Amongst Rameau’s stage works which have come down to us in two main versions, such as “Dardanus“ (1739, 1744), “Platée“ (1745, 1749) and “Zoroastre“ (1749, 1756), none fell into oblivion for as long a period as “Castor et Pollux”. After the work had been premiered in 1737, not until 1754 did Rameau decide to revise it. He asked his librettist “Gentil-Bernard“ to add an act to the tragedy and to give more weight to the brotherly friendship between Castor and Pollux.

The main plot remains very ...