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A new staging of Rameau’s Les Indes galantes combines exquisite 18th century music with the expressive potency of contemporary street dance styles in a one-of-a-kind exploration of identity, culture and expression. Co-conceived by director-choreographer and French hip hop pioneer Bintou Dembélé and conductor Leonardo García-Alarcón, the performance features their respective ensembles: the dancers of Structure Rualité, Namur Chamber Choir, and period orchestra Cappella Mediterranea, all making their UK opera debuts. Cappella Mediterranea is one of the most in-demand period ensembles in the world, having recently completed a Monteverdi cycle for the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, as well as engagements at the Opéra national de Paris, Salzburg Easter Festival, La Monnaie (Brussels), and Staatsoper Unter den Linden (Berlin). The production will also feature leading Baroque soloists Gwendoline Blondeel, Ana Quintans, Antonin Rondepierre and Andreas Wolf. One of the most beautiful baroque opera-ballets ever composed, this is a rare chance to see Rameau’s musical masterpiece, in a carefully crafted new version which will also be performed at Teatro Real (Madrid) and Teatro alla Scala (Milan) among others. Be prepared to be swept away by powerful storytelling as this ornate period score fuses with the emotive physicality of street dance and hip hop styles, with electrifying and deeply moving results.

The blend of sacred and profane, spirituality and passion, characterizes the aesthetics of the Baroque New World. Just follow the choral momentum and throw yourself wholeheartedly into the blaze!

The story of the opera begins with an introduction by La Musica, music itself: Claudio Monteverdi opens his version of the ancient love story of Orfeo and Eurydice, the singer whose voice could even melt death, with the prologue. Conductor Leonardo García Alarcón has this epochal work firmly in his repertoire with his Cappella Mediterranea, which specializes in early music, and says: "If life, death, love, and music are the driving forces of humanity, then L'Orfeo is perhaps the opera that best embodies them."