Alban Richard et Christophe Rousset, rencontres exceptionnelles à Montpellier

By Fabien Houlès, 06 February 2016

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“Une improvisation immédiate, emplie de spontanéité, créant un rapport au temps captivant.”

Reviewed at Opéra Comédie, Montpellier on 5 February 2016

Works by Couperin

Works by D'Anglebert

Christophe Rousset, Harpsichord

Alban Richard, Choreography

Teenage Mozart’s Mitridate a great success at La Scala

Laura Servidei, 18th May

Christophe Rousset leads Les Talens Lyriques and a stellar cast in a superb rendition of Mozart’s first opera seria.

*****

A forgotten meta-opera at La Scala: Gassmann’s L’opera seria

Laura Servidei, 29th March

Christophe Rousset leads a great cast and an even greater orchestra in Gassmann’s 1769 rarity in Laurent Pelly’s visually striking, but oddly subdued, take on a comedy that thrives on chaos.

***11

Fine Bach cantatas from Paul Figuier at the Festival d’Ambronay

David Karlin, 4th October

Young countertenor Figuier gives an accomplished vocal performance, sometimes overpowered by the energy of Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques. Oboist Gilles Vanssons steals the show.

***11

Jephtha: Handel's last English oratorio at the Halle Handel Festival

Sandra Bowdler, 30th May

Handel's last English oratorio Jephtha is beautifully performed by Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques in Halle, although the drama is a bit slow off the mark.

***11

Not quite a premiere, not quite a success: Salieri’s Kublai Khan

Chanda VanderHart, 7th April

Martin G Berger exhaustively reworks the story and the libretto of Salieri's Cublai, gran kan de' Tartari and throws the kitchen sink at this new production, but not everything lands well.

***11

Unhappy ever after: Gluck's Armide returns to Paris

David Karlin, 11th November

Excellent performances and stage direction make a good case for an opera that's on the slow side dramatically.

****1

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Fabien Houlès

Professeur Agrégé de Musique, Fabien Houlès s'intéresse plus particulièrement à l'analyse des musiques du XXe et XXIe siècle. Diplômé de la Sorbonne en Musicologie, il poursuit actuellement son cursus au Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris.