«Nymph reigning over a damp empire » or « Ridiculous Naïade » ? Who can this strange creature be, that Rameau brings to sing in the countertenor range thus shattering the opera conventions ? Ugly and conceited, Platée, the frog, is victim of a manipulation by gods who make her believe that Jupiter is in love with her. In this opera , composed on the occasion of the wedding of Louis XVth’s son, the Dauphin Louis, with the Infanta Maria Teresa of Spain who was supposedly disgraceful, Jean Philippe Rameau uses irony  as a victorious weapon in his score. This farce , cruel and poignant, is back at the Opera in Laurent Pelly’s playful and whimsical staging.

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