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Theatre Journal 53.4 (2001) 649-651



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Performance Review

Thesee


Thesee. Music by Jean-Baptiste Lully, Libretto by Phillippe Quinault. Boston Early Music Festival Production, Tanglewood Theatre, Lenox, Massachusetts. 23 June 2001.

Thésée was originally created for Louis XIV and premiered at the Royal Residence at Saint-Germain en Laye on 10 January 1675. Drawing on elements from classical tragedy, ballet de cours, and the spectacular "machine" plays that were all the rage in seventeenth-century Paris, this "tragedie en musique" remained in the European repertoire throughout the rest of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries before virtually disappearing for the next 200 years. In 2001 it has been revived in a sumptuous production by the Boston Early Music Festival. Directed by Gilbert Blin and choreographed by Lucy Graham, with the Lully Opera Orchestra under the direction of Paul O'Dette and Stephen Stubbs, the production is aesthetically unified, and meticulously researched and executed. A rare pleasure for opera and theatre lovers, this Thésée is also of immense value to scholars for its reconstruction of the staging and performance style of seventeenth-century France.

Preceded by a prologue set in Versailles, the main plot revolves around the hero Thésée, who having defeated Athens' enemies has won the love of the princess Aeglé. Medée, exiled in Athens following her notorious murders, has also fallen for Thésée, although she is betrothed to King Aegée. Conveniently, Aegée decides he would rather marry the young Aeglé. The King and Medée conspire to separate the young lovers but Thésée (who turns out to be Aegée's son) triumphs over Medée and her sorcery and ultimately wins the princess. Recognized at the last minute by his father, who at Medée's urging was about to poison him, Thésée is welcomed as the savior of Athens.

Thésée seduces its audience with the pleasures of spectacle, exquisite dance, and heavenly music. Reflecting the rarified world of the seventeenth-century French court, Thésée is an allegory of the heroic exploits and loves of Louis XIV himself. The king's presence haunts the production from the first moments when a fleur-de-lis of light is projected onto a royal blue curtain. In the prologue, we see statues lining the garden vista that culminates in a view of Versailles (painted in perspective on two flats that meet in the middle to form the backdrop). The graceful waxen-faced figures are inhumanly serene and perfect. They represent Venus' followers, and embody the beautiful artifice that is the keynote of the production. The figures slowly come to life, and the static picture is delicately transformed into a moving scene. Venus (played by Ann Monoyios) enters in a pale gown soon followed by Mars (Paul Guttry) in martial red and gold, to debate the qualities of love and glory essential for an ideal hero. Of course, Louis himself, who appears symbolically at the prologue's end as a portrait over which a crown is reverently held, equally embodies both these characteristics. Here is the meaning of Thésée--the next three hours are an intricate elaboration of the ideas introduced in these images. Visual references to Louis and Versailles help contextualize Thésée, reminding us of the world and the absolute monarch for which this piece was intended. The excellent scholarly notes in the program also help.

Design and performance elements complement each other. The haunting sound of the period instruments balances perfectly with the singers' voices, never overwhelming them. Both musicians and actors capture the essence of a performance style that is highly stylized and elegant. Tenderness and pathos prevail and only rarely give way [End Page 649] to more violent feelings, such as Medée's jealous fury. The international cast is impressive. Ellen Hargis is a charming princess and Howard Crook a charismatic Thésée. Bernard Deletre as Aegée and Laura Pudwell as Medée are majestic. Diction is clear and movements precise.

The set consists of Italianate wings and flats, with...

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