Rameau: Les Boréades (2-CD) – Sabine Devieilhe, Reinoud Van Mechelen

Composer: Jean-Philippe Rameau
Artists: Sabine Devieilhe, Reinoud Van Mechelen, Benedikt Kristjánsson, Philippe Estèphe, Thomas Dolié, Tassis Christoyannis, Gwendoline Blondeel, Purcell Choir, Orfeo Orchestra
Conductor: György Vashegyi
Number of Discs: 2
Label: Erato
Release Date: August 17, 2024

“Rameau is one of the universal geniuses in European musical history, on the same level as Bach, Mozart and Haydn,” asserts conductor György Vashegyi. With this recording of Les Boréades, Vashegyi completes an ambitious 10-year Rameau project, run in collaboration with the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles. 

The cast of Sabine Devieilhe, Reinoud Van Mechelen, Tassis Christoyannis, Thomas Dolié, Gwendoline Blondeel, Benedikt Kristjánsson and Philippe Estèphe is joined by the Orfeo Orchestra and Purcell Choir – both ensembles founded by Vashegyi. Devieilhe takes the central role of Alphise, Queen of Bactria, who must defy the traditions of her country if she is to marry the man she loves. 

The theme of freedom is important in the opera; conceived in 1763 to mark the end of the Seven Years’ War, it had to wait more than 200 years for its first full staging. When the performers on this recording appeared in a concert version of Les Boréades at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, Concert Classique declared that “Rameau’s genius shines through at every moment.”

Read More