Iphigénie en Tauride | Desmarest & Campra
Nearly a century before Gluck, an Iphigénie en Tauride enjoyed immense success on the opera stage. Same story, same protagonists. This first Iphigénie is a work with a singular destiny. It was sketched by the composer Henri Desmarest around 1695. But Desmarest was banished from France by Louis XIV because he had married a young girl without her father's consent. The unfinished score of Iphigénie was then entrusted to André Campra: "Campra skillfully slipped into Desmarest's style, adding only virtuoso airs and very melodic choruses in the divertissements, the secret of which was his," writes Benoît Dratwicki, from the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles, to whom we owe this rediscovery. Iphigénie en Tauride was created on May 6, 1704 and was performed throughout Europe from 1711. Thanks to Hervé Niquet, a first-rate vocal team, an orchestra well-versed in the French repertoire and their joint work on the practices and playing methods specific to the early 18th century, Iphigénie is finally seeing the light of day again.
Information
Produced by Alpha Classics.
Coproduced by Le Concert Spirituel, Centre de musique baroque de Versailles, Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France.
Enregistré en janvier 2024 à l'Auditorium du Conservatoire Jean-Baptiste Lully de Puteaux.
Programme co-produced by the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles, Le Concert Spirituel and the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées.
Partition éditée par le Centre de musique baroque de Versailles (Jean Duron et Thomas Leconte).
Sorties digitale le 17 janvier et physique le 24 janvier 2025.
Durée : 136 min
Cast
Véronique GensIphigénie
Olivia DorayElectre
Reinoud van MechelenPylade
Thomas DoliéOreste
Floriane HaslerDiane
David WitczakThoas
Tomislav Lavoiel'Ordonnateur / l'Océan
Antonin Rondepierreun habitant de Délos / Triton / le Grand Sacrificateur
Jehanne AmzalIsménide / 1ère habitante de Délos / 1re nymphe / 1re prêtresse
Marine Lafdal-Franc2nde habitante de Délos / 2nde nymphe / 2nde prêtresse
Hervé Niquet music direction
Orchestra et Choir Le Concert Spirituel
Un ouvrage rare initié par Desmarest et achevé par Campra, deux compositeurs représentatifs de l’âge d’or du Grand Siècle français.
This Iphigénie marks the 3rd part of a tetralogy of lyrical tragedies in music, the result of the Cross-Residency initiated by the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles, and whose first opuses are Ariane & Bacchus by Marin Marais and Médée by Charpentier (Diapason of the year 2024 opera category). Persée (original version of 1682) by Lully will close 4 years of research and partnership to offer you a new, historically informed reading of the scores of these great French composers.
"Hervé Niquet resurrects an Iphigénie en Tauride composed by Desmarest and Campra, three-quarters of a century before that of Gluck (Alpha), with Véronique Gens in the title role. Barely less rare are the concert arias that Mozart devoted to the tenor voice, collected by Reinoud Van Mechelen and A nocte temporis (Alpha)." Diapason magazine January 29, 2025 - the album was awarded a Diapason d'or
"A high-quality production, which features both the orchestra and the choir of the Concert Spirituel, a large continuo devoted to the singers, and a first-rate cast." Télérama, March 10, 2025
“An exemplary performance and a magnificent work of musical restitution.” Forum Opéra
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