Platée: Rameau’s madness returns to Versailles

Le Concert Spirituel conducted by Hervé Niquet

featuring Mathias Vidal · Jean-Christophe Lanièce · Marc Labonnette · Pierre Derhet · Clara Penalva · Jean-Vincent Blot · Marie Perbost · Marie-Laure Garnier

Corinne and Gilles Benizio (aka Shirley and Dino)

Photo: Mirco Magliocca

A comedy… cruel and virtuosic

Beneath its irresistible farcical exterior, Platée deploys a formidable mechanism. Jean-Philippe Rameau combines musical writing of dizzying precision with a sharp sense of theater. The result is a work where everything seems light, almost improvised—yet it demands constant virtuosity from its performers. On stage, the cast gathered around Mathias Vidal (Platée) and Marie Perbost (La Folie) fully embodies this subtle balance between singing and acting. There are no half-measures here: one must be both an outstanding musician and a committed actor to bring this gallery of characters, as absurd as they are endearing, to life.

A revival defined by collective energy

Conceived as a team adventure from its inception, this production reunites its original performers, driven by the undiminished joy of playing together again. The staging by Shirley and Dino, transposed into the world of a favela, celebrates movement, spontaneity, and interaction with the audience. To honor this comic opera-ballet, this revival will feature new choreography by the Royal Opera’s Baroque Dance Academy under the direction of Pierre-François Dollé. In the pit as on stage, Hervé Niquet infuses a communicative energy into this "very fluid organization… of disorder," to use his own words. For behind the apparent chaos lies a meticulously crafted structure, where every detail serves a single goal: to make you laugh, surprise you, and, ultimately, move you.

↓Bonus: Platée in 2 minutes flat ↓

Adapting and conducting a work as complex as Rameau’s "Platée" is no easy feat, but nothing is impossible for Hervé Niquet! Watch in the video below ↓