Voltaire and Rameau had worked together before, on La Princesse de Navarre, premièred in early 1745. The court asked them to rework this lavish comédie-ballet into a ballet in one act, but the two men did not have the time – they were busy writing Le Temple de la Gloire – and entrusted Jean-Jacques Rousseau with finalising the adaptation. “You, sir bring together two talents that have always been separate until now,” Voltaire wrote to him. “These are two good reasons for me to hold you in esteem and to try to love you.” The famous quarrel would come later. For the time being, Rousseau added a few recitatives and arias, which Rameau subsequently revised. On 22 December 1745, the court was presented a work featuring a captive Spanish princess who is treated to superb divertissements by one of her captors. A work born out of a collaboration between three of the most brilliant minds of the 18th century.

Coproduction Royal Opera / Château de Versailles Spectacles, La Chapelle Harmonique

This program will be recorded on a CD to be released on the Château de Versailles Spectacles label.

Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)
Les Fêtes de Ramire

Ballet act based on a libretto by Voltaire, first performed at Versailles in 1745.

Show in French with French and English surtitles

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