Les Paladins

Based on a tale by La Fontaine entitled Le Petit chien, the scene takes place in the Middle Ages and features two trios. The first is formed by the paladin Atis (a valiant and generous knight), the beautiful Argie (a prisoner ward of her tutor Anselme) and Anselme (a rich and unsympathetic senator, determined to marry Argie). The second trio, whose light-hearted characters are in line with the emerging opera buffa, is made up of the sparkling Nérine (Argie’s confidante), Orcan (Anselme’s servant) and Manto (a Moorish fairy in drag), who brings her share of delirium through the medium of the Merveilleux.

With its unusual opening, a provocative mixture of genres, Italian arias in a French opera, parodied French monologues, a Moorish fairy who is half-man and half-woman, a disavowed senator, a Chinese palace in the middle ages, it was enough to shake up the cultural achievements of an overly conservative audience. The Paladins were therefore very poorly received. Confused, the critics looked for reasons not to enjoy the new creation of the great Rameau. They denounced its age, its lack of genius, not grasping the extraordinary novelties of the work.

Yet, in part, with Les Paladins, Rameau changed morals, mentalities and therefore musical taste, without devaluing French music, but on the contrary, showing young composers and the public that comedy had its place under the pen of the greatest. If the Favarts, Monsigny and Philidor did not follow his path, they were probably freed to devote themselves to a less serious genre than tragedy. In this respect, Rameau contributed greatly to the birth of the opéra-comique, and proved, if proof were needed, once again his quality of visionary.