Atys

Lully's tragedie en musique, Atys, with a text by his favored librettist, Philippe Quinault, was one of his greatest operatic successes and was significant for setting a new standard for a distinctively French approach to opera. While Lully's operas have not entered the repertoire, they have fared well on record thanks to the efforts of some top-notch early music ensembles, and this 2010 performance of Atys featuring Hugo Reyne leading La Simphonie du Marais and Le Choeur du Marais is a superb addition to the composer's discography.

Jean-Baptiste Lully (French pronunciation: ​[ʒã.ba.tist ly.li]; Italian: Giovanni Battista Lulli; 28 November 1632 – 22 March 1687) was a Florentine-born French composer who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He is considered the chief master of the French baroque style. Lully disavowed any Italian influence in French music of the period. He became a French subject in 1661…

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.

To celebrate its 50th Anniversay, harmonia mundi presents 50 masterworks in the development of Western classical music, performed by undisputed masters in their field. This set features over 36 hours of music (all complete works, no excerpts) of music in audiophile-quality sound, elequently packaged in a deluxe boxed set and offered at a very low price. Whether you are an inquisitive novice or a discerning connoisseur, you will be thrilled to experience the sonic triumphs of the world's most innovative independent label.

This luxurious set containing 39 CDs, 3 DVDs, 1 CD-Rom and four detailed booklets will tell you the full story of Baroque opera in Italy, France, England, and Germany. No fewer than 17 complete operas (including two on DVD) and two supplementary CDs (the dawn of opera, Overtures for the Hamburg Opera) provide the most comprehensive overview of the genre ever attempted! The finest performers are assembled here under the direction of René Jacobs and William Christie to offer you 47 hours of music. An opportunity to discover or to hear again the masterpieces of Baroque opera, some of which have been unavailable on CD for many years.

To celebrate its 50th Anniversay, harmonia mundi presents 50 masterworks in the development of Western classical music, performed by undisputed masters in their field. This set features over 36 hours of music (all complete works, no excerpts) of music in audiophile-quality sound, elequently packaged in a deluxe boxed set and offered at a very low price. Whether you are an inquisitive novice or a discerning connoisseur, you will be thrilled to experience the sonic triumphs of the world's most innovative independent label.