Baroque opera is growing on me all the time. Handel for me is still the king in this respect, but Rameau is a close second. Perhaps Platee is not his best work, however you don't think about that when you hear the beautiful music and are amused and enchanted by the admittedly silly story. I loved this Laurent Pelly production, I do put his Offenbach productions(Belle Helene, La Vie Parisienne, Orphee Aux Enfers and La Grande Duchesse) over this, but it comes this close to being on the same level. The costumes are amazing to look at even in modern dress, and the settings are just as colourful in alternative to sparse. The polytechnics are spectacular also. The staging is always vibrant with a lot going on without being too cluttered, capturing the humorous nature of the score and opera perfectly. I was also hugely impressed with the choreography. Okay the prologue and a few of the pre-wedding scenes were rather banal and will leave some people perplexed but that of the frogs, Folie's followers and the graces were incredibly charming. The orchestra play with so much energy and style, and Marc Minkowski looks as though he is enjoying every moment of the production(hardly a surprise as I as a viewer felt exactly the same). The chorus are beautifully blended and act deftly and the corps-De-ballet is full of grace and elegance while never being cold. The performances are just as great, Paul Agnew and Mireille Delunsch are in very difficult roles and both do justice to them. Agnew has to give so many different emotions and he does this with willingness and poignancy. His singing is beautiful and clear too. Delunsch's singing is astonishing and she seems to be having a whale of a time, especially in how she executes those very unhinged, somewhat Prima-Donna-ish antics. Laurent Naouri brings an as ever warm quality to his voice and plays aloof very well. Overall, really entertaining. 9/10 Bethany Cox
Review of Platée
