Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another great Lully opera recording, 5 Aug 2007
Lully's operas seem to be much in favour with record companies at present, with this world premier recording of Thesee following hot on the heels of recordings of Isis and Amadis.
I was fortunate enough to see a concert performance of this work conducted by William Christie in London many years ago (1998?). Being a fan of Lully's "tragedies lyriques" I needed little encouragement but I was struck by the superb quality of the music. A first commercial recording has therefore been a long time coming. Was it worth the wait?
In a word, yes. I don't consider it to be a flawless performance (how many recordings are?) but the positives far outweigh any negatives.
The opera begins with what I think is one of Lully's finest prologues. The 'dialogue' between the chorus and soloists in track 8 is particularly effective.
The only criticism I would offer here is that I felt the part of Mars might have been a little more forcefully projected by its singer.
The opera itself is perhaps one of Lully's most accessible - numerous choruses and other set pieces breaking up the tracts of recitative that can seem daunting to newcomers to this repertoire.
The cast is good, with Harry van der Kamp and Howard Crook particularly impressing me. I was a little less taken by the singers of Medee and Aegle. Laura Pudwell certainly tries to throw herself into the role of Medee but I still found myself wanting a little more presence and characterisation. Her confrontation with Aegle at the end of Act 3 and the start of Act 4 seems to me to be a little soft-centred; Aegle at this point should be terrified and yet I felt her horror is underplayed by Ellen Hargis.
However, both ladies sing clearly and well - for me it is a matter of dramatic projection rather than vocal quality.
The smaller roles are all sung perfectly well.
This work makes much use of the chorus and I'm pleased to report that it is excellent throughout, well disciplined and clear-voiced. Only in Act 5 did I want a little more theatricality - they should surely sound more distressed as they witness Medee destroying the palace.
The pacing of the work seems to be generally good, although perhaps not quite up to the standards of drama and theatricality set by William Christie. I am undecided as to whether the pacing in some places contributes towards the need for a little more drama - listeners will no doubt decide for themselves.
The orchestra is also very good and, as one would expect from a performance directed by lutenists, the contribution of the plucked continuo is strong, without ever overstepping the boundaries of style and taste. Percussion is used tastefully in some of the dances.
In addition, the recorded sound quality is excellent.
Overall, this is a fine recording of a superb work. Musical highlights are too many to list but, besides the prologue, the Act 4 divertissement with its musettes (small bagpipes) is particularly delightful and the scene in Act 3 for the inhabitants of hell is also memorable.
CPO should be thanked for bringing this opera to the public in a sympathetic and thoroughly enjoyable performance. My criticisms should not deter would-be purchasers of this set and I for one will be listening to it many times in the coming weeks.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lully's Thesee, 6 Feb 2008
This CD presents the first complete recording of "Thesee" by Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632 -- 1687), the father of French opera. The recording has received numerous accolades: it was rated 10/10 by "Classics Today" and also appears on "Classics Today's" list of the 10 best CDs of 2007.
Lully was born in Florence, but by 1652 he had entered the service of Louis XIV as a dancer and quickly became a favorite of the monarch. Early in his career, Lully joined with Moliere in composing a series of comedie ballets. But he is chiefly remembered for his compositions of opera, tragedie-lyrique in collaboration with the librettist Phillipe Quniault between 1673-- 1686. Probably Lully's most famous opera is his final work in the form, "Armide" (1686) which was set again 80 years later to the same Quinalult libretto by Gluck. I had the rare pleasure of seeing both versions of "Armide" last year performed by another period performance group, the Opera Lafayette.
Lully's Thesee dates from 1675. Although the opera is obscure today, it remained in the active repertoire of the Paris Opera for over 100 years following its premiere. The opera combines an obesquious portrait of Louis XIV with music of grandeur, lyricism, and power. The opera begins with a lengthy prelude set in Versailles which characterizes the Sun King as supreme both in matters of military prowess and of love. The opera itself is set in ancient Athens but the allusions to life at the French court, with its romantic fickleness, would have been unmistakable to Lully's audience.
Quninault's libretto tells a complex story of inconstancy in love with Medea as the villain -- the same Medea famous in Greek mythology through her affair with Jason. In the opera, Medea is pledged to marry the king of Athens but she becomes enamored of the hero Theseus. Theseus is in love with a young princess, Aeglee. The King also wants to marry Aeglee, and he and Medea mutually end their engagement. Medea engages in many violent plots to destroy her rival Aeglee to win Theseus for herself, but in the end all her machinations fail. Near the end of the opera, Medea persuades the King to poison Theseus, but at the last moment the king realizes that Theseus is his long-lost son. Ultimately, the opera ends happily with the king relinquishing Aiglee in favor of the man she loves, the king's son, Theseus.
Early French opera was much more driven by the story line and drama than was Italian opera. In Thesee, arias and recitive sections meld together, rather than being separated as is the case with early Italian opera. French opera was also highly driven by the dance, and Thesee if full of instrumental and dance interludes, called divertissements.
Louis XIV taste in music was conservative, and Lully's music avoids harmonic adventures and contrapuntal writing. But Lully knew how to use what he had. Thesee is a work full of fanfare, of strongly rhythmic dance and song, of passion, particularly in the music for Medea, and of poignancy. There are also comic interludes -- for example the second act includes a scene for two old men bemoaning their growing old -- which did not appear in Lully's operas after Thesee. The orchestral scoring of the work is simple, but Lully mades great use of oboes and bassoons, the harpsichord, and the lute.
The performance on this CD is stunning and features the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra & Chorus, a premiere early music ensemble, performing on period instruments. They performed Thesee live in 2001, and made this 3CD recording on the CFO label in 2006. Tenor Howard Crook performs the role of Thesee while soprano Laura Pudwell plays Medea. The supporting cast is also first-rate, but I think the best performance on this recording is by the 42 piece Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra. The CD includes through liner notes on the opera and a complete libretto and translation.
This wonderful recording will be a joy to lovers of the French Baroque.
Robin Friedman
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~ Aaron Engebreth
![Cadmus & Hermione, tragédie lyrique de Lully et Quinault / Le Poème Harmonique, Dumestre, Lazar (Opéra Comique, Paris 2008) [DVD] [NTSC]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51qRtVIRuML._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Vincent Dumestre
![Persee - Lully [DVD] [2004]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/516GQP1MFFL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Cyril Auvity
~ Jean-Baptiste Lully
