A powerful and princely production worth the wait

Lully

Atys (DVD)

Emmanuelle de Negri, Bernard Richter, Stéphanie d’Oustrac, Nicolas Rivenq; Les Arts Florissants/William Christie; dir. Jean-Marie Villégier (Paris, 2011)

Naxos DVD: 2.110694-95; Blu-ray: NBD 0132 V 196 mins

Known as ‘the King’s opera’ because Louis XIV not only chose its subject but also sang whole passages of it, Lully’s tragédie en musique, Atys, which premiered in 1676, ran on and off for a century before sinking into oblivion until the Baroque revival two centuries later. That we now have this superbly filmed account is thanks to a meeting between the period-performance theatre director Jean-Marie Villégier and William Christie (with his Les Arts Florissants company), plus added expertise contributed by the dance historian Francine Lancelot. Toured internationally in the ’80s, this definitive production by the Opéra Comique was filmed ten years ago, but the DVD has been worth the wait.

The story from Ovid concerns prince Attis, whose punishments for is here brilliantly evoked.