Castor et Pollux

Télaïre is promised to Pollux but, like Phébé, loves Pollux’s brother Castor. Pollux, in turn, loves Télaïre … – The initial conflict of Rameau’s third opera
is simply insoluble. Although Pollux releases Télaïre for his beloved brother, he is killed shortly afterwards in a fight provoked by the jealous
Phébé. So that Castor and Télaïre can still be united, Pollux decides to bring his brother back from the underworld.
But to do so, he must make a great sacrifice and remain in the underworld himself. And Phébé’s love for Castor is still burning …

The journey to the underworld to bring a loved one back to this world is a famous topos in world literature. As in
one of the first operas in music history, Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, Rameau also uses this topos to paint an inner portrait of the souls of his four
protagonists. In doing so, he relies on sophisticated and unconventional harmony and the use of differentiated timbres,
thereby virtually revolutionizing French opera after Lully.
After the premiere in 1737, the composer subjected the tragédie mise en musique to a far-reaching revision that streamlined the plot,
which in its 2nd version in 1754 was a groundbreaking success. The second version was a groundbreaking success in 1754 – and certainly contributed to Camille Saint-Saëns’ verdict on
100 years later: “The immortal Rameau is the greatest musical genius that France has ever produced.”