SKU: HL.14008392

ISBN 9780711936942.

The story centres on the English princess Caroline Mathilde (1751-1775), sister of George III, who at the age of 15 was sent to Denmark to marry the 17-year-old eccentric and schizophrenic Danish King, Christian VII. The ballet portrays her unhappy marriage, the King's growing madness and her fatal love-affair with Struensee, the King's influential physician, which leads to their arrest, his execution and her exile, at the age of 20, separated from her two young children. In keeping with the period, and perhaps also with the traditions of Romantic ballet, the music is relatively simple in harmony and form, and most of the action is conveyed in set-piece dances. The suite, which consists essentially of the second half of Act I, begins with one of these, a bristling interplay of wind and string ensembles in D major, portraying in the ballet a curious nuptial game with the king and princess on movable pedestals. The slow music that follows has to do with the king's healing by Dr. Struensee and the new queen's unquiet reverie (oboe and cor anglais solos). Then the suite, like the act, is capped by a pair of pas-de-deux, the first savage and bizarre for the royal couple, the second rich and passionate for the queen and the miracle-working doctor. Score (miniature). Duration c. 25mins.

SKU: BA.BA08866-90

ISBN 9790006577200. 27 x 19 cm inches. Text: Gautier de Montdorge, Antoine-César / Bersin, Louise-Angélique.

The ballet â??Les Fêtes d'Hbâ? deals with the talents that are usually the subject of the Opra and are placed at the service of love on stage: poetry and declamation (1st entre, La Posie), song and harmony (2nd entre, La Musique) and finally dance and choreography (3rd entre, La Danse); hence the alternative title of the ballet â??Les Talents lyriquesâ?. In this ballet opera, Rameau consistently gives priority to the female roles. The prologue glorifies Hb, the goddess of youth, and her alliance with love, while â??La Posieâ? praises the poetress Sappho, who sings almost throughout, and â??La Musiqueâ? concentrates on the omnipresent princess Iphise; finally, â??La Danseâ? has as its main character the shepherdess Ã?gl, who excels in dance and song.

Since the premiere, the text of the libretto has been perceived as rather unbalanced. Rameau compensates for these poetic shortcomings with musical boldness and innovations of the highest order. Be it the overture that throws Lully's model overboard, the varied choral movements such as that of the Thessalians â??Que jusqu'au fond de nos grottes profondesâ?, the virtuoso arias such as Sappho's air â??Un jour pass dans les tourmentsâ? or the magnificent monologues for Iphise and Tirte â?? the originality and beauty of the music testify to incredible ingenuity.

Audio sample on Youtube