Rameau et la muse oubliée, a musical theatre performance

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Rameau et la muse oubliée, a brilliant new show
at the Théâtre Rouge of the Conservatoire de musique et d’art dramatique de Montréal
with Luc Beauséjour and Marie-Ève Beaulieu

Montreal, March 17th, 2025. Clavecin en concert invites you to a musical theatre on March 29th and 30th.

In the afterlife, almost 300 years after his death, composer Jean-Philippe Rameau (Luc Beauséjour) is visited by a young woman (Marie-Ève Beaulieu), who claims to have inspired the character of Zima in his famous opera Les Indes galantes. Suffering from oblivion, she confronts the composer, demanding justice or, at the very least, a little recognition on his part.

Directed by Carl Béchard, with sets and costumes by Marc Senécal and lighting by David Perreault Ninacs, this imaginary meeting in the afterlife serves as a pretext for Luc Beauséjour’s performance of a dozen excerpts from Rameau’s harpsichord works. These include L’indiscrète, La Joyeuse, La Poule, L’Agaçante, and others, which sometimes have intriguing titles, making us wonder what might have inspired them.

For this account, author Mathieu Boutin drew on Rameau’s biography and numerous historical documents, including a 1725 issue of the newspaper Le Mercure de France that recounts the circumstances of the composer’s possible meeting with his mysterious visitor from Louisiana.

“Rameau is a bit like my hero. An immense composer and great music theorist, he left us three major collections of harpsichord pieces and established himself as the master of French Baroque opera after Lully. He was also a figure of the Age of Enlightenment, who sometimes clashed with other great minds, such as Rousseau. I played his complete harpsichord works 30 years ago, the year Clavecin en concert was founded. Since then, I’ve regularly programmed or recorded Rameau, so all that remained was for me to embody him in the flesh! It’s a great challenge I’ve accepted, to share my love of this composer, his character and his music.” Luc Beauséjour, harpsichordist.

“It’s a great pleasure to share the stage with such a renowned artist as Luc Beauséjour! Through a half-verbal, half-musical joust, under the highly inspired pen of Mathieu Boutin, and the surgically sharpened direction of Carl Béchard, it’s a challenge that comes just at the right moment in my quest for meaning and justice, about all that lies behind the inspirations of the great works… And all with humor and humanity! I look forward to sharing the fruits of our passion with you!” Marie-Ève Beaulieu, actress.

“When Mathieu (author Mathieu Boutin) and Luc approached me to stage this text, we were thinking more along the lines of a simple narration by Marie-Ève (actress Marie-Ève Beaulieu) accompanied by Luc on harpsichord, who would play Rameau’s pieces. Except that I quickly realized that Luc had all the temperament, humor and communication skills needed to play the man and give full expression to this entertaining, moving and even instructive text!” Carl Béchard, director.

Luc Beauséjour, harpsichord and actor
Marie-Ève Beaulieu, actress
Carl Béchard, director
Marc Senécal, costumes and set design
Mathieu Boutin, author
David Perreault Ninacs, lighting

In rehearsal:

Dates: Saturday, March 29th, 2025, 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 30th, 2025, 4 p.m.

Location: Théâtre rouge du Conservatoire de musique et d’art dramatique de Montréal, 4750 Henri-Julien Avenue, Montreal, Quebec H2T 2C8 (Mont-Royal or Laurier metros)

Price: Regular $40, Senior $35, Student $25