Sabine Devieilhe RAMEAU Le Grand Théâtre De L'Amour

My connection with the music of Jean-Philippe Rameau dates back five years. I had just sung Aricie’s famous ‘Rossignols amoureux’ in a student concert at the conservatory when Alexis tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I would like to take part in a performance project involving the composer in whom he specialised. Alexis is well known as a flautist, a young conductor and musicologist and has done research which really brings to light the astonishing range of Rameau’s work. 

This programme is conceived along the lines of a small-scale opera, giving me a broad range of colours to choose from and highly demanding instru- mentation with which to work in the dramatic role of tearful lover. I can’t thank Alexis and Les Ambassadeurs enough for having seen the project through and for giving all their energy and musical creativity in the service of this recording. (Sabine Devieilhe)

The operas of Jean-Philippe Rameau, vast spectacles, may be lost to history in their original forms. Sure, some of them have been produced in the modern era, but no company could muster the combination of singers, instrumentalists, choreography, and costume and scene design that would have accompanied the originals. The closest might be this release by French soprano Sabine Devieilhe, which is a thrill from start to finish. The album simply has it all. Devieilhe's voice is a knockout, and a deceptive one at that: it comes in as a flutelike thing in the mid-range but then scores with an agile top that seems absolutely undaunted by acrobatic vocal writing. The work of the historical-instrument orchestra Les Ambassadeurs under Alexis Kossenko is technically superb and dramatically sharp; they convey the feeling of playing for real theatergoers. The music covers selections from some operas with hugely ambitious themes, and there are three world-premiere recordings. Sample the storm aria from Les Indes Galantes (The Gallant Indians), track 17, with its wind machine and its colorful vocal canvas, for a taste of an immensely satisfying recital by a new face on the scene who makes you wonder just how far she'll eventually go. (James Manheim)