Rameau: Achante et Céphise

Many more Rameau operas are available on recordings than there were a generation ago, but new ones are surfacing all the time. A splendid example is Achante et Céphise, composed in 1751 to mark the birth of Louis XV's grandson. The work received its modern debut only in 2012, and this recording by the newly allied historical performance group Les Ambassadeurs - La Grand Écurie, and director Alexis Kossenko is the world premiere. The commercial success of the album may seem unexpected for an unknown Rameau opera, in a seemingly oxymoronic genre ("pastorale-héröique"), with a preposterous story involving two lovers under the competing spells of an evil genie and a good fairy, but the music shows Rameau absolutely at the top of his powers, bringing a vast range of musical genres into the tale. There is a profusion of sparkling dances, overtures and interludes that may be fugal or otherwise show sophistication, arioso recitatives that move the action along urgently, arias that could easily stand alone in recital, and extremely catchy choruses. The singers, led by Cyrille Dubois and soprano Sabine Devieilhe in the title roles, are sprightly and energetic, but the real credit here goes to Kossenko, who conveys the majestic scope of Rameau's musical thinking in a way that has very rarely been done. Rameau enlarged the sound world of opera in this work; it was the first to contain clarinets. They are right up front in the overture, and Kossenko puts them in the foreground. Throughout, he gives a sense for the way Rameau ruled French music for so long. One can easily imagine audiences humming these tunes in the street after seeing the opera. On the market during the holiday season of 2021 and beyond, this would be a gift sure to be appreciated by anyone with the slightest liking for Rameau.