Examples of projects supported

 World recreation of "Bellérophon"

Lyric tragedy in a prologue and three acts
To a libretto by Thomas Corneille

 

The recreation in July 2010 of “Bellérophon”, a lyric tragedy of Jean Baptiste Lully, considered to be one of the major lyric events of the previous season, reconfirms the commitment of the Ensemble and its conductor Christophe Rousset to seek out unknown or unjustly forgotten works.

 At the time of its premiere on January 31, 1679 at the Royal Academy of Music, “Bellérophon” was, as of its first performances, hailed as “the masterpiece of Mr. Lully”. This was the last opera of the composer to be recreated after the start of the movement for the revival of French Baroque music at the beginning of the 1980’s. It took more than 300 years for this work to be revived.

Let us remember that this audacious project was possible thanks to the confidence and support of the Cercle des Mécènes, which quickly became convinced of the historical importance of this project.

The recreation of the work at the international Baroque opera festival of Beaune in July 2010 was widely praised by the international press. This was followed by performances at the Cité de la Musique in Paris, the Royal Opera of Versailles, and the Theater an der Wien (Austria).

The release of the CD in March 2011 (Aparté label), reinforced the reputation of the project, particularly through the many prizes awarded by the specialized press (FFFF of Télérama, Choc de Classica, Le Diamant of Opera Magazine, Diapason découverte, etc.).

 

Bellérophon à l'Opéra royal de Versailles, décembre 2010