Logo courtesy of Opera Lafayette.
Opera Lafayette is best known for performing 17th-19th century French music and vocal works authentically using period instruments. However, one aspect of Opera Lafayette’s productions that I have found to have endearing appeal has been the frequent inclusion of dance - see photos below - which was seminal in French operas until the mid-20th century. To me, dance seemed such a natural part of the works performed that I have never given it much thought. However, the upcoming performances of Io, reconstructed though detective work, and Léandre et Héro, made possible by a rediscovered score, can be referred to as “opéras-ballets” (a genre of French baroque theater that combines opera and ballet), or more precisely, “actes de ballet” (opéras-ballets with only one act), and have caused me to give the inclusion of dance in opera some thought. Are opéras-ballets ballets or operas? I suspect the question is like asking whether Reese’s Cups are chocolate or peanut butter candy; they are both, but so good together! Not only that, but Opera Lafayette has decided to put them in dazzling new wrappers, costumes by designer Machine Dazzle.
Charles André Van Loo - Madame de Pompadour en belle jardinière - v.1754-1755. Image from Wikipedia is in the public domain.
I don’t think that OL chose these works because they are a fusion form, but rather, because the works themselves are central to the theme of their season constructed around the life and times of Madame de Pompadour, a fascinating and controversial figure in 18th century France, who had a significant impact on French opera and music in her day (see my report on OL’s “The Era of Madame de Pompadour”). Mme Pompadour achieved court status by becoming the chief mistress of King Louis XV. Despite the derision and opposition from court members dismayed to have a commoner in their midst, she became a friend and principal advisor to the king, who rewarded her with other appointments as well. In addition to bearing the gifts of intellect and personality, she was also a talented musician and opera singer who managed salons at a theater named the Théâtre des Petits Cabinets, which she had constructed at Versailles; she was well prepared for this role, having established a presence in the Parisian salon scene prior to achieving court status. Performances there, which often included her, were immensely popular with the king. Invitations to perform and attend became coveted among singers and musicians, which gained her influence with Opéra Paris, and courtiers, which gained her additional influence at court. Her interests swayed the interests of France’s musical establishment.
Therein lies the special appeal for Opera Lafayette, but the plot is a good bit thicker. The composers of both operas received patronage from Mme Pompadour, and the subject matter for each opera may have been, at least partially, intended as payback for that patronage. In each work, a woman of true spirit is challenged and love triumphs; their light illuminated Madame de Pompadour quite favorably. King Louis XV’s chief mistress commissioned several works by composer Pierre de La Garde, including Léandre et Héro, and secured for him the position of music instructor for the king’s daughters. She was a staunch supporter of Jean-Phillipe Rameau, composer of Io, securing commissions for him from the Opéra Paris; you might think of her perhaps as the Francesca Zambello of her day. Rameau was fifty years old by the time of his first opera and needed her support to challenge the operatic paradigm established by composer, and Louis XIV favorite, Jean-Baptiste Lully. The score for Léandre et Héro by de La Garde was believed lost to antiquity, but recently surfaced. Opera Lafayette supporters enabled Bibliothèque nationale de France to secure this work and was rewarded with exclusive rights for productions of this opéra-ballet for one year. If you attend OL’s modern premiere next week, you will be among the first to see it in 250 years or so.
Portrait of Jean-Philippe Rameau, 1728, by Jacques Aved. Photo in Wikipedia in public domain.
The plot is even thicker when it comes to Io; you see, Io was never performed, and its manuscript did not survive intact. The existing musical manuscript of Io lacks the overture and most of the final divertissement (an ending scene in French baroque opera that includes dance). Musicologist and Rameau expert Sylvie Bouissou, who is working with Opera Lafayette on this project, has made a compelling case using evidence from history, texts, and music that the missing portions were excised for use in a later Rameau opera, Platée. This reshuffling of music and scenes was a common practice of 18th century opera composers. Rameau was a respected musical theoretician in his day and became a major composer of French opera. Musicologist Bouissou has provided a proposed complete Io by using the overture and divertissement from an early version of Platée. In the plot, Jupiter and Apollo in disguises compete for the affection of Io; forced to choose, she chooses Jupiter, who reveals his true self, while Apollo goes off to sulk. Folly or La Folie appears, having stolen Apollo’s lyre, to show how crazy the world is, making merriment in Jupiter’s call for graces, pleasures, and games. The only two Rameau operas where Folly appears is Io and Platée, further strengthening Dr. Bouissou’s case. Io also further strengthened Madame de Pompadour’s case as her being the choice of a powerful leader. This reconstructed Io has been sanctioned by Rameau’s Opera Omnia as a complete Io.
Portrait of King Louis XIV as Apollo in the Ballet Royal de la Nuit (1653). Image in Wikipedia in public domain.
Let’s talk about ballet in opera, since it is a significant part of OL’s premieres, a modern premiere of Léandre et Héro and an original premiere of Io. Ballet began to be included in French operas in the seventeenth century as Italian operas were imported and modified to fit French tastes; ballets had already been featured at royal courts often including royalty among the dancers and often carrying political messages, such as the king is the divine ruler. Ballets included in operas were mostly interludes or divertissement added between acts or at the end to entertain and give a pause from the singing, sometimes only loosely related to the opera’s plot. This adaptation perhaps took strongest root in Jean-Baptiste Lully’s operas and evolved by the nineteenth century for it to become de rigueur for French opera; even the great Verdi acquiesced, adding ballet scenes to meet French expectations. It is claimed that during the 19th century the ballets were needed to attract to the operas an important audience, the wealthy male patrons of the Paris Jockey Club who liked to gaze at the lovely dancers. Unfortunately, the incorporation of ballet in opera seems to have faded in the modern era. The inclusion of ballet in opera to me seems a valid part of opera’s goal of engaging all the senses in as many ways as an artistic work can muster. As a fan, I love it!
Artistic Director Ryan Brown often adds novel elements to OL’s eighteenth century opera performances to better engage modern audiences; in 2020, he even turned a French opera comique into a Hollywood-style western. It is primarily in the dance portions that such enhancements have been made for these operas-ballets. Director Brown sees the ballet portions as integral to the overall production. In a telephone chat, he noted, “The inclusion of dance and ‘divertissements’ in opera is usually very carefully integrated into the experience of the whole. In Mozart's Idomeneo, an opera based on what was originally a French libretto, and including dance, for instance, the choral and dance segments relieve the tension of the plot involving the main characters. When I saw a televised Met production from the 70's or 80's (it included Pavarotti), something seemed terribly amiss when the cameras focused in on the tense faces of the principals during the choral and dance segments when those principals were not singing, thus giving us no emotional relief, and missing what I'd call the emotional pacing of the opera. Similarly, there have been productions of Berlioz's Les Troyens which cut all the dance sequences, but which seem much longer than productions (like the Gardiner one in Paris) which include them and preserve the intended emotional pacing.” Regretfully I think, the ballet portion of Idomeneo is most often omitted in contemporary productions.
Photo of dancers from the Séan Curran Company in a scene from Opera Lafayette’s performance of Handel’s Radimisto in 2019. Photo by Louis Forget; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.
First up will be Léandre et Héro, where the two lovers are each drowned by the sea and then brought back and given immortality by Neptune; Madame de Pompadour originally sang the role of Hero, which again placed her and her relationship with the king in a favorable light. In OL’s production, the Séan Curran Company’s dancers will portray the sea using a modern free form style of dance, while the New York Baroque Dance Company will play onlookers on land using a formal 18th century dance style. The acte-de-ballet Léandre et Héro was the third part of the opéra-ballet, La journée galante; the second act, La toilette de Vénus, was also recovered at the same time, and these can now be combined with the existing first act Æglé to form the complete work.
Photo of a scene from Opera Lafayette’s performance of Rameau’s Les Fêtes de l’Hymen et de l’Amour, ou Les Dieux d’Égypte, performed in the 2014, featuring dancers from the New York Baroque Opera Comapny in period dress and dancers from the Séan Curran Company in modern dress; not shown, but also featured in this performance were members of Kalanidhi Dance. Photo by Louis Forget; courtesy of Opera Lafayette.
The historic premiere of Io, which will follow Léandre et Héro, will have dancers from the Séan Curran Company, and both singers and dancers will have extraordinary costumes. Director Ryan said that, “The fact that the libretto called for everyone to be in disguise (the singers are the character of Jupiter, Apollo, and Io and Mercury and La Folie, and the dancers are Graces, Pleasures, and Games), plus the fact La Folie arrives to make everything topsy turvy, and because we have Machine’s costumes for all, combined to suggest to us that contemporary dance movements would be appropriate for this half of the show.” The show is 18th century opéra-ballet. Director Brown became a fan of designer Machine Dazzle through articles about him, his awards, and Dazzle’s first solo exhibition, Queer Maximalism x Machine Dazzle, at the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC; Mr. Brown was impressed with the designer’s talent for using “ordinary objects to extraordinary effect”. Through a contact, he was able to bring Machine Dazzle on board for this production. Machine will have to go some to top Louis XIV’s costume, but rest assured - I stated that the singers and dancers will wear extraordinary costumes, but Opera Lafayette says they “will don Dazzle’s works of art”.
Authentic French music played on period instruments, excellent singing, intriguing dancing, and dazzling costumes, and all this in the intimate Terrace Theater of the Kennedy Center - what more could you want for a fine night out? And while I’m not too sure about Reese’s Cups, I feel safe in claiming that Opera Lafayette’s operas-ballets will be good for you.
The Fan Experience: Léandre et Héro and Io will be performed in the Terrace Theater of the Kennedy Center on May 2 and 3 and in El Museo del Barrio in New York City on May 9. Each opera is one act; vocals are sung in French with English subtitles displayed on side screens. The May 9 performance will be part of the Opera Lafayette New York Baroque Music Festival that will include In the Salons of Versailles on May 10 and Pergolesi! on May 11; both works were presented previously in DC as part of this season.
The opéras-ballets Léandre et Héro and Io will be directed by Nick Olcott who has previously worked with Opera Lafayette, and the music will be directed by harpsichordist/organist Avi Stein. Renown French soprano Emmanuelle de Negri and tenor Maxime Melnik, making his first U.S. performance, will star in the title roles and be joined by bass-baritone Doug Williams, soprano Gwendoline Blondeel, and tenor Patrick Kilbride. As noted, the productions will feature Seán Curran Company (choreographer Seán Curran) and New York Baroque Dance Company (choreographer Catherine Turocy).