Rameau, Les Indes Galantes

Today's post is about one of the earlier examples of Persia in Western classical music. Jean-Philippe Rameau premiered Les Indes Galantes in 1735 in Paris. It's in the form of an opera-ballet—a prologue and four loosely connected acts—which was then popular, but which soon fell out of favor. As the name of the form suggests, dance abounds in these entertainments.

Jean-Philippe Rameau

The third act is a story about Persia in which a prince is in love with his best friend Ali's slave girl, while the prince's own slave girl is in love with Ali. True love finds a way after some twists and turns, and all ends in happy singing and dancing. 


THIRD ENTRÉE
In Les fleurs—fête Persane (The Flowers 
—Persian Festival), Prince Tacmas, though 
engaged to Fatima, is really in love with 
Zaïre, a slave of his trusted advisor Ali. 
Ali, in turn, is in love with Fatima. As the 
entrée begins, Tacmas appears disguised 
as a merchant woman to spy on Zaïre 
during the Festival of the Flowers, to see 
if she returns his affection. Unknowingly, 
she reveals that she does. Fatima, in turn, 
appears disguised as a man to spy on 
Ali, the man she loves. The two couples 
sort themselves out, sing a beautiful love 
quartet, and celebrate the Festival of 
the Flowers with song and dance.


The story, of course, has nothing to do with the reality of Persia. Neither does the music. Persia was just a convenient way for European composers and librettists to signal 'exotic,' and opera was enamored of the strategy.

Anyone unfamiliar with modern European treatments of early operas might be surprised to see just how modern the productions can be. Here is a photo from a hit version of Les Indes Galantes which was presented in Bordeaux in the summer of 2014:

A thorough review is here.


Anyone in doubt as to whether Rameau would approve should have a close look at his operas such as Les Boreades, Les Paladins, and, of course, Les Indes Galantes. Even though he was almost 50 when he began to compose opera, and very old for his time, almost 80, when he completed his last opera, his work is suffused with a radical longing for love and light and freedom.

Here's a video of part of the Persian act of Les Indes Galantes:


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