Hippolyte et Aricie

TRAGÉDIE LYRIQUE IN FIVE ACTS (1733/1757)

MUSIC BY

Jean-Philippe Rameau

TEXT BY

Simon-Joseph Pellegrin after the tragedie »Phèdre« by Jean Racine,
3rd version from 1757, with selected passages from the 1st version from 1733

Encounters between immortals and mortals – gods and humans – are often tense and unpredictable. The two couples in Rameau’s Tragédie lyrique – Hippolyte and Aricie, Thésée and Phèdre – experience the power of the gods at first hand through the intervention of Diana, Jupiter, Pluto and Neptune. At the same time, spiritual impulses constantly burst forth, emotions that can barely be controlled, and against which reason is powerless. Forbidden passions flare up, and love seeks its way according to its own laws. Idyll, mystery and terror reign in equal measure, be it in the forest, by the sea or in the underworld.

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