Suite from Platée
Suite from the opera Platée
Ouverture (the birth of comedy)
Rigaudons I & II
Air pour les fous gai (for followers of Momus and Folly)
Menuets I & II (in the style of a hurdy-gurdy)
Airs vif I & II
Program Notes by Martin Pearlman
Rameau's first opera, written in 1733 when he was fifty years old, astonished the musical world of Paris. For a man who was best known at the time for his harpsichord pieces and as a music theorist -- much music theory that is taught in conservatories today is based on Rameau -- it was a startling debut. Connoisseurs realized that this newcomer to the opera scene might well prove to be the greatest French opera composer since Lully more than a half century earlier. One leading composer of the day, André Campra said that "this man will eclipse us all" and remarked that the profusion and density of Rameau's musical ideas made enough music for ten operas.
Platée, Rameau's only comic opera, was first performed at Versailles on March 31, 1745 for the wedding of the Dauphin with Maria Teresa of Spain. The story would seem cruel today, as well as a curious choice for the occasion. Platée is an unattractive nymph who lives in a marsh pond and vainly considers herself beautiful. Jupiter woos her in sport and leads her to a mock marriage ceremony, only to be interrupted by the jealous Juno. However, Juno, realizing that the courtship could only be a joke, mends her quarrel with her husband, and they leave Platée alone to be mocked by Momus, the god of satire, and a chorus of frogs. It is a surprising story to have been performed at a wedding. But no criticisms about this have come down to us, only remarks on the brilliance of the music. Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote that it was "the most excellent piece of music that has been heard as yet upon our stage." Four years later, it was given its public premiere at the Paris Opéra and was so successful that it was revived three times in the following decade.
Despite its problematic story, Rameau's music is truly inspired in its comic style. The entertaining overture bears the heading "the birth of comedy," and the comedy itself is full of stunningly orchestrated dance music. It is a rich source of brilliant music for an instrumental suite.
Boston Baroque Performances
Suite from Platée
December 31, 2019 & January 1, 2020
Sanders Hall, Cambridge, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
October 9, 1992
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
February 19, 1982
NEC’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
April 8, 1977
Paine Hall, Cambridge, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
February 4, 1977
Paine Hall, Cambridge, MA
Martin Pearlman, conductor
Soloist:
Diana Hoagland, soprano