Championing a wide operatic and instrumental repertoire spanning from early Baroque to early Romanticism, Les Talens Lyriques seeks to illuminate the great masterpieces of music history by exploring rarer or previously unpublished works—often serving as missing links in Europe’s musical heritage. This commitment to musicological research and editorial work remains a priority for the ensemble and is central to its esteemed reputation.
L’Incoronazione di Poppea | Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in patria | L’Orfeo
La Didone | La Calisto
La Morte d’Orfeo
Le amazzoni nell’isole fortunate
La divisione del Mondo
Scipione | Riccardo Primo | Rinaldo | Admeto | Giulio Cesare | Serse
Persée | Roland | Bellérophon | Phaéton | Amadis | Armide | Alceste | Isis | Thésée
Didon | Vénus et Adonis
Les Fêtes de Paphos
Il Mercato di Malmantile | Il Matrimonio segreto
Antigona | Ippolito ed Aricia
Armida abbandonata
La Capricciosa corretta | Il Tutore burlato
Mitridate | Die Entführung aus dem Serail | Così fan tutte | Die Zauberflöte
La Grotta di Trofonio | Les Danaïdes | Les Horaces | Tarare, Armida
Zoroastre | Castor et Pollux | Les Indes galantes | Platée, Pygmalion
Bauci e Filemone | Alceste | Orphée et Eurydice | Armide
La Vestale
Beyond the operatic repertoire, the Ensemble explores a diverse range of musical genres, including the madrigal, cantata, air de cour, symphony, and the full spectrum of sacred music—such as Masses, motets, oratorios, and Leçons de Ténèbres. Each season, Les Talens Lyriques performs worldwide, with ensembles ranging from intimate groups of a few musicians to large forces of over sixty performers spanning all generations.
Les Talens Lyriques, named after the subtitle of Rameau’s opera Les Fêtes d’Hébé (1739), was founded in 1991 by harpsichordist and conductor Christophe Rousset.
Championing a broad vocal and instrumental repertoire spanning from the early Baroque to the dawn of Romanticism, Les Talens Lyriques aims to shed new light on the great masterpieces of music history through the lens of rare or previously unperformed works—true missing links in Europe’s musical heritage. Their musicological and editorial work is a key priority for the ensemble and plays a major role in its reputation.
The ensemble’s repertoire ranges from Monteverdi (L’Incoronazione di Poppea, Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, L’Orfeo), Cavalli (La Didone, La Calisto), Landi (La Morte d’Orfeo), Pallavicino (Le amazzoni nell’isole fortunate), Legrenzi (La divisione del Mondo), to Händel (Scipione, Riccardo Primo, Rinaldo, Admeto, Giulio Cesare, Serse, Arianna in Creta, Tamerlano, Ariodante, Semele, Alcina, Agrippina, Saul, Messiah, Jephtha, Orlando), through to Lully (Persée, Roland, Bellérophon, Phaéton, Amadis, Armide, Alceste, Isis, Thésée, Atys, Proserpine, Cadmus et Hermione), Desmarest (Didon, Vénus et Adonis), Mondonville (Les Fêtes de Paphos), Cimarosa (Il Mercato di Malmantile, Il Matrimonio segreto, L’Olimpiade), Traetta (Antigona, Ippolito ed Aricia, Ifigenia in Tauride), Porpora (Ifigenia in Aulide), Jommelli (Armida abbandonata), Martín y Soler (La Capricciosa corretta, Il Tutore burlato), Mozart (Mitridate, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Così fan tutte, Die Zauberflöte, La clemenza di Tito, Ascanio in Alba), Gassmann (L’Opera seria), Salieri (La Grotta di Trofonio, Les Danaïdes, Les Horaces, Tarare, Armida, Cublai gran Kan de’ Tartari), Rameau (Zoroastre, Castor et Pollux, Les Indes galantes, Platée, Pygmalion), Gluck (Bauci e Filemone, Alceste, Orphée et Eurydice, Armide), Beethoven, and finally Cherubini (Médée), García (Il Califfo di Bagdad), Berlioz, Massenet, Gounod (Faust), Spontini (La Vestale), Saint-Saëns, Louise Bertin (Fausto), and even Schubert (complete symphonies).
The revival of these works goes hand-in-hand with close collaborations with stage directors and choreographers including Pierre Audi, Jean-Marie Villégier, David McVicar, Eric Vigner, Ludovic Lagarde, Mariame Clément, Jean-Pierre Vincent, Macha Makeïeff, Laura Scozzi, Natalie van Parys, Marcial di Fonzo Bo, Claus Guth, Robert Carsen, David Hermann, Christof Loy, Jetske Mijnssen, Alban Richard, David Lescot, Phia Ménard, Calixto Bieito, Laurent Pelly, Jeanne Desoubeaux, Damiano Michieletto, Dmitri Tcherniakov, and Max Emanuel Cenčić.
Beyond the operatic repertoire, the Ensemble explores other genres such as the madrigal, cantata, air de cour, symphony, and the vast sacred music repertoire (Masses, motets, oratorios, Tenebrae Lessons…). Season after season, Les Talens Lyriques performs around the world, in formations ranging from a handful of musicians to over sixty performers of all generations.
The 2025–2026 season of Les Talens Lyriques is titled “Love Stories”. Christophe Roussetand the ensemble explore different facets of love through emblematic works and exciting rediscoveries: Ifigenia in Tauride by Tommaso Traetta, Orlando by Händel, L’Opera seria by Gassmann, Ascanio in Alba and La Clemenza di Tito by Mozart. The season also sees the conclusion of the remarkable complete recording of Lully’s tragédies lyriques with Cadmus et Hermione, to be heard in concert at the Philharmonie de Paris.
A new partnership is also launching this season between the Ensemble, the Salle Cortot, and the École Normale de Musique de Paris: Les Talens Lyriques will offer public masterclasses and themed, annotated concerts.
Les Talens Lyriques now boasts a rich discography of over 100 recordings released on Erato, Fnac Music, Auvidis, Decca, Naïve, Ambroisie, Virgin Classics, Ediciones Singulares (PBZ), Outhere, Château Versailles Spectacles (CVS), and Aparté. The ensemble also recorded the famous soundtrack to Gérard Corbiau’s film Farinelli (1994), which sold over one million copies.
The season will feature two new album releases: Proserpine by Lully (Château de Versailles Spectacles) and Ifigenia in Tauride by Tommaso Traetta (Aparté).
Since 2007, the ensemble has introduced students to music through a wide-ranging programme of ambitious artistic projects and innovative educational initiatives. Les Talens Lyriques have been in residence in schools across Paris and the Île-de-France region for over 15 years, running orchestra classes and a broad cultural outreach programme. Their three educational apps, t@lenschool, have generated great enthusiasm and have won multiple French and international awards.
Les Talens Lyriques have also launched a music therapy programme in the palliative care unit at the Toussaint Clinic in Strasbourg.
[Mandatory Mentions:]
Les Talens Lyriques are supported by the Ministry of Culture – DRAC Île-de-France, the City of Paris, and the Cercle des Mécènes.
The Ensemble thanks its major patrons, notably the GRoW @ Annenberg Foundation – Gregory and Regina Annenberg Weingarten, and the Fondation d’entreprise Société Générale.
The Ensemble regularly receives support for its national and international reach and its recording projects from the Centre National de la Musique.
Since 2011, Les Talens Lyriques has been an associate artist in residence at the FondationSinger-Polignac.
Les Talens Lyriques are members of Scène Ensemble (professional organisation for the performing arts) and FEVIS (Federation of specialised vocal and instrumental ensembles).
This document is regularly updated. Please request the latest version before use.
© Les Talens Lyriques – May 2025 – Do not modify without permission.
In this new 25/26 season, Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques explore the different facets of love through emblematic works and beautiful rediscoveries: Ifigenia in Tauride by Tommaso Traetta, Orlando by Handel. Gassmann’s L’Opera seria, Mozart’s Ascanio in Alba and La Clemenza di Tito. This season will also see the conclusion of Lully’s incredible complete lyric tragedies with the recording of Cadmus et Hermione, to be heard in concert at the Philharmonie de Paris.
This season will also see the birth of a partnership between the Ensemble, the Salle Cortot and the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris: the Talens Lyriques will be offering public masterclasses and themed concerts with commentary.
In a world where certainty seems ever more elusive, the lively and richly woven season ahead with Les Talens Lyriques promises a welcome escape. The 2025/26 season will be filled with opera – no surprise there – and as always in opera, love is the beating heart of the drama.
Sometimes it’s love fulfilled : Ascanio (the son of Aeneas) and the shepherdess Silvia ; Cadmus and Hermione ; Angelica and Medoro. And sometimes, as we know all too well, it’s love troubled, love unrequited – Sesto for Vitellia, Orlando for Angelica, Pluto for Proserpina. Love takes many forms. It can be driven by self-interest, as in Gassmann’s L’Opera Seria, where a soprano compromises herself in rehearsal, desperate to secure a role. But it can also be the pure devotion between siblings,
as with Orestes and Iphigenia. Or the fierce, aching love of a mother – Ceres, watching helplessly as her daughter is stolen away.
This new season will come alive with concerts too. It brings me back to Monteverdi and Cavalli, my two faithful companions over the years. And there will be moments of discovery – Legrenzi, whose music still flies under the radar, but who deserves to be heard. There’s also an exciting programme of symphonies from the revolutionary era, to coincide with
the major Jacques-Louis David exhibition at the Louvre.
Of course, I must mention the tireless work of our teams with our partner schools. Les Talens Lyriques has always believed in sharing music – not just on grand stages, but in classrooms, too. Carried by love for the music and the desire to pass it on, we work closely with students in secondary schools around Paris. Each rehearsal we share becomes its own kind of love letter to this art form: a moment when young eyes brighten, when hearts begin to beat a little faster. Seeing these young people discover opera for the first time, watching their sense of wonder grow – it’s a source of endless inspiration for us, and for their teachers as well.
I couldn’t do any of this without offering my heartfelt thanks to our public partners, and to our major patrons, including Regina and Gregory Weingarten of the GRoW@Annenberg Foundation ; and the Fondation d’entreprise Société Générale, whose support has stood by us for nearly seven years. And of course, the Cercle des Mécènes des Talens, which continues to grow. Your loyalty is a powerful affirmation of our work – on stages across France and beyond, in schools, and even in hospitals, with our cherished project at the Clinique de la Toussaint in Strasbourg.
We must never forget: music is a door that opens onto another
world. It has an extraordinary power to console and to heal. It stirs me at the harpsichord, and when I stand before my Ensemble. And it allows me to weave deep, subtle connections – with you, our faithful audience, and with the artists who make this adventure possible.
Amor vince ogni cosa !
Les Talens Lyriques’ extensive discography now includes over 100 recordings, released by labels such as Erato, Fnac Music, Auvidis, Decca, Naïve, Ambroisie, Virgin Classics, Ediciones Singulares (PBZ), Outhere, Château de Versailles Spectacles (CVS), and Aparté. The ensemble also produced the iconic soundtrack to Gérard Corbiau’s film Farinelli (1994), which has sold over a million copies worldwide.
A major highlight of 2026 will be the culmination of a long-standing, passionate artistic journey: the concert and recording of Cadmus et Hermione, marking the final chapter in the ensemble’s complete Lully cycle—25 years after it began with Persée in 2001. This production will be presented as part of a new joint residency with the Philharmonie de Paris and the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles.
The coming season will also see the release of four new recordings by Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques, including Proserpine by Jean-Baptiste Lully (Château de Versailles Spectacles, May 2026) and the world premiere of Ifigenia in Tauride by Tommaso Traetta (Aparté, Spring 2026).
The ensemble Les Talens Lyriques receives subsidies from the French Ministry of Culture-Drac Ile-de-France and the City of Paris, and generous support from its Circle of Patrons. The ensemble wishes to thank its principal Patrons, notably the Annenberg Foundation / GRoW – Gregory and Regina Annenberg Weingarten and La Foundation d’entreprise Société Générale.
Since 2011 Les Talens Lyriques have been associate artists, in residence at the Singer-Polignac Foundation in Paris.
Les Talens Lyriques are founding members of FEVIS (Federation of Specialised Vocal and Instrumental Ensembles) and of SCENE ENSEMBLE (Organisation professionnelle des arts de la représentation).
The ensemble works to introduce pupils to music through a programme of ambitious artistic initiatives and innovative educational methods. As part of their school residencies in Paris and the Île-de-France region, they have established an orchestra class in Thiais (94).