Stage Opéra Royal du Château de Versailles
musicAeterna
Le Poème Harmonique
Musical direction Vincent Dumestre
Stage direction Benjamin Lazar
Scenography Mathieu Lorry-Dupuy
Phaéton Mathias Vidal
Lybie Éva Zaïcik
Théone Victoire Bunel
Direction for TV Corentin Leconte
Production for TV Bel Air Media
Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687)
Lyric tragedy in 5 acts and a prologue on a libretto by Philippe Quinault
Created on 6 January 1683 in Versailles
New Production
Coproduction : Perm Opera - Royal Opera/ Château de Versailles Spectacles,
in collaboration with Le Poème Harmonique
Sung in French with French and English surtitles
Because Louis XIV’s century was, as its sovereign, embodied by the sun, Lully, the founder of lyric tragedy had to dedicate one of his most flamboyant masterpieces to the king himself...
Here is the story of Phaeton, the gallant driver of the Sun's chariot, dominating the celestial dome with his daily race across the sky. But Glory, Honour, and Love in excess will cause the downfall of the young god... A destiny struck down, a warning for the King maybe? The Sun King however identified with Mars and Apollo; and unlike Phaeton he did not chase chimeras (unless it was for love).
Two shining stars will revive Phaeton: Vincent Dumestre and Benjamin Lazar, on the strength of their ten years of collaboration on the work of Lully, rediscover the tones of the work that thrilled the Court. Phaeton will rise for his ultimate ride to the Sun’s palace drawn by the irrepressible enthusiasm of the faraway Perm Opera…
