Lully: Armide (Versailles-i változat, 1745) – koncertszerű előadás

After recording operas by Rameau and his contemporaries, György Vashegyi now conducts Armide, the masterpiece by Louis XIV’s court composer, Jean-Baptiste Lully. Lully’s final lyric tragedy premiered in 1686 and was performed at the Paris Opera until 1766, when it was overshadowed by Gluck’s version of the story based on the same libretto. In later performances, Lully’s score was revised and adapted to the spirit of the time with the addition of more modern musical and choreographic sequences, while the recitative and its delivery became increasingly dramatic. György Vashegyi invites audiences to rediscover the revision made by François Rebel and François Francœur in 1745-46, a version tailored for royal festivities at the Versailles court. The performance boasts a star-studded cast led by mezzo-soprano Marie-Andrée Bouchard-Lesieur and tenor Antonin Rondepierre.