Paris-On Monday evening Cherubini's “Médée†takes to the stage of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées as the third and final work of a mini-festival this fall of operas about Greek mythology's most famous woman spurned. On the podium, will be Christophe Rousset, whose sterling credentials as a harpsichordist and Baroque specialist might suggest he'd be more at home with Marc-Antoine Charpentier's “Médée,†the first in the series (‘‘Medea'' by the composer Pascal Dusapin was the second).
But Mr. Rousset conducted Cherubini's version at La Monnaie in Brussels, where the production originated in 2008, and in fact prefers it, as he said over lunch at a Paris restaurant, even though the opera dates from 1797-practically the 19th century. “Despite very beautiful music, th e Charpentier doesn't really work as an opera. There is too much emphasis on hell and magic. Cherubini's opera is more Romantic, more about a real character, more touching. You feel empathy. It moves you in a strange way. The real drama comes at the end, where it should.â€
In preferring Cherubini, Mr. Rousset is in good company: Beethoven was a huge admirer of Cherubini and much preferred his opera to those frivolous works by Mozart with librettos by Lorenzo da Ponte. And Maria Callas's famous portrayal of Cherubini's heroine supplied, in recorded versions, many opera goers with their introduction to the opera. But she sang it in a corrupt Italian version, which still turns up on occasion, especially outside France where theaters may have trouble in dealing with the niceties of an opéra comique, with its spoken dialogue. (Because of its dialogue, “Médée†is technically an opéra comique, even though there is nothing comic about it.)
The main prob lem of the Italian version is that it contains accompanied recitatives by the German composer Franz Lachner, which were written in the 1850s and reflect then-current musical styles, so that the most striking and progressive features of Cherubini's music are not set in proper relief and accordingly fail to register properly. In any case, doing “Médée†at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Italian was never a possibility, not just because Mr. Rousset dismisses the Italian version but also because Michel Franck, the theater's general director, insists that French operas by Italian composers be performed in French, regardless of traditions favoring Italian translations.
You might think this would be a no-brainer for a Paris theater, but the Paris Opéra's 1998 production of Verdi's French grand opera “Don Carlos†was given in Italian as “Don Carlo,†even in its revival two years ago. The production of “Médée†at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées b y the Polish director Krzystof Warlikowski does use a rewritten version of the spoken dialogue, but Mr. Rousset shrugs this off as not so unimportant. “Médée†is an especially intense and concentrated production by the controversial Mr. Warlikowski.
The opera also has special significance for Mr. Rousset. Like many conductors who established themselves through period-instrument performances of Baroque music, Mr. Rousset has become ever more attracted to music of a more recent vintage. He regards the process as a logical one: the more experience one gains as a conductor, the more one is drawn to music that poses greater challenges for the conductor. “There is only so much for a conductor to do in a Lully opera. Handel becomes more interesting. Mozart and Beethoven are the logical next steps. ‘Médée' helped establish my Romantic soul. But the Baroque is my period too. And I'm still a harpsichordist.â€
Have you seen the three versions o f “Medea?†which composer do you think does it best?
