Lully: Thésée

Description

Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques continue, with Thésée, their journey through the operas of Lully of which they have become specialists. The third tragic opera by Lully and among the least recorded, Thésée tells the youth of the hero, long before his battle against the Minotaur or his intrigues with Ariadne and Phaedra. The plot transports the listener through a series of changing settings – from the underworld to the paradise island, from Versailles to Athens – embraced by the incredible vocal eloquence of Lully's music, supported by a constant and previously unmatched tension.
At the center of the drama, Karine Deshayes embodies a flamboyant Medea, a pugnacious and tragic figure, guiding the listener through the most furious opera in the Lullian catalog. Matthias Vidal and Deborah Cachet portray a poignant Thésée/Églé couple, giving the duets all their dramatic power. The emblematic aria of Medea (“Dépit mortel, transport jaloux”) captures in itself the movement and the sorcerous breath that runs through the entire work – one of the most captivating achievements of the superintendent of the Sun King.