Rameau's Les Indes galantes

From Turkish gardens to Peruvian deserts, from Arabian palaces to the forests of North America, Rameau’s Les Indes galantes explores the themes of love, jealousy, and redemption through the peoples of far-flung lands. In a recent production of the opéra-ballet as part of Munich’s 2016 Opera Festival, stage director and choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui turns the composer’s original fascination with exotic cultures on its head, stripping the tales of their foreign trappings and in doing so transforming them into reflections on traditions, assumptions, and superstitions closer to home. Music Director and early music specialist Ivor Bolton leads the Münchner Festspielorchester in Rameau’s luscious score, while the talented vocal soloists are joined by the choir and dancers of Cherkaoui’s Antwerp-based Compagnie Eastman.

Photo: © W. Hösl