Music - Making full use of Drottningholm Theatre's unique 18th-century baroque theatre machinery, as well as his deep creative understanding of the profound drama of the work, stage director Pierre Audi creates a production of ZOROASTRE that completely accords with the spirit of Rameau. True to the form of the tragedie lyrique, choreographer Amir Hosseinpour's dances perfectly match the weight and meaning of both plot and music. The ensemble, Les Talens Lyriques, reinforced with musicians from the Drottningholm Court Theatre Orchestra and Chorus, is expertly and passionately led into the musical stratosphere by musical director Christophe Rousset. This intensely dramatic production is captured live in vibrant High Definition video and true surround sound. - Anders J. Dahlin, Evgueniy Alexiev, Sine Bundgaard
"William Christie and Les Arts Florissants propel this exuberant production of Jean-Philippe Rameau's second opera to great heights. Andrei Serban's extravagant, highly baroque staging presents the four exotic love stories vibrantly. In 'Le Turc généreux' Osman sets free his captive, Emilie, whom he loves, so that she may be reunited with her former lover, Valère; 'Les Incas de Pérou' is all about the rivalry of the Inca Huascar and the Spaniard Don Carlos, both in pursuit of Princess Phani; 'Les Fleurs' offers a Persian love intrigue, as the Sultana Fatime tries to detect whether her husband Tacmas has his eye on the lovely Atalide; and 'Les Sauvages' takes us to North America, where a Spaniard and a Frenchman compete for the love of Zima, daughter of a native chief, who prefers one of her own people." — from the DVD cover
Charles Mackerras teases the romantic beauty from Gounod's score, which has been widely admired since its first performance at the Théâtre Lyrique, Paris, in 1867. In this 1994 recording, the youthful Roberto Alagna as Roméo and Leontina Vaduva as the unattainable Juliette lead an excellent cast in this touching portrayal of impossible love, based on Shakespeare's play.