Mendelssohn’s performance of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in 1829 is one of them. Not only –as it seems through the reports of the time- was the performance grand, with a spirituality that led to Bach being considered the Father of Music. It also marked the real start of the emerging “Bach-Forschung” [movement/methodology], with the success we are now familiar with, of the Neue Bachgesellschaft.
The 1987 revival of Atys is one of them too. Not only particularly haunting and graceful, it also set new standards for the interpretation of French Baroque music. Atys made the “renaissance” of the whole French Baroque repertoire possible, from a practical and musicological viewpoint, with the subsequent opening of the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles.
At that time, New York Businessman and philanthropist Ronald P. Stanton was part of the audience. The memory of that event was still vivid in his mind as he was remembering it recently at a dinner, regretting that he would most likely never see Atys again. That said, he at once decided to reproduce it himself as close as possible to the original revival –with the support of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Opera Comique, Théâtre de Caen, Opéra National de Bordeaux and Les Arts Florissants.
As a revival is always a gamble, what about the revival of a revival?
In all respects this gamble was worth it, as the magic and vibrance are still present. Jean-Marie Villegier’s setting still evokes the spirit of a time when courtiers and noble men took themselves as gods embodying divinities on stage –especially in the prologue. Baroque is the background but so measured is the approach, using accessories with perfect balance, or even parsimony. Choreography (historical), after the late Francine Lancelot’s graceful experiment, may have appeared a little more in tune with the score, but the overall feeling when watching that tragédie lyrique is attending a perfectly mastered production, blessed by a true love of the material.
And that comes through especially in the music, of course. Clearly, the technique has improved since 1987. Tempi changed, French diction is more natural, recitatives benefit from a wonderfully colorful and expressive continuo, young-at-the-time singers like brilliant and solid Nicolas Rivenq, sublime Bernard Deletré and supremely elegant Paul Agnew got more mature and are now-younglings. Freshly trained from William Christie’s own academy, Le Jardin des Voix, sound like long-time professionals. Title-role Bernard Richter certainly deserves praise for his remarkable presence on stage, just like Stéphanie d’Oustrac’s Cybèle. Only Sophie Daneman (Doris) would appear less enchanted than the others, without that being too relevant.
Filmed with discretion but also a perfect knowledge of the work, that production needed to be immortalized by Bluray. Visually stunning, musically dazzling, cleverly produced, this is definitely a must-have.
Jérémie Noyer
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