the French audience. As it turned out, the opera was a success. It received twenty performances in late 1737 but did not reappear until the substantially revised version took to the stage in 1754. This time there were thirty performances and ten in 1755. Graham Sadler writes that "It was ... Castor et Pollux that was regarded as Rameau's crowning achievement, at least from the time of its first revival (1754) onwards." Revivals followed in 1764, 1765, 1772, 1773, 1778, 1779 and 1780. The taste for Rameau's operas did not long outlive the French Revolution but extracts from Castor et Pollux were still being performed in Paris as late as 1792. During the nineteenth century, the work did not appear on the French stage, though its fame survived the general obscurity into which Rameau's works had sunk; Hector Berlioz admiringly mentioned the aria Tristes apprêts. The first modern revival took place at the Schola Cantorum in Paris in 1903. Among the audience was Claude Debussy. The first UK performance, organised by Ronald Crichton, was given by the Oxford University Opera Club in the early 1930s at Magdalen College in November 1934. Roles Synopsis The synopsis is based on 1737 version Prologue The allegorical prologue is unrelated to the main story. It celebrates the end of the War of the Polish Succession, in which France had been involved. In the prologue, Venus, goddess of love, subdues Mars, god of war, with the help of Minerva. In the 1754 revision, the prologue was eliminated. Act 1 Background note: Castor and Pollux are famous heroes. Despite being twin brothers, one of them (Pollux) is immortal and the other (Castor) is mortal. They are both in love with the princess Telaira (Télaïre), but she loves only Castor. The twins have fought a war against an enemy king, Lynceus (Lyncée) which has resulted in disaster: Castor has been slain. The opera opens with his funeral rites. Telaira expresses her grief to her friend Phoebe (Phébé) in Tristes apprêts, one of Rameau's most famous arias. Pollux and his band of Spartan warriors interrupt the mourning bringing the dead body of Lynceus who has been killed in revenge. Pollux confesses his love for Telaira. She avoids giving a reply, instead asking him to go and plead with his father Jupiter, king of the gods, to restore Castor to life. Act 2 Pollux expresses his conflicting emotions in