The tragic operas of the French Baroque can be rough going for the new
listener, whose eyes may glaze over when hearing about rules of French
prosody, classical models, and Lully's
dominance of the scene. But this single-disc recital solves any
problems you may have had in encountering operatic music from Lully to Gluck. Credit soprano Véronique Gens, who has often sung lighter material and now is turning to the serious works of Rameau
and his era at just the right time. Her voice is impressively
versatile, with a muscular medium-wave vibrato that can easily drop off
into a stage whisper or rise into anger. Credit conductor Christophe Rousset and his group Les Talens Lyriques, with their on-the-ball, sensitive accompaniment and unique catgut-scraping string sound. Credit booklet writer Jean Duron
for a quick, painless introduction to the 100-year history of how
French opera composers, working in the centralized musical system of the
French monarchy, responded to the musical world as it changed around
them. Credit the engineers from Virgin Classics, who have made the
Church of Notre Dame-du-Liban in Paris into something resembling a
close-up, row-five theatrical experience, and caught the powerful sense
of immediacy and communication in Gens'
singing. And credit whoever devised the program, which offers
good-sized chunks of music from various operas, complete with overtures
and other instrumental interludes, instead of a sequence of disconnected
arias and random sonatas linked to the main program only by chronology.
This album will earn praise from those who follow Gens
closely, and for the general listener looking to hear some French Baroque opera arias it's a godsend -- the tragic heroine is a central
figure of the era, and Gens and company have brought her fully to life. (James Manheim) The tragic operas of the French Baroque can be rough going for the new
listener, whose eyes may glaze over when hearing about rules of French
prosody, classical models, and Lully's
dominance of the scene. But this single-disc recital solves any
problems you may have had in encountering operatic music from Lully to Gluck. Credit soprano Véronique Gens, who has often sung lighter material and now is turning to the serious works of Rameau
and his era at just the right time. Her voice is impressively
versatile, with a muscular medium-wave vibrato that can easily drop off
into a stage whisper or rise into anger. Credit conductor Christophe Rousset and his group Les Talens Lyriques, with their on-the-ball, sensitive accompaniment and unique catgut-scraping string sound. Credit booklet writer Jean Duron
for a quick, painless introduction to the 100-year history of how
French opera composers, working in the centralized musical system of the
French monarchy, responded to the musical world as it changed around
them. Credit the engineers from Virgin Classics, who have made the
Church of Notre Dame-du-Liban in Paris into something resembling a
close-up, row-five theatrical experience, and caught the powerful sense
of immediacy and communication in Gens'
singing. And credit whoever devised the program, which offers
good-sized chunks of music from various operas, complete with overtures
and other instrumental interludes, instead of a sequence of disconnected
arias and random sonatas linked to the main program only by chronology.
This album will earn praise from those who follow Gens
closely, and for the general listener looking to hear some French Baroque opera arias it's a godsend -- the tragic heroine is a central
figure of the era, and Gens and company have brought her fully to life. (James Manheim)
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