Actéon / Dido and Aeneas
Marc-Antoine Charpentier – Henry Purcell
Ensemble
Les Arts Florissants
Cast
Lea DESANDRE, Junon / Dido
Reinoud VAN MECHELEN, Actéon / Spirit/Sailor
Élodie FONNARD, Diane / Second Woman
Renato DOLCINI, Chasseur / Aeneas
Rachel REDMOND, Arthébuze / Belinda
Carlo VISTOLI, Sorceress
Maud GNIDZAZ, Hyale / First witch
Virginie THOMAS, Daphné / Second witch
Program
Marc-Antoine CHARPENTIER - Actéon
Pastorale en musique, H.481
Henry PURCELL - Dido and Aeneas
Bringing together Dido and Aeneas and Actéon in the same programme is an idea dear to William Christie. These chamber operas, which count amongst the most remarkable examples of the genre, are a marvelous complement to one another: Actéon is probably part of a group of works presented in England at the end of the XVIIth Century and which could have supplied the young Purcell with a direct source of inspiration for his Dido andAeneas – of which the libretto actually does explicitly mention the story of the unfortunate hunter devoured by his own dogs.
By associating the Franco-Italian elements of Charpentier’s writing to the style of the budding British school, the “Orpheus Britannicus” (as Purcell was known) was thus able to raise English opera to the summit of elegance and eloquence. This is exactly what the public of this American tour will be able to hear with a fresh young cast bringing together several former laureates from the Jardin des Voix.
Previous dates
Sonoma / United States
Joan and Sanford Weill Hall
- Friday, November 10 2017, 7.30pm
Berkeley / United States
Zellerbach Auditorium
- Thursday, November 9 2017, 7.30pm
Los Angeles / United States
Walt Disney Concert Hall
- Tuesday, November 7 2017, 8pm
Bogota / Colombie
Teatro Mayor
- Sunday, November 5 2017, 5pm