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The Toronto Summer Music Festival opens with Les Arts Florissants’ enchanting performance of Purcell’s The Fairy Queen, featuring the singers of Le Jardin des voix and the dancers of Compagnie Käfig.

William Christie directs with all his customary close involvement, and profound belief in the work in hand. 

In Basil Twist's staging of Titon et l'Aurore, William Christie shows the breadth of his talent in 18th century French repertoire, conducting an cast which excels in both main and supporting roles.

Cecilia Bartoli once again takes Zurich by storm under the guiding hand of Maestro William Christie for a wonderful evening of Handelian fun.

The small, thirty-strong choir was the true star of the evening rendering Haydn’s contrapuntal mastery with tremendous conviction and marvelous cohesiveness.

A wry and topical new version of The Beggar’s Opera from Robert Carsen and Ian Burton from Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord is energetic, fun and amusing. Les Arts Florissants provide colourful Baroque accompaniment.

A wonderful cast conducted by William Christie in a new production of L’incoronazione di Poppea at the Salzburg Festival. 

Interviewed at the time of this production's first outing, McVicar declared that “Entertainment is not a dirty word”. His Giulio Cesare remains a hugely entertaining opera production.

William Christie and Les Arts Florissants show true Baroque musicianship in Madrid, in an Ariodante with a solid cast.

Claus Guth's production of Handel's last oratorio lands in Paris, where William Christie leads Les Arts Florissants and a stellar cast. 

A performance of Handel's oratorio Israel in Egypt performed by the Orchestra and Choir of the Age of the Enlightenment with William Christie conducting.

The advantage of staging a rare opera such as Cavalli's Hipermestra at Glyndebourne this year is that the director can work with a blank canvas without audience’s preconceptions.

From devoted wife and mother to murdering avenger, Médée is is a challenging role. A new Zurich production firmly secures her place in the collective memory, perhaps for the wrong reasons.

Polished, deft and attentive, Les Arts Florissants deliver in concert the same slickness that we have come to expect from their impressive array of recordings, but lack vital energy.

William Christie and his ensemble Les Arts Florissants (or The blooming arts – a reference to an opera by Marc-Antoine Charpentier) visited the Hungarian capital to perform Handel’s Messiah in the exceptional acoustics of the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall. 

Tim Mead impresses; William Christie and Les Arts Florissants lack the heft to fill the Royal Albert Hall.

Jens-Daniel Herzog sets his new Orlando in a sanatorium where, pulled between his love for a woman and his passion for war, the protagonist is trying to recover his sanity.

Les Arts Florissants' performance of Handel's oratorio Theodora presents true characters with an intense inner life.

An imaginatively programmed and deftly executed concert from William Christie's Arts Florissants and Jardin des Voix offers many delights in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall.

These wonderfully original works were performed with style and precision however the sound quickly disappeared into the rafters of a mostly empty Royal Albert Hall. 

William Christie named this Salle Pleyel concert “Music for Queen Caroline”, a moving tribute to Handel’s friend, protector and patron, Queen Caroline of Great Britain.

In a city where period-instrument concerts are legion, performances by William Christie and his excellent ensemble Les Arts Florissants remain very special events, if only because their original programming brings a breath of fresh air in a country where, still too often, baroque music isn’t taken very seriously if it isn’t Bach.

Two specially assembled suites from operas by Rameau opened this concert from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and William Christie at the Royal Festival Hall.

Spring has sprung and the arts flourish at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Earlier this week, William Christie and his superb ensemble Les Arts Florissants revived Charpentier’s David et Jonathas, first produced at the 2012 Festival d’Aix-en-Provence (review here).

New York is again lucky to host William Christie and Les Arts Florissants at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Their visits are always special, and it’s not just because the unique nature of their repertory – Baroque opera, usually French, which is neglected by most of New York’s major companies – nor the virtuosic ease with which they embody this otherwise-foreign idiom.

Handel’s Belshazzar was the oratorio of choice for renowned music group Les Arts Florissants at the Barbican last week. The group was famously set up in France in 1979 by the American-born William Christie, eventually becoming an international household name for its critically acclaimed performances and recordings of Baroque operas on period instruments.

Il rè pastore was the last operatic work that Mozart completed before Idomeneo, and though there is a clear shift in style and level of achievement in the six years that separate them, it is very interesting to compare the 19-year-old composer to the later operatic master that we are more familiar with.

The choir of Les Arts Florissants is composed of some of today’s most dynamic singers, who can sing, act, and even appear in two places at the same time. Well, in a matter of speaking.

One of the most sophisticated offerings in the 2012 Festival d’Aix-en-Provence is a new production of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s David et Jonathas.

Is there a better way to spend a Sunday evening than with William Christie conducting “An Evening of Handel” at Carnegie Hall? The Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale and Yale Choral Artists were lucky to perform under his baton, and sounded glorious playing and singing works by il caro Sassone, Mr. Handel.Christie himself earned a degree from the Yale School of Music before emigrating to France.

Read our review of Phelim McDermott's production of The Enchanted Island by Jeremy Sams in its 2008 broadcast from the Met Opera in New York.

In 1676, Louis XIV’s court composer, Jean-Baptiste Lully, wrote Atys, an unusually tragic opera that became a favorite of the king. In 1987, William Christie’s Les Arts Florissants revived it in an acclaimed series of performances in Paris and eventually at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Une grande théâtralité transpire de l'interprétation des Arts Florissants dirigés par William Christie et rend l’histoire aussi véridique qu’un film.

El planteamiento escenográfico de Bieito se queda entre dos aguas –con regalo nostálgico para el público liceista incluido– logrando un vacío lumínico y exuberante sin condición.

Les Arts Florissants et la soprano ont célébré le 80e anniversaire du chef avec une plongée à l'époque de Marie-Antoinette. Un concert de haute volée, mais quelque peu déconnecté de la salle.

Distribution exemplaire (dont Lea Desandre dans le rôle-titre), orchestre, chœur et chef aux petits oignons, mise en scène intelligente : le génial opéra de Charpentier fait une grandiose entrée au répertoire de la Grande Boutique.

Un montaje semiescenificado de The Fairy Queen complementó una brillante ejecución tanto instrumental como vocal bajo la atenta dirección de William Christie.

Bei Christie und Merzouki verschwammen die inneren und äußeren Grenzen der Rollen und Stile, um eine unvergessliche Gemeinschaft eines fabelhaften, zeitlosen Feengartens zu schaffen.

Le récital d'Eva Zaïcik avec Les Épopées restera dans les annales beaunoises, de même que la version de concert très incarnée de Didon et Énée par les Arts Florissants.

Blanca Li propone una puesta en escena crepuscular, intensa y claroscural en la nueva producción de Dido y Aeneas.

Mit 78 Jahren, da fängt... William Christie Telemanns Auferstehung und Himmelfahrt Jesu grandios ein und huldigt erneut Händel.

Die Interpretation beeindruckte mit dramatischem Farbenspiel, Balance, Dynamik und Gespür für Wettkampf sowie einer großen Portion Augenzwinkern.

Avec les psaumes de Charpentier et le Requiem de Campra, William Christie et les Arts Florissants montrent leur habituel savoir-faire mais également l'évolution qu'ils ont suivie depuis trente ans.

La Programación Lírica de A Coruña cierra su edición con la divertida ópera de Handel Partenope.

Sur le miroir d'eau, au cœur des jardins de William Christie, Les Arts Florissants et les lauréats du Jardin des Voix ont donné une Partenope d'anthologie.

En compagnie de William Christie et ses Arts Florissants, la mezzo Lea Desandre et le contre-ténor Jakub Józef Orliński ont réservé une soirée délectable avec leur programme très original.   

La Orquesta y Coro Nacionales han hecho posible de la mano de William Christie y de los solistas invitados olvidarnos en gran medida de la complicada situación actual, con la fuerza indomable de Beethoven en un concierto que desplegó gran calidad musical, maestría y vitalidad. 

Reinoud van Mechelen se rejoint avec l'ensemble de William Christie pour un tour de la musique française du 17e siècle.