RAMEAU: LES BOREADES

Rameau is one of the universal geniuses in European musical history, on the same level as Bach, Mozart and Haydn", asserts conductor Gyorgy Vashegyi. With this recording of Les Boreades Vashegyi completes an ambitious 10-year Rameau project, run in collaboration with the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles. The cast of Sabine Devieilhe, Reinoud Van Mechelen, Tassis Christoyannis, Thomas Dolie, Gwendoline Blondeel, Benedikt Kristjansson and Philippe Estephe is joined by the Orfeo Orchestra and Purcell Choir - both ensembles founded by Vashegyi. Devieilhe - who made her Erato debut with a Rameau recital - takes the central role of Alphise, Queen of Bactria, who must defy the traditions of her country if she is to marry the man she loves. The theme of freedom, 'la liberte', is important in the opera; conceived in 1763 to mark the end of the Seven Years' War, it had to wait more than 200 years for it's first full staging. When the performers on this recording appeared in a concert version of Les Boreades at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees in Paris, Concert Classique declared that "Rameau's genius shines through at every moment.