouths while dancing in the opera's big hit, the danse du grand calumet, an infectious show stopper.I'm sure audiences then and now leave humming the tune. It's that kind of show. Plenty of fun.

Well, we're watching a live performance from the Paris Opera. Circa 2003. And it's a stylised production of an opera that some folks might shy away from. Their loss if they do. This whole effort - music, staging, singing, design and whatever else goes into making GREAT theatre - is utterly and completely sublime. It's fast, it's furious, and it's FUN.William Christie, director of Les Arts Florrisants, and conductor of this delight, sums up the whole experience in an interview to be found in the very generous extras: 'This music makes you move!' And it does.This brilliantly inventive and delightful production makes you glad you've seen something special, and we should start lobbying to get it reissued on DVD as soon as possible. As with all the best releases, it is, of course, currently unavailable. WHY ??????

The audience attending this live filming is in no doubt that the star of the show here is Patricia Petibon, though to be fair to the other performers she does get to feature in the “earworm” of Rameau`s ballet héroïque the “ air des sauvages”.Les Indes is a four act work with a prologue and was the composer's second stage work of this kind; “ The Amorous Indies” is a fanciful tour of the exotic worlds of far-off lands and native peoples; each act a separate love-story and - as one would expect of the French baroque – the glory of the opera is in its ballet, with plenty of terpsichorean activity featured in each scene.The choreography is excellent as are the individual performances of each singer – and what a starry cast there is – with performers such as Danielle de Niese, Anna Maria Panzarella, Paul Agnew and a host of others all in fine voice and directed by William Christie and supported by the stalwart Les Arts Florissants orchestra and chorus.The theatrical staging is well handled with imaginative modern sets combined with fairly traditional (read basic) special effects; it is contemporary but not avant garde, quite an acceptable compromise for a work from this age. The filming and editing is nicely done given the circumstances of a live recording.On the two DVD set, the main feature runs for just under 3 hours with a supporting documentary of 50 minutes.A very enjoyable viewing – and listening - experience.

A lovely opera dating back to the early part of Louis XV's reign. It's an opera for entertainment rather than cerebral indulgence, being in four acts each unconnected to the others and featuring characters, scenes, and stories of love within and without some of the indigenous "Indian" tribes of America. The final act is probably the most entertaining in terms of dance and melody, concluding with an unforgettable performance by Patricia Petitbon which alone makes the DVD worth having.

Rameau's music is performed brilliantly here, and its many moods are supported and enhanced by the visual material--colourful stage sets, playfully exotic costumes and graceful dance. There is plenty to watch here, as well as to listen to, and the staging is spectacular. The emotional intensity of some of the scenes comes mainly from the singing, and works well enough on CD, but the DVD comes into its own with the spectacular set-pieces, such as volcanic eruptions, and the charm of the more light-hearted dances. My own favourite was the one where the dancers are all in giant flower pots. The general exuberance and high spiritedness of the piece is such that William Christie joins in at the curtain call, when there is a reprise of the Native Americans' big dance number with everyone doing stylized turkey-movements, Christie included. Entrancing and joyful.

This is a difficult work to stage and the staging here was variable. Musically it was excellent.