Les Boréades, this great life lesson delivered by a nearly 80-year-old Rameau, a carpe diem forged to the very essence of the dances, orders us to choose love over power, freedom over love. The most striking thing is without a doubt the intelligence of an actor’s direction that osmotically blends music, theater and ballet, encompassing expression, sensitivity, humor, narration and psychology in a single gesture. Already present at the head of her Concert d’Astrée for Castor et Pollux in 2014, Emmanuelle Haïm returns for these Boréades, asserting herself as a great interpreter of Rameau. A variety of colors and dynamics, sensitivity and power, jubilant expressiveness, music that is cheerful and radiant, whispers and rumbles. The jubilant sounds of the orchestra are matched by the tremendous energy of the Concert d’Astrée choir: added to their dazzling vocal performance is the astonishing theatrical dimension of Barrie Kosky.
