[ Erato Classics / 3 CD Box Set ]
Release Date: Tuesday 16 October 2018
This item is only available to us via Special Import.
Véronique Gens is one of the most acclaimed French soprano. She has recorded in 2005, 2008 and 2011 three recitals of operatic arias for soprano from the French tragic operas of the late 17th, 18th and 19th centuries from Lully to Saint-Saëns. Véronique Gens embodies the tragic heroines of the Antiquity such as Dido, Circe, Medea or Cassandra… Véronique Gens is accompanied by renowned French director Christophe Rousset and his ensemble les Talens Lyriques. These three recitals are the most successful she has recorded, with Les Nuits d'été by Berlioz.
"Véronique Gens is now a leading interpreter of French opera and song. Véronique Gens is stunning in this recital disc devoted to tragic heroines from 17th and early 18th century operas. Embracing some, often quite rare, fare from Leclair to Lully, Gens throws herself into each role with abandon. And her voice, richer than it once was, possesses the resources to sustain her dramatic instincts." GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD WINNER 2006: Vocal Recital (Vol 1)
"This is one of the most satisfying vocal discs, in all categories, for a long, long time. Véronique Gens seems never to have put a foot wrong these days. The recorded sound is fully worthy of the performances and there are excellent notes in three languages by Jean Duron. I don't expect to review many - if any - better discs this year and I can promise that it will be one of my selected Recordings of the Year in December." (Recording of the Month MusicWeb August 2009 on Vol 2)
"…a wonderful odyssey through late Baroque to early Romantic French opera. Gens's agile voice is the perfect vehicle to cope with these emotional extremes, from the enchanting to the chilling. She is never afraid to sacrifice pure beauty of sound in favour of rhetorical and dramatic effect, giving due weight to the plights, laments and plangent outpourings of these timeless, tragic heroines. Rousset coaxes some crack playing from Les Talens Lyriques, combining the immediacy and intimacy of chamber music with all the colours and intensity of a large-scale symphony orchestra." BBC Music Magazine, August 2009 ***** (Vol 2)
"Though many of these arias were written with a mezzo-soprano range in mind, their dark shades are generally a good match for Gens's sultry voice...Rousset directs throughout with bracing energy: rhythms are razor-sharp, orchestral colours vivid. His period orchestra never overwhelms the soloist, so Gens's every word cuts through with thrilling, and often chilling, drama. Virgin's recording sound is clean and detailed. In short, intense but compelling listening." (BBC Music Vol 3)
"Wonderful surprises by little-known composers from Campra to Méhul and with Gens at the top of her game taking every point with matchless musicianship" Five Stars BBC
Vol 1:
LULLY
Armide
Enfin il est en ma puissance (4:17)
Ouverture (2:13)
Venez, venez, Haine implacable (1:10)
Passacaille (3:56)
CAMPRA
Le Carnaval de Venise
Mes yeux, fermez-vous à jamais (4:00)
RAMEAU
Hippolyte et Aricie
Prélude de l'Acte III (1:40)
Cruelle mère des amours (5:11)
Chaconne (3:09)
Castor et Pollux
Tristes apprêts (4:11)
Chaconne (4:57)
Les Fêtes de Polymnie
Que ses regrets m'ont attendrie (2:58)
MONDONVILLE
Isbé
Désirs toujours détruits (3:57)
LECLAIR
Scylla et Glaucus
Ouverture (5:45)
Et toi, dont les embrasements... Noires divinités (3:45)
Premier Air des démons (1:50)
Brillante fille de Latone (0:42)
Deuxième Air des démons (1:16)
ROYER
Le Pouvoir de l'Amour
L'objet qui règne dans mon âme (2:51)
Zaïde, reine de Grenade
Dieu des amants fidèles (2:06)
GLUCK
Iphigénie en Aulide
Dieux puissants que j'atteste...
Jupiter, lance la foudre ! (3:32)
Armide
Enfin, il est en ma puissance (6:28)
Vol 2:
Christoph Willibald GLUCK (1714 - 1787)
Alceste (1776)
1. Grands dieux soutenez mon courage … Ah! Divinités implacables [6:38]
Antonio SACCHINI (1730 - 1786)
Dardanus (1784)
2. Il me fuit … Rien ne peut émouvoir [3:49]
3. Cesse cruel amour de régner sur mon âme [3:04]
Niccolo PICCINNI (1728 - 1800)
Didon (1783)
4. Non, ce n'est plus pour moi [4:27]
Christoph Willibald GLUCK
Orphée et Eurydice (1774)
5. Ballet des ombres heureuses [5:10]
6. Air de Furies [4:02]
Antonio SACCHINI
Œdipe à Colone (1786)
7. Dieux, ce n'est pas pour moi que ma voix vous implore [2:20]
André GRÉTRY (1741 - 1813)
Andromaque (1780)
8. C'est le seul espoir qui me reste … Si fidèle au nœud qui l'engage [2:34]
Jean-Philippe RAMEAU (1683 - 1764)
Les Paladins (1760)
9. Entrée très gaye de Troubadours [2:25]
10. Triste séjour [2:28]
11. Sarabande [3:03]
Antonio SACCHINI
Renaud (1783)
12. Hélas vous le dirais-je … Ah! Que dis-tu? [3:33]
Jean-Philippe RAMEAU
Les Paladins
13. Menuets I & II [4:33]
Luigi CHERUBINI (1760 - 1842)
Médée (1797)
14. Ah! Nos peines seront communes [8:24]
Juan Crisostomo de ARRIAGA (1806 - 1826)
Herminie (1823)
15. Mais sur cette arène guerrière … Il n'est plus … Dieux cruels [3:48]
Hector BERLIOZ (1803 - 1869)
Les Troyens (1858)
16. Les Grecs ont disparu … Malheureux Roi [7:00]
Vol 3:
Berlioz:
Entrée des constructeurs, de matelots et de laboureurs (from Les Troyens)
Ah! Je vais mourir (from Les Troyens)
Gluck:
Non, cet affreux devoir... Je t'implore et je tremble (from Iphigénie en Tauride)
Gossec:
Ah! faut-il me venger...Ma rivale triomphe (from Thésée)
Kreutzer, R:
Ah, ces perfides grecs...Dieux, à qui recourir (from Astyanax)
Massenet:
Ne me refuse pas (from Hérodiade)
Méhul:
Quelle fureur barbare!...Ô des amants le plus fidele (from Ariodant)
Mermet:
Prête à te fuir...Le soir pensive (from Roland à Ronceveaux)
Meyerbeer:
Ah, mon fils! (from Le Prophète)
Saint-Saëns:
Ô Cruel Souvenir! (from Henry VIII)
Salieri:
Les Danaides: Overture
Verdi:
Toi qui sus le néant des grandeurs (from Don Carlos)