Lully: Thésée (2007)

performed by Aaron Engebreth (baritone), Aaron Sheehan (tenor), Amanda Forsythe (soprano), Ellen Hargis (soprano), Harry van der Kamp (bass), Howard Crook (tenor), Ilona Ziesemer-Schröder (vocals), Laura Pudwell (soprano), Marc Molomot (tenor), Marek Rzepka (bass)
composed by Jean-Baptiste Lully

Jean-Baptiste Lully, born Giovanni Battista Lulli in Florence in 1632, moved to France early in his career. By the time he turned 30, he had been named music master to the royal family and elevated to the nobility. Italian opera, particularly the works of Cavalli, had become hugely popular in France, and Lully took up the task of creating a tradition of native French opera. In 1775, in collaboration with librettist Philippe Quinault, Lully produced Thésée, a "tragédie en musique," which marked a turning point in the ... Read More

Jean-Baptiste Lully, born Giovanni Battista Lulli in Florence in 1632, moved to France early in his career. By the time he turned 30, he had been named music master to the royal family and elevated to the nobility. Italian opera, particularly the works of Cavalli, had become hugely popular in France, and Lully took up the task of creating a tradition of native French opera. In 1775, in collaboration with librettist Philippe Quinault, Lully produced Thésée, a "tragédie en musique," which marked a turning point in the synthesis of music, dramaturgy, and dance, and became the model for French opera for nearly a century, until the reforms of Gluck. CPO's splendid new recording of the opera finally gives listeners the opportunity to hear what made the opera so historic. Thésée's plot is complex, but not incomprehensible or ridiculous -- the characters are distinctly drawn, motivated by simple hopes and fears with which any audience could easily identify. Lully's music aptly underlines the dramatic... Read Less