La Platee

LA PLATEE is a French Baroque opera, often called a "ballet bouffant," that challenges all preconceived notions of opera in a delightfully irreverent, anachronistic manner. The story revolves around a scheme devised by the gods to punish the ceaselessly jealous Juno by creating the illusion of an affair between her husband, Jupiter, and Platea, an ugly little frog who fruitlessly attempts to seduce anyone she encounters. Cruelly convinced by the gods that she has finally found true love, Platea and Jupiter go through the motions of a mock courtship and wedding, only for Juno to raise her veil and recognize the joke; poor Platea becomes the laughingstock of the country. This production by the Paris Opera proves an engaging romp, with a spectacular amalgam of styles ranging from hip hop to West Side Story Minimize