Rameau Hippolyte et Aricie opera to a libretto by Simon-Joseph Pellegrin. Directed 2020 by Jeanne Candel at the Opéra Comique. Stars Reinoud Van Mechelen (Hippolyte), Elsa Benoit (Aricie), Sylvie Brunet-Grupposo (Phèdre), Stéphane Degout (Thésée), Séraphine Cotrez (Œnone), Arnaud Richard (Neptune / Pluton), Eugénie Lefebvre (Diane), Lea Desandre (Prêtresse de Diane / Chasseresse / Matelote / Bergère), Edwin Fardini (Tisiphone), Guillaume Gutierrez (Mercury), Constantin Goubet (First Fate), Martial Pauliat (Second Fate/Arcas), and Virgile Ancely (Third Fate). Raphaël Pichon conducts the Pygmalion Chorus and Orchestra. Dramaturgy and direction of actors by Lionel Gonzalez; set design by Lisa Navarro; costume design by Pauline Kieffer; lighting design by César Godefroy; movement collaborator was Yannick Bosc. Directed for TV by François Roussillon. Sung in French. Released 2021, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
The only review I found (October 2021) about this show (recorded during the pandemic with no audience) was from operatraveller.com. That anonymous critic (seeing this on TV) lauded the cast, chorus, Pygmalion and the mise-en-scène for “a captivating performance of a wonderful piece.” Judith Malafronte gives the disc thumb’s up in the May 2022 Opera News at pages 52-53. She especially praises the singing of Reinoud van Mechelen, Elsa Benoit, and Lea Desandre as well as the “compelling and beautiful work from ensemble Pygmalion.” Finally she puts in a good word for François Roussillon’s video—but we already know about that!
Here’s a trailer from Naxos:
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