Rameau: Castor et Pollux
by Pierre Audi
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Actor: Anna Maria Panzarella, Christophe Rousset, Finnur Bjarnason, Judith van Wanroij, Véronique GensDirector: Pierre Audi
Brand: Kultur
Producer: Les Talens Lyriques
Producer: De Nederlandse Opera
Writer: Jean-Philippe Rameau
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown); Dutch (Subtitled); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); German (Subtitled); Italian (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Original Language)
Format: Classical, Color, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 156 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-04-28
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Kultur/Opus Arte
DVD Reviews of Rameau: Castor et Pollux
DVD Review: Eventually Effective...
Summary: 5 Stars
The staging of this 18th C opera seria, by De Nederlandse Opera with Pierre Audi directing, is suspiciously similar to the 10-year-old Brian Large (correction: Robert Wilson) staging of Gluck's Alceste: the same faded blue ambience, with muted red lighting; similar robes for costumes; odd squares and cubes for sets; super-stately, hieratic poses and movements. I had mixed feelings about that Alceste; in the end, only the music worked for me. Once again, it's the music that makes the show in Rameau's "Castor et Pollux", but there are good things to be said about the staging and five-star raves about the musical delivery.
First, the singers. This is an opera about men, and the legendary Twins, Castor and Pollux, are real men, both in their robust voices and in their presences. Finnur Bjarnason (Castor) dominates both physically and vocally whenever he's on stage; that's appropriate to the tale. But Henk Neven (Pollux) sings with an emotional depth that expands and ripens as his character's nobility is revealed. Basso Nicolas Teste (Jupiter) is properly severe and all-potent vocally, though his physical presence seems somewhat less than Olympian. Altogether, the three male characters are superb in their musical balance and ensemble; for once, it's obvious that rehearsal time was adequate for the production. There are also three women in the tale: Telaire, whom both brothers love; her sister Phebe, who lusts for Castor and whose sorcery sets up the tragedy; and the ambiguous Cleone, confidante of both sisters. Veronique Gens (Phebe) steals the show vocally; her voice is never strained, her ornaments are effortlessly graceful, her vocal affect is spot-perfect for the emotional load of each of her recitations. Anna Maria Panzarella (Telaire) and Judith van Wanrou (Cleone) sing very well, with rich ringing timbre; it's only in comparison with Gens that they pale slightly. One of the major virtues of this cast is that all the principals sing with the same "historically informed' vocal technique, as if they'd all studied with the same teacher. Rameau's music per se depends on such unity of ensemble for its grace, and unfortunately such generous togetherness of singers can't always be depended on. This performance would be vocally impressive on a CD also.
Then, the singers as actors. The first scenes are stiff. That's what the director called for. It's not quite as tedious as a Bayreuth production of Wagner; nobody sings while staggering backwards a foot a note. But it's scarcely engaging. Then, I think, the singers -- all of them -- begin to become engaged themselves in the meaning of their character's words and in the divine humanity they are enacting. Let's just say that they 'override' their direction and commit themselves to being who their recitations say they are. They generate a lot of drama, a lot of empathy, which builds in the final acts to a theatrical climax. One actually cares about their fates. Or to be precise, one cares about Castor and Pollux. As I said before, this is an opera about men. The most potent emotion in it is brotherly fidelity. The two brothers are united in immortality. Telaire remains on stage in this production but she's no longer relevant, and Phebe is lost somewhere in gloomy Hades.
Les Talens Lyriques, conducted by harpisichordist Christophe Rousset, play with the utmost precision and delicacy throughout. The instrumental writing in this opera seria is restrained and subordinated to the singing, but it has to be elegant, and it is. I agree with other critics that "Castor et Pollux" is Rameau's masterpiece in the genre of opera seria. It's far more than the usual French Baroque suite of arias and dances; it's a taut, coherent, complete piece of music.
Finally, back to the staging. Hmmm. It "grew" on me. Or perhaps I began to see and hear through it. My wife thought it was "beautiful" and for once I didn't have to wake her up for the last act.
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Description of Rameau: Castor et Pollux
Castor et Pollux is arguably Rameau's finest creation in the tragédie lyrique style. Its libretto, based in mythology, focuses on an unusual theme: the self-sacrificing love between Castor, who is mortal, and his immortal brother, Pollux. When Castor is killed while defending his beloved Télaïre from an attempted abduction, Pollux resolves to give up his immortality and take Castor's place in the Underworld. After passionate debate over who will live and who will die, the brothers are eternally united, transformed into the constellation Gemini. The strikingly luminous sets, depicting a stylized version of the constellation, give this fabulous production, staged by Pierre Audi and conducted by Christophe Rousset, a glorious 21st-century baroque look.Sung in French with subtitles in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Dutch.
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