In the gilded halls of Versailles, where mirrors once reflected the glory of an absolute monarchy, Valentin Tournet’s new recording of Rameau’s Platée creates its own hall of reflections – distorting, revealing, and ultimately illuminating the profound complexities embedded within this most perplexing of comic operas.

Captured within the very walls where the work originally celebrated a royal wedding through the cruel mockery of feminine desire, this interpretation confronts us with uncomfortable questions about beauty, deception, and the nature of artistic complicity in social cruelty.

La Chapelle Harmonique’s period instrument approach provides an authentic sonic landscape that Christie’s earlier Les Arts Florissants live recording (2021, DVD & CD), despite its dramatic mastery, occasionally obscures through its excessive leaning towards modern sensibilities. Tournet’s forces also benefit from the acoustic intimacy of Versailles’ Opéra Royal, creating a chamber-like intensity that serves Rameau’s intricate orchestral writing with crystalline clarity.

The cast, led by Mathias Vidal’s compelling Platée, brings fresh vocal colours to roles that have become encrusted with performance tradition, while Marie Lys doubles as both Thalie and La Folie...