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Les Indes Galantes was part of The Grange Festival 2025 lineup, running from 30th June to 2nd July.

A new staging of Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes combined 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 opera-dance performance featured their respective ensembles: the dancers of Structure Rualité, Namur Chamber Choir, and period orchestra Cappella Mediterranea—all making their UK opera debuts at The Grange Festival 2025.

Cappella Mediterranea, one of the most in-demand period ensembles in the world, had recently completed a Monteverdi cycle for the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, alongside engagements at the Opéra national de Paris, Salzburg Easter Festival, La Monnaie (Brussels), and Staatsoper Unter den Linden (Berlin). The production also featured leading Baroque soloists Laurène Paternò, Ana Quintans, Alasdair Kent, and Andreas Wolf.

One of the most beautiful Baroque opera-ballets ever composed, this was a rare chance to see Rameau’s musical masterpiece in a carefully crafted new version, which was also performed at Teatro Real (Madrid) and Teatro alla Scala (Milan), among others. Audiences were swept away by powerful storytelling as this ornate period score fused with the emotive physicality of street dance and hip hop styles, producing electrifying and deeply moving results.

Audiences experienced Rameau’s masterpiece in this stunning new production, set in the breathtaking grounds of the open-air classical music festival in Hampshire.