Rameau’s 30 operas are among the most aesthetically complex theatrical forms of the Enlightenment period; as such they offer fascinating opportunities for research into music, dance, dramaturgy and literature, and for interdisciplinary contextualisation in the wider environment of Enlightenment thought and practice. The principal objectives of the Rameau Project are to explore this extraordinary multimedia repertoire, addressing compelling issues of composer-specific practices and to develop the expertise in music and dance required to communicate it to a modern audience.

Jonathan is currently working on a guide for singers performing Rameau's operas which focusses on new ways of exploring the relationships between the libretto and the music, and how understanding the idiosyncrasies of French prosody might inform our performance of the music. So far this is proving a fruitful line of enquiry, with clear correlations being revealed between the text and metre, ornamentation, rhythmic alterations, melody, and use of dissonance, colour and phrasing.