Purcell, Dido And Aenes, Les Arts Florissants

It was only a matter of time before William Christie got around to recording Mozart's delightful 1782 singspiel, and the results are very happy indeed. Period instruments are just right for the raucous "Turkish" music Mozart composed for Entführung, and they go very nicely with the light voices Christie has chosen as well. Most successful is the Belmonte of tenor Ian Bostridge, already famous for his lieder singing.

Lully's Atys was so dear to Louis XIV that it became known as the "the King's opera." With its unprecedented dramatic intensity, Atys was the first opera to feature a plot that revolved around love and the first French tragedy to kill off its lead character on stage. The opera was revived in 1985 when the Opéra de Paris called on William Christie and the director Jean-Marie Villégier to stage a celebration of the tercentenary of Lully's death. Resurrected from the ashes, Atys was a key factor in the revival of French baroque music. In 2011, the Opéra Comique once again presented Atys, and that production was filmed by FRA Musica for posterity.

The Sicilian nobleman Sigismondo d'India was roughly contemporary with Monteverdi (both began their careers around 1600); the musical ferment of that period led, in d'India's case, to a very heady brew. His madrigals–duets, solos and five-voice works–are like inebriated Monteverdi: d'India set the Italian poetic texts (usually dealing with a lover's pain) with even less regard for academic counterpoint and even more surprising twists of harmony than did his more-famous colleague, yet the music never veers into the disorienting, seemingly willful weirdness of Gesualdo.

When the young Archduchess of Austria, Marie-Antoinette, arrived at the French court in 1770, amongst her luggage was a harp. Contrary to the instrument’s heralded decline, the harp was about to enjoy an unprecedented popularity and to inspire a rich and prolific repertoire, quite distinct from the concertos being composed for the keyboard. Xavier de Maistre and Les Arts Florissants take us on a voyage of discovery through these magnificent compositions, from the lesser known Concerto for harp & orchestra by Jean-Baptiste Krumpholz to Haydn’s “La Reine” Symphony, bringing them to life using period instruments in a programme that is as accomplished as it is captivating.

Luigi Rossi - Oratorio per la Settimana Santa - Les Arts Florissants, William Christie (2016) {Harmonia Mundi HAF 8901297}
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© 1989, 2016 Harmonia Mundi | HAF 8901297
Classical / Baroque / Choral

Rossi's Oratorio per la Settimana Santa is a masterpiece of the period. Its unusual representation of the Crucifixion draws on elements of both the Passion and the Stabat mater traditions. It also includes an almost operatic scene that vividly depicts a descent into Hades. Its moralistic intent was to move the listener through compassion to repentance. This striking recording from William Christie and the ensemble Les Arts Florissants was originally released in 1989.

Handel's operas–the center of his creative life before oratorios became the focus–have spent far too long in limbo awaiting rediscovery, which slowly started happening in the late '60s with works such as Giulio Cesare. But whether Handelian opera is still a novelty or you're already a rabid convert, this emotionally resonant, crisply played, superbly cast interpretation under William Christie and Les Arts Florissants is likely to shake up some of your ideas about the composer.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau hailed Platée as the best musical play ever to be heard in our theatres. In Robert Carsens production, the mythological events take place in the world of Parisian haute couture and Jupiter is portrayed as the fashion god Karl Lagerfeld (1933-2019) who has now really been transferred up to Olympus. This ingeniously apt transposition of this satirical opera into the modern day has long been a hit! The renowned specialist in baroque music, William Christie, conducts his Les Arts Florissants, the Arnold Schoenberg Chor and a fantastic cast. 'A candy-coloured baroque dream' Salzburger Nachrichten. 'A must-see' - and not only for fashion freaks!

This is the first recording in the complete Monteverdi cycle with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants, made possible by a three-year collaboration between Dynamic and Teatro Real. Luigi Pizzi's attractive and original staging is enhanced by the rich colour of 17th century costumes. The musicians - and Christie himself - also perform in costume, with the conductor clad in a flowing red cloak and white ruffed collar. The DVD also features interviews with Christie, Pizzi and the Opera's two protagonists.