No, not that Saturday afternoon at the opera. I had a lovely Saturday afternoon watching a classically-inspired opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764). Les Boréades is the story of Queen Alphisa of Bactria (now northern Afghanistan) who falls in love with the mysterious stranger, Abaris. This upsets Boreas, god of the North Wind, who was hoping she'd marry one of his sons. He brings down fierce winter storms and it takes some intervention from Eros and Apollo (who turns out to be Abaris' father by a Borean nymph) to set things aright. The production I saw by the Opéra Nationale de Paris was very simple, with black and white costumes, and quite a bit of ballet, which I like. Here's the description on Amazon:
Director Robert Carsen and his creative team flood the stage with summer blossoms, drifts of autumn leaves, winter snows and thunderous spring storms. The cast of 140 are attired in elegant costumes inspired by late 1940s Dior.
It was as beautiful as it sounds. The singing was also very beautiful, and there was quite a bit of chemistry between the lead characters. I loved it.
You can watch a clip and see more pictures at Opus Arte.
