Hippolyte was the first tragédie-lyrique composed by Jean-Philippe Rameau. He had already established himself as an innovative thinker in the field of music theory and harmony, and had published four books of harpsichord pieces. But at the age of 50, his dreams still had not come true. He wanted to compose operas, and he was to become as well known an innovator in the field of opera as he was in theory.

His librettist was the Abbe Pellegrin. Voltaire's work had recently been banned, and perhaps a clergyman was a wise choice for a librettist. But Pellegrin also gave Rameau a viable libretto on an ancient theme. The story of Hippolyte was well known to the French public, for it had been turned into a successful tragedy by the playwright Racine in very recent times. Racine had turned the story into a psychological study of jealousy and guilt, and Hippolyte's mother Phaedra was the central character in his plot. Rameau and Pellegrin were to make her counterpart, Theseus, one of the most memorable figures in all of operatic history. Theseus is a strong, vigorous, monumental hero, and the music Rameau gives him is likewise vital and heroic.

Rameau believed that all melody came from harmony. This greatly affected his writing, for his melodies are harmonically adventuresome, expressive, and plastic. He loved enharmonic modulations, as well as chromatic and diatonic modulations, and he was to try these on his unsuspecting French public. In the second act, Theseus descends into Hell to search for his lost friend, and is confronted by the Furies and the Fates. The second "Trio of Fates," in which they call forth Pluto's fury upon him, contains enharmonic modulations that the French musicians found too difficult to perform. The modulations happen rapidly, and pass through five keys in five measures. Rameau was forced to drop the passage because the orchestral players couldn't play it, but he made sure that it appeared in its original form when the score was published.

Hippolyte et Aricie is probably Rameau's most vigorous opera. It contains a great deal of action, a powerful hero, and many contrasts and extremes of emotion. The passions that tear apart Theseus and Phaedra and bring about their tragic downfall are nothing short of barbaric. There are five marches in the opera, and several choruses made up of active crowds. There are the fighting demons at the gates of Hell in the opening divertissement of Act Two, there is Pluto's court, as it tries Theseus, the groups of Furies and Fates who hound him, and the subjects of Theseus who rejoice jubilantly at his safe return. There are interventions by the gods Diana and Mercury, as well as invocations to Neptune on the part of the struggling Theseus. Hippolyte and Aricie provide a gentle contrast with all the mayhem, as does the deus ex machina of Diana which saves them. The extremes are reflected in the music, which, for the times, was filled with unusual dissonance and expressive powers.

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