Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) Armide LWV 71 (1686)
Tragédie en musique (a prologue and five acts) from a libretto by Philippe Quinault according to Gerusalemme liberata du Tasse, premiered on February 15, 1686 at the Royal Academy of Music, in Paris.
director Lilo Baur choreography Claudia de Serpa Soares Stage set Bruno de Lavenère Costumes Alain Blanchot Lights Laurent Castaingt
Distribution
Ambroisine Bré Armide Cyrille Dubois Renaud Apolline Raï-Westphal La Sagesse, Phénice, Mélisse, une naïade Florie Valiquette La Gloire, Sidonie, Lucinde, une bergère héroïque Edwin Crossley-Mercer Hidraot Lysandre Châlon Ubalde, Aronte Enguerrand de Hys Artémidore, Le Chevalier Danois Anas Séguin La Haine
Chœur Les Éléments Joël Suhubiette Choirmaster
Les Talens Lyriques Conductor, Christophe Rousset
“After the success of Gluck’s Armide, staged by Lilo Baur, I suggested to the Opéra-Comique that this year we perform Lully’s version: I felt that it would be enlightening to have an opportunity to see both of these works, composed a hundred years apart to the same libretto by Philippe Quinault. Moreover, returning to Lully’s Armide, after having performed it in Nancy and recorded it in 2015, gives us a good chance to refine and polish our interpretation, to rediscover the composer and his work, with the aim of trying to capture its very essence. I am delighted to be reunited with two soloists, Ambroisine Bré and Cyril Dubois, who have been faithful to us in our Lully productions, and with many of those who took part in the previous production of Armide and will be accompanying me again in this marvellous project. ne Deshayes and Karina Gauvin, wonderful artists with whom I am used to working in a spirit of mutual trust!”
– Christophe Rousset
