Pygmalion/Pichon - Jean-Philippe Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie

Rameau�s first opera Hippolyte et Aricie delivered a lyrical tragedy of such extraordinary intensity it changed the course of French music, stunning and overwhelming its audiences. This breathtaking spectacle involves prince Hippolyte, who asks his mother-in-law Queen Ph�dre for help in wooing the beautiful Aricie, not knowing that Ph�dre secretly wants Hippolyte for herself. In a single work Rameau re-invented trag�die en musique with dramatic expressiveness and shocking harmonic innovations. It is seen here in an acclaimed Op�ra Comique production that personifies Rameau�s assertion that �music must speak to the soul, its true aim must be to express thoughts, feelings, and passions�.