{"title":"Christophe Rousset","description":"\u003cp\u003eb. 1961. French conductor. in the Historically Informed Performance tradition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrench harpsichordist and conductor specializing in Baroque and early Classical repertoire; leads Les Talens Lyriques; notable for reviving rare opera and vocal works including by women composers such as Louise Bertin.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"lully-psyche-3770011431892","title":"Lully: Psyché \/ Bré, Cachet, Tauran, Lefebvre, Rousset, Les talens lyriques","description":"\u003cp\u003eVenus, irritated by the young mortal Psyché whose beauty radiates all across the world, dispatches Cupid to impose a thousand trials upon her, which the young victim triumphs over to the point of becoming immortal. In this mythological fable, which is his sixth tragédie lyrique (1678), Lully shows off his immense talent and takes revenge on Molière, for whom he had written the music of a monumental Psyché in 1671, and which had been the cause of their falling out. A connoisseur of Lully, Christophe Rousset conducts a sumptuous cast that gives his Psyché all the luster of the great French operas!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Château de Versailles Spectacles","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012504342762,"sku":"3770011431892","price":22.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4160911-2932530.jpg?v=1778231797"},{"product_id":"spontini-la-vestale-christophe-rousset-les-talens-lyrique","title":"Spontini: La vestale \/ Rousset, Les Talens Lyriques","description":"\u003cp\u003eGuilty of allowing the sacred fire to go out while declaring her love to the general Licinius, the Vestal Virgin Julia is sentenced to be buried alive. But her execution is averted by a divine intervention, which rekindles the altar flame and absolves the victim. The simple plot of Gaspare Spontini’s La Vestale achieved resounding success in 1807 thanks to the highly skilled treatment of the characters’ psychology and the transparency of the political allusions – Licinius is an allegory of Napoleon Bonaparte himself. Yet the work is more than a mere piece of propaganda: it represents one of the links between the tragédie lyrique of the Ancien Régime and the future grand opéra à la française, even anticipating Bellinian bel canto. The opera’s focal point is the character of Julia, which requires an exceptional soprano to do it justice. After the creator, Caroline Branchu – whom Berlioz described as ‘operatic tragedy incarnate’ – and Maria Callas at La Scala in 1954, Marina Rebeka takes on in masterly fashion a role that seems tailor-made for her impressive vocal resources, supported by the energy and precision of the period instruments of Les Talens Lyriques under Christophe Rousset. The result is genuinely revelatory.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bru Zane","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012551758058,"sku":"8055776010106","price":32.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4201648-2975975.jpg?v=1778206996"},{"product_id":"bertin-fausto-talens-lyriques","title":"Bertin: Fausto \/ Rousset, Les talens lyriques","description":"\u003cp\u003eIt was around 1825 that Louise Bertin, pupil of Reicha and friend of Berlioz, tackled the subject of Faust with all the energy and confidence of a young woman of twenty. She entirely exceeded the public’s expectations and won over the critics with her daring. Colourful orchestration, charming cantabiles, vigorous choruses – everything seemed to promise the work would enter the repertory. But the closure of the Théâtre-Italien after just three performances in 1831 decided otherwise, and the score languished in the vaults of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France for 190 years. The leading role, conceived for the mezzo-soprano Rosmunda Pisaroni, was finally created by the tenor Domenico Donzelli. In this complete recording with period instruments, Christophe Rousset presents the work in its original form, which has never been heard before, even in the composer's lifetime. Once again, Les Talens Lyriques and the Palazzetto Bru Zane join forces in an adventurous French operatic rediscovery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eREVIEW:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLimelight Magazine Recording of the Month, May 2024\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e“Mademoiselle Louise Bertin, the daughter of the proprietor of the Journal des \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003eDébats\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e, and sister of its chief editor, has been remarkably successful, both in literature and music. She is one of the ablest women of our time. Her musical talent, to my mind, is \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003erather rational\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e than emotional; but it is a real talent \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003enotwithstanding\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e.” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003eThat’s\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e Berlioz in his \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003eMémoires\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e, responding to criticisms of his boss’ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003edaughter’s\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e fourth and final opera \u003cem\u003eLa Esmeralda\u003c\/em\u003e (based on \u003cem\u003eNotre Dame de Paris\u003c\/em\u003e; Bertin was the only composer with whom Victor Hugo ever collaborated).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003eAs Berlioz makes clear, she had to struggle with not just the usual prejudice against a female composer but with those who wanted to knock her powerful family connections. The result: in 1836 she abandoned opera for good. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003eIt’s\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e often been assumed that Berlioz was being paid to be kind, but with Fausto, the latest release from \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003ePalazetto\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e Bru Zane, we have ample proof that Bertin was a force to be reckoned with.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003eShe was just 20, when in 1825 she began working up Goethe’s masterwork into an Italian opera \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003esemiseria\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e. \u003cem\u003eFausto\u003c\/em\u003e, to her own libretto, was meant to premiere in 1830, but unforeseen complications meant it \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003edidn’t\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e reach the stage until 1831. Bad \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003enotices\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e and the closure of the Théâtre-\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003eItalien\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e condemned it to just three performances. Intriguingly, the title role was conceived for the mezzo-soprano Rosmunda \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003ePisaroni\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e but ended up being sung by the tenor Domenico Donzelli. In this recording, with period instruments, Christophe Rousset and Les Talens \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003eLyriques\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e present the work in its original form, and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003eit’s\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e an absolute cracker. Despite its Italian title, Fausto is more Weber than Rossini, although there are clear bel canto elements here and there. The orchestrations are highly original for its day – snipers in 1836 accused Berlioz of having written parts of La Esmerelda – and the dramatic effects are bold, sometimes startlingly so. Listen to the percussive wallop which kicks off the lengthy overture. Or the striking Gothic \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003eexcesses\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e as Fausto \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003eseals\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e the pact with \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003eMefistofele\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003eThere’s\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e no shortage of good tunes either, with Margarita \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun AdvancedProofingIssueV2Themed SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003ein particular getting\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e some real charmers.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003eDramaturgically, there are one or two missteps – Margarita asking the elderly Fausto to heal Catarina delays the devil’s arrival, and the final trio peters out (one suspects that Bertin might have fixed that if \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003eshe’d\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e ever had the chance). Otherwise, a good stage director could do something with the opera, not to mention singers with three meaty parts on offer.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003eThe cast here is outstanding. French mezzo-soprano Karine Deshayes hurls herself fearlessly at Fausto’s challenging lines (the role is often high). The voice is bright and flexible, and she conveys the doctor’s mixture of ardent determination, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003edespair\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e and desperation. Canadian soprano Karina Gauvin may not sound the innocent victim, but her Margarita is beautifully sung and full of fire. The voice is luscious with first-rate diction. Croatian bass Ante \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003eJerkunica\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e is a sonorous \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003eMefistofele\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e with plenty of personality (though the role could use an aria or two). Nico Darmanin displays a bright, thrilling tenor as Margarita’s brother Valentino (his military aria, drums and horns popping, is a bel canto bombshell), and Marie Gautrot is ripe and characterful as the elderly Catarina. Best of all is Rousset who delivers a high-octane account of this remarkably original score. Not only does he bring it to life with judicious pacing and a winning flexibility, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003ehe\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e draws out the unique textures of Bertin’s orchestrations with a sensitive ear for \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003ecolour\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003eLes Talens \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2Themed SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003eLyriques\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003eplay\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e like demons. Period strings are full of bite, while the individual timbres of wind, brass and percussion combine to create delicate and dramatic textures. Beautiful recording in vivid, in your face sound, and smartly documented, Fausto is more than just an intriguing rediscovery. It makes you long to hear \u003cem\u003eLa Esmerelda\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003eby all accounts a\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e more mature work and with a Victor Hugo libretto no less.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW198518005 BCX0\"\u003e-- Limelight (Clive Paget)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bru Zane","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012554477802,"sku":"8055776010144","price":32.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4281821-3125384.jpg?v=1778236907"},{"product_id":"francois-couperin-portraits-live","title":"Francois Couperin: Portraits (Live)","description":"This live recording immortalizes Christophe Rousset's performance at the Fundacion Juan March in Madrid on January 8, 2025, a featured event in the Earning a Living concert series. Francois Couperin's keyboard compositions illuminate the role of royal patronage as the modus vivendi for musicians of the Early Modern period. Couperin's treatise, L'Art de Toucher le Clavecin, is here interwoven with a selection of his Pieces de clavecin, giving rise to a portrait gallery in music, each inspired by anonymous figures who inhabited the French court. This set of pieces de caractere, whose allusive and encoded meanings remain largely enigmatic today, is presented in groupings by tonality, each offering a window into the refined world of Baroque palace life and it's intricate web of connections.","brand":"Marchvivo","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012580659434,"sku":"8435725604806","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4424610-3387880.jpg?v=1778193414"},{"product_id":"charpentier-baroque-christmas","title":"Charpentier: Baroque Christmas","description":"Recorded in the middle of a European tour in December 2024, this release marks the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists debut of acclaimed French conductor Christophe Rousset. Rousset brings his Gallic elegance and refinement to Charpentier's Baroque Christmas music - the motet In Nativitatem and the Messe de minuit pout Noel, along with the instrumental noels, or Christmas carols, that form the basis of Charpentier's unique mass.","brand":"SDG","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46012621750506,"sku":"843183073726","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4442646-3418400.jpg?v=1778209535"},{"product_id":"bach-die-kunst-der-fuge-bwv-1080","title":"Bach: Die Kunst der Fuge \/ Rousset","description":"Christophe Rousset offers his version of Bach's Die Kunst der Fuge, finally tackling the German master's most mysterious work, a phenomenal and unfinished construction whose instrumentation has given rise to musicological debate in recent centuries. Behind the prowess of this cathedral-like work, the performer reveals all the virtuosity that it demands from the keyboardist who brings it to life. This is a meditative journey to the heart of the most ethereal compositional treatise ever written.","brand":"APARTE","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46013041475818,"sku":"5051083186568","price":20.17,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4262634-3070408.jpg?v=1778354471"},{"product_id":"lully-proserpine","title":"Lully: Proserpine","description":"Composed in 1680, Proserpine marks the reunion of Lully and Quinault after the scandal surrounding Isis (1677). Set in the splendour of Saint-Germain, the work offers a mythological mirror to the Dauphin's wedding. In it, Lully revolutionises his art: the orchestra becomes the driving force of the drama while the voices gain in expressive intensity. Under the baton of Christophe Rousset, Les Talens Lyriques revive this gem in which the fate of a captive queen and the splendour of restored peace unite in immortal harmony.","brand":"Château de Versailles Spectacles","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46025287008490,"sku":"3760385430782","price":39.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4498126-3541603.jpg?v=1778221140"},{"product_id":"marchand-rameau","title":"Marchand - Rameau","description":"Today, French Baroque composer and keyboard virtuoso Louis Marchand is perhaps best known as the performer who failed to take up J.S. Bach's challenge for a musical 'duel.' Unfortunately, this colorful legend has overshadowed Marchand's ample gifts as a composer of organ and harpsichord music. Writing in the 'old fashioned' style of d'Anglebert, he employs a profusion of ornaments which enrich the sustaining power of the sound. In contrast, the music of Rameau immediately imposes a new and revolutionary conception of music. Everything here breathes harmony. The discourse is always deliberately clear, favoring transparency over the bombastic effects of a more sensual harpsichord sound. The Donzelague harpsichord that is featured on this disc provides the link between these two seemingly antithetical composers. Donzelague built his instruments in Lyon and both Marchand and Rameau lived in Lyon at different points in their lives. Christophe Rousset explores the connections and contrasts between these giants of the period.","brand":"Ambronay Editions","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46027863752938,"sku":"3760135100323","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/1968281.jpg?v=1778225225"},{"product_id":"bach-the-complete-toccatas-rousset","title":"Bach: The Complete Toccatas \/ Rousset","description":"Christophe Rousset continues and concludes his exploration of Bach's splendid keyboard corpus in this new recording, which combines depth, virtuosity and interiority. The Toccatas are among Bach's earliest works composed between 1705 and 1712. They bear witness to the influence of northern masters such as Buxtehude, and are above all the site of Bach's stylistic blossoming, giving free rein to his fantasy, his freedom and his architectural and expressive genius.","brand":"APARTE","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":46055173128426,"sku":"5051083175579","price":20.17,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/files\/4364183-3219258.jpg?v=1780079819"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0614\/3423\/3066\/collections\/Christophe_Rousset.jpg?v=1777589634","url":"https:\/\/arkivmusic.com\/collections\/christophe-rousset.oembed","provider":"ArkivMusic","version":"1.0","type":"link"}