Parking Lot Construction: As part of our ongoing work to maintain and improve Central Library, the parking lot will be closed for construction from Tuesday, July 28, to Saturday, August 1. Visit the Central Library page for more details. 

CLOSURE: Central Library will be closed Tuesday, July 21, through Saturday, July 25, while emergency repairs are made to the building’s cooling system. We expect to reopen Monday, July 27.

Notice of Public Meeting: Kalamazoo Public Library Board of Trustees | July 27 | 5:30 pm | Central Library/Van Deusen Room. The packet of information for the meeting can be found on the library’s website. 

eVideo hoopla Instant

Rameau: Hippolyte et AricIe

Year

2022

Language

FRENCH (ENGLISH subtitles)

Duration

2h 20m

Rating

NR

CC

Performers

Reinoud Van Mechelen, Elsa Benoit, Sylvie Brunet-Grupposo, Stéphane Degout, Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon, François Roussillon

Directed By

Jeanne Candel

Written By

Jean-Philippe Rameau

Publication Information

Naxos

Summary

Rameau's first opera Hippolyte et Aricie delivered a lyrical tragedy of such extraordinary intensity it changed the course of French music, stunning and overwhelming its audiences. This breathtaking spectacle involves prince Hippolyte, who asks his mother-in-law Queen Phédre for help in wooing the beautiful Aricie, little knowing that Phèdre secretly wants Hippolyte for herself. In a single work Rameau re-invented tragédie en musique with dramatic expressiveness and shocking harmonic innovations. It is seen here in an acclaimed Opéra Comique production that personifies Rameau's assertion that 'music must speak to the soul, its true aim must be to express thoughts, feelings, and passions'.

Subjects