Now that the operas of Rameau are finally beginning to be established at both ENO and Glyndebourne, we can explore what lies behind his superb music. Pyrrhus, written just before Hippolyte et Aricie, is one of the finest of the genre I have encountered. Pancrace Royer (c1705-55) is best known as a composer of virtuoso harpsichord music, and this tragédie lyrique shows a totally natural skill in vocal declamation and a powerfully intense response to the favourite subject of the Trojan war. The performance is mixed, but Emmanuelle de Negri as Polyxène and Alain Buet as Pyrrhus both rise to heights of eloquence.