Amadis de Gaule – review

Johann Christian was the last of J S Bach's 11 sons and the only one to have tried his hand at opera. He was known as the Great Bach, having started his career in Italy. He settled in England in 1762, where he became famous. His renown spread. A convert to Catholicism – a step essential to success in Italy but the cause of a row with his Lutheran brothers – he wrote his only operatic tragedy for France's Royal Academy of Music in 1778. Amadis de Gaule has now been staged in Paris for the first time since its inaugural performance in December 1779.

The combined efforts of the Royal Opera at Versailles (where the first performances were given last month) and the Opéra Comique in Paris have restored the fortunes of Amadis, the brave knight-errant and lover of Oriana, both of whom are pursued by the vengeful magicians Arcalaus and Arcabonne, whose brother Amadis killed.

Johann Christian Bach's music deserves the admiration it inspired in Haydn and Mozart. His death in 1782 prompted Mozart to write to his father: "I suppose you have heard that the English Bach is dead? What a loss for the musical world!"

Returning to the contemporary production, the cantors of the Versailles baroque music centre made a lively contribution. But the orchestra, led by Jérémie Rhorer, should take the greatest credit for resurrecting this late baroque or early classical Amadis, after 230 years of slumber.

This article originally appeared in Le Monde