Iphigénie en Tauride (Iphigenia in Tauris) opera by Desmarest et Campra
Season
2023/2024
Opera in concert
Tragedy in music in five acts and a prologue, begun by Henry Desmarest around 1696, to a text by Joseph-François Duché de Vancy. Forced to leave France for Belgium and then Spain, he left the work unfinished. It was completed by André Campra with the help of Antoine Danchet. Campra is responsible for the entire prologue, most of Act V, two arias from Act I, one aria from Acts II and III, and two arias from Act IV.
Cast
Véronique Gens Iphigénie
Reinoud Van Mechelen Pylade
Thomas Dolié Oreste
David Witczak Thoas
Olivia Doray Electre
Floriane Hasler Diane
Tomislav Lavoie L’Ordonnateur, L’Océan
Antonin Rondepierre Un habitant de Délos, Triton, Le Grand Sacrificateur
Jehanne Amzal Isménide, 1ère habitante de Délos, 1ère Nymphe, 1ère Prêtresse
Marine Lafdal-Franc 2ème habitante de Délos, 2ème Nymphe, 2ème Prêtresse
Hervé Niquet Musical direction
Le Concert Spirituel Choir & Orchestra
Production
Coproduction Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Le Concert Spirituel and the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles Score produced and published by the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles
Duration
2h45
including intermission
Photo credit
Véronique Gens © Jean-Baptiste Millot
Additional information
Opera sung in French, with French and English surtitles
This concert will be recorded on audio for the label Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
A model of the French lyric tragedy (5 acts and a prologue), Iphigénie was begun by Desmarest, completed a few years later by Campra and premiered at the Académie Royale de Musique in 1704.
Talented and precocious, Henry Desmarest (1661-1741) was destined for a brilliant career in the service of Louis XIV, but his destiny was disrupted by a crime that forced him into exile... and thus to leave his work unfinished. In the French musical landscape of the time, his music is particularly notable for its many foreign influences, reminders of his many travels across Europe. The sensitivity and virtuosity of his works make him one of the most remarkable composers of his generation.
André Campra, who was born in Aix-en-Provence in 1660 and died in Versailles in 1744, was also a leading figure on the French operatic scene and in the field of religious music. Master of music at Notre-Dame of Paris, then at the Académie Royale and the Royal Chapel in Versailles, he held key positions that gave him considerable influence during his lifetime. For this invitation to discover this work for 'four hands', Hervé Niquet has once again brought together a team of loyal singers familiar with this repertoire.
This concert is one of a series of projects to welcome student singers and instrumentalists as part of the partnership linking Le Concert Spirituel and the CRR de Paris and Pôle Supérieur de Paris-Boulogne Billancourt since 2012. To find out more about the vocational integration programme, go to >> this page.
The ensemble Le Concert Spirituel is in residence at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées as part of the "cross-residency" scheme initiated by the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles.
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