Organization

Singer

Judith Chemla

Comédienne / actress

Conductor

Geoffroy Jourdain

Stage director

Benjamin Lazar

Countertenor

Constantin Goubet

Acteon

Soprano

Adèle Carlier

Diane

Mezzo-soprano

Marielou Jacquard

Junon

Théâtre du Châtelet

Actéon

Paris

France

Actéon
'Opéra de chasse' in one act by Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643 -1705)
Anonymous libretto based on Ovid's 'Metamorphoses'

Recording: December 6 2020 - Théâtre du Châtelet | Paris
Director: Corentin Leconte
Duration: 00:51

🇬🇧 Around 1684, the composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier was inspired by the famous ancient myth of Actaeon to write a baroque "hunting opera".  It is performed here at the Théâtre du Châtelet by Geoffroy Jourdain's musical ensemble Les Cris de Paris, staged by Benjamin Lazar.



 Curiosity is a bad thing: that seems to be the moral of the well-known story of Actaeon.  It depicts a hunter, Actéon, who surprises the goddess Diana and her companions in the bath while they thought they were sheltered from all prying eyes.  When she realizes this, Diane, furious, punishes Actéon by transforming him into a stag.  The poor hunter ends up devoured by his own dogs.

 Already in the 17th century, Charpentier's work was noted for its originality and brilliance: in a very short format (six scenes for a total of 40 minutes), the opera seemed to unfold a plot "in real time", which marks the viewer from carefree entertainment to chilling tragedy in record time. 

 Benjamin Lazar and Corentin Leconte have perfectly translated this intensity in their new work, which plunges the viewer directly into the heart of the play, through a long sequence shot shot live.  Between the simplicity of the theatrical device and the refinement of the cinematographic effects, this audacious contemporary work is undoubtedly worth the detour!

 Show recorded on December 6, 2020 at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris.

Actéon Charpentier,M

Public

Approved

Production booklet

Further reading