Rameau: Le temple de la gloire, RCT 59 (Live)

In a stunning world premiere recording, music director and conductor Nicholas McGegan, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale, and an international cast of French Baroque opera stars present Jean-Philippe Rameau’s original 1745 version of Le Temple de la Gloire (The Temple of Glory), with libretto by Voltaire. Presented as a fully staged opera in April 2017, the three sold out performances enjoyed universal critical acclaim. The original manuscript had not been performed since 1745 and is housed at U.C. Berkeley’s Jean Gray Hargrove Music Library. Originally written to honor King Louis XV and commemorate the Battle of Fontenoy, the version of this ballet heroique that has been heard up until now is the second version which was substantially changed by Rameau to appease the King and Parisian tastes. Voltaire’s original libretto, used in these performances and recording, is a philosophical reform of opera: an allegory set around the idea of the temple of glory with moral and political overtones- making this original version not only more powerful but uniquely relevant, even today.