Staatsoper Unter den Linden

Trailer: Hippolyte et Aricie

Encounters between immortals and mortals – gods and humans – are often tense and unpredictable. The two couples in Rameau’s Tragédie lyrique – Hippolyte and Aricie, Thésée and Phèdre – experience the power of the gods at first hand through the intervention of Diana, Jupiter, Pluto and Neptune. At the same time, spiritual impulses constantly burst forth, emotions that can barely be controlled, and against which reason is powerless. Forbidden passions flare up, and love seeks its way according to its own laws. Idyll, mystery and terror reign in equal measure, be it in the forest, by the sea or in the underworld.

Rameau’s music is nuanced and full of contrasts, with a multitude of sounds, forms and expressive moments. Deep earnestness is paired with fleet-footed entertainment, lyrical inwardness with dramatic accents, resulting in the unfolding of a cosmos, and revealing the treasures of Greek myth as well as the magic of French Baroque.