There was a time when the operas of Lully and Rameau were little more than names in history books. Having disappeared from the stage since the beginning of the 19th century, they seemed destined for a purely musicological existence. Yet, beginning in the early 20th century, a succession of initiatives, rediscoveries, and artistic leaps of faith gradually brought this repertoire back to life. It was a slow, uneven, yet spectacular revival that permanently transformed the French operatic landscape. 
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Over the course of a century, French Baroque opera has gone through three major phases: a scholarly rediscovery, from the beginning of the 20th century until the 1970s; a theatrical revival in the 1980s; and a renewed recognition at the turn of the 21st century. Beyond the chronology itself, what is most striking is the change in perspective. Once regarded as forgotten heritage, this repertoire has become a space for artistic creation. Today, French Baroque opera is no longer something to be rediscovered, but a territory to be explored. Admittedly, as elsewhere in Europe, the repertoire remains dominated by a handful of emblematic works. But the momentum is unmistakable: that of a theatre rediscovered, once again able to speak to the present. A century after the first attempts at revival, Lully and Rameau are no longer ghosts of history. They have become our contemporaries once again.
From Oblivion to the Stage: A Century of Baroque Opera’s Revival in France
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