Les Talens Lyriques / Christophe Rousset ANTONIO SALIERI Les Horaces

Les Talens Lyriques are a major french classical music ensemble, recognized on the international scale for both its musicological work and editorial choices. Created twenty years ago by french harpsichordist and conductor Christophe Rousset. The ensemble has a large lyrical and instrumental repertoire ranging from Baroque to Early Romanticism.

Following the release of Les Danaïdes in 2015, Les Talens Lyriques present the first world recording of Antonio Salieri’s Les Horaces, which they recreated at Versailles in 2016. To bring this score back to life, Christophe Rousset gathered a vocal cast in which tenor Cyrille Dubois, Judith van Wanroij, Julien Dran or Jean-Sebastien Bou embody the fate of the characters inspired by the fratricidal struggle of Horatius and Curiatius in Ancient Rome, dramatically revived by an already romantic Salieri in his musical boldness. Fights, vows and great crowd scenes, the tears of heroine Camilla, the Curiatius’ dilemma, or the implacable determination of old Horatius offer intense and original drama.

Le Cercle de l’Harmonie / Jérémie Rhorer MOZART Don Giovanni

Here is the third and last instalment in the ‘Live at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées’ series of Mozart operas conducted by Jérémie Rhorer. After Die Entführung aus dem Serail and La clemenza di Tito comes Don Giovanni, recorded in 2016. On the occasion of the performances (directed by Stéphane Braunschweig) during which Radio France recorded the present discs, Le Figaro wrote: ‘Jérémie Rhorer expertly conducted his orchestra “Le Cercle de l’Harmonie”. On the stage, Jean-Sébastien Bou sang and acted the title role impeccably. He was seconded by his valet Leporello, superbly played by the Canadian Robert Gleadow. A thrilling production both musically and intellectually.’ The cast is completed by the ardent Myrtò Papatanasiu in the role of Donna Anna, the lovely voice of Julie Boulianne as Donna Elvira and the elegant timbre of Julien Behr as Don Ottavio, not forgetting the magnificent Commendatore of Steven Humes and the lively Zerlina and Masetto of Anna Grevelius and Marc Scoffoni. (Outhere Music)

Les Talens Lyriques / Christophe Rousset ANTONIO SACCHINI Renaud

 

 Renaud (1783) marked Sacchini's debut in Paris. Despite much criticism from the supporters of his rivals Gluck and Piccinni, Renaud was a success and Sacchini became the new favourite of Marie- Antoinette. Encouraged by the public who saw him as one of the finest composers of that time, he enriched the repertoire of the Paris Opéra with several masterpieces. Some of them were staged regularly for many years. Renaud was presented almost without interruption until 1799, and was revived in 1815. This recording has been made at the Arsenal of Metz in October 2012.