Les Indes Galantes

A greatest hits from Les Indes galantes? You’ve been dreaming of it… and Rameau knew it: he created this streamlined version himself, cutting back on the recitatives to make room for more arias, ensembles, choruses and ballets. “Four grand concerts” rolled into one!

A brief journey through time and space: in 1725, Louis XV officially received a delegation of Native American leaders, organised by the French East India Company. A decade later, the episode inspired Rameau to compose his ballet héroïque. The period’s fascination with the exotic made for a rather fluid idea of the “Indies,” as reflected in the titles of its three sections: “The Generous Turk,” “The Incas of Peru” and “Flowers, a Persian Festival.” The “Savages” soon joined them, bringing their “Indians” from the Americas and the now-famous “Dance of the great peace pipe.”  We owe the abridged version of the latter to Christophe Rousset, who leads this “Bal des Indes” at the helm of Les Talens Lyriques and the Namur Chamber Choir, with a lineup of soloists well-versed in Rameau’s bold and imaginative musical world.

Musical director Christophe Rousset

Les Talens Lyriques 
Namur Chamber Choir

Chorus director Thibaut Lenaerts
Soprano Mélissa Petit
Mezzo-soprano Ambroisine Bré
Countertenor Petr Nekoranec 
Bass Lysandre Châlon

Dance Anka Postic

Dramaturgy Raphaëlle Blin

Production Les Talens Lyriques

^{Photo © Gabriel Balaguera}