Lully: Atys [Blu-ray]

Spectacular
William Christie and Les Arts Florissants have led the revival of French baroque operas. Their performances of Lully's Atys at L'Opera Comique in Paris in 1987 and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1989 received widespread acclaim and convincingly demonstrated the viability of the genre. Their CD recording on Harmonia Mundi Lully: Atys made after the Paris premiere was hailed as exemplary, but only now does this Blu-ray disc allow us to appreciate fully what all the fuss was about. A second disc provides five supplementary features totaling a hour and a half about the opera and the production. [I purchased my copy from Amazon.co.uk, where it has been available since October 25.]

Thanks to philanthropist Ronald Stanton, L'Opera Comique, BAM, and two other French theaters have been able to mount a new production of Atys, which was recorded in high-def video in Paris in May 2011. The result is...

Thumbs Up to ATYS
I have spent the last two days immersed in the blu-ray of Lully's 315-minute opera ATYS as presented earlier this year in Paris. Soon into the lengthy work something became noticeable in particular, that although I was following along with the English subtitles, the French diction was so clear that I could actually understand nearly every word and sometimes anticipate the next one, despite my challenged French. I recalled that I had read in the liner notes to Charpentier's MEDEE, recorded by Christie in the 1980's, how the cast had assembled to read through the words of the entire libretto first, before beginning to rehearse the music. So I continued to follow the blu-ray of ATYS closely. After an hour, I had to retire for the night, but the next day resumed viewing, and then went on to watch the excellent 100-minute interview disc. There even more substance was added to the rationale for emphasizing the declamation of the text.
Lully virtually invented French opera, after...

Thank you, Mr. Ronald Stanton. This Atys is for the ages.
Lully's stage works are, arguably, among the most well represented in all of baroque opera. There's the beautiful Persee from Toronto's Opera Atelier, the charming Bourgeois Gentilhomme and the spectacular Cadmus & Hermione, both from Le Poeme Harmonique. I can't comment on Armide as I have yet to see it. Now we have an absolutely indispensible Atys from the man who almost single handedly rekindled the world's interest in French baroque opera, William Christie and his intrepid band, Les Arts Florissants. Any Lully fan can just stop reading this review right now and purchase, without reservation, a copy of this extraordinary performance staged at Paris's Opera Comique. From the singing, acting, mise-en- scene, dancing and, of course, conducting, playing and direction, everything about this production is just glorious. American philanthropist, Ronald Stanton, funded this revival of the original 1987 production, directed by Jean-Marie Villegier and all I can say is THANK YOU, MR...

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