Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville was greatly admired in his day. His opera Titon et l’Aurore was one of his most popular works, being held up as a triumph over the rival Italian style during the Parisian Querelle des Bouffons in the 1750s. The narrative of this spectacular opéra-ballet follows the tumultuous and seemingly unbreakable liaison between the goddess L’Aurore and her lover the shepherd Titon. Jealous gods and goddesses try to interfere through murderous intent and dramatic abduction, but true love ultimately conquers all in stage director Basil Twist’s acclaimed feast for the senses.

REVIEWS:

This is a remarkably interesting production on several fronts. The music is a rarity, the composer almost unknown, the staging as close to the original as can be achieved, the period performance very fine and the history of the piece of unusual cultural significance.

The superb orchestra and chorus of Les Arts Florissants play and sing as if unaware of the lack of any audience and the presence of COVID masks in the pit—not the stage! This was all done in the middle of our pandemic. What a treat this would have been for an audience…

…This disc has to be given a strong recommendation. The picture is appropriately bright and sparkling, the sound is absolutely clear and clean with enough ambience to give it the feeling of being there.

-- MusicWeb International (Dave Billinge)

Highly rewarding for both the staging and the musical accomplishments – it should be at the very top of one’s shopping list.

The cast that was selected for this first production in modern times is a knockout one in every respect. William Christie and Les Arts Florissants are in crisp energetic form. Whenever the camera focuses on Christie it is obvious that he is enjoying himself every bit as much as his singers. Perfect picture and sound engineering guarantee that every fleecy moment is preserved with distinction.

-- MusicWeb International (Mike Parr)

Recorded at the Opéra-Comique last year, although without an audience, this recording of Mondonville’s Titon et l’Aurore is another triumph from William Christie.

-- Gramophone

Shortlisted for the 2022 Gramophone Awards!

Riccardo Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini is a four-act opera set during the Renaissance period. The plot concerns an arranged marriage between Francesca and Giovanni, also known as Gianciotto, who is impersonated by his handsome brother Paolo, and with whom Francesca falls passionately in love. Sometimes referred to as the ‘Italian Tristan’, the opera ends in betrayal and a double murder. The production of this rarely performed opera from the Deutsche Oper Berlin proved to be a huge critical success.

REVIEW:

Francesca da Rimini is a musical mix of late 19th century Italian Romanticism—the one ever present in Puccini along with the gritty Realism of Leoncavallo, Mascagni, Cilea, Giordano and Boito—all composers who, in one way or another, influenced, or mentored, or supported the efforts of Zandonai.

Beyond being an accomplished orchestrator, Zandonai’s greatest gift resides in writing for the voice in an unforced manner that accommodates text to music naturally. In addition one hears throughout the four acts of Francesca da Rimini flashes of inspired melodic brilliance, interspersed with a simple linking of scene to scene and moment to moment.

Zandonai’s theatrical style could be simply labeled Naturalism, while its musical counterpart may be described as a kind of second cousin to the blood and guts Verismo of Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci and Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana.  But, unlike that of either one of those operas, the music of Francesca da Rimini is structured as a kind of continuous thorough-composed dialogue that lacks many if any set pieces. When one suspects that one of those might be coming around, like in the pre-coital encounter for Paolo and Francesca, Paolo, datemi pace the straight-shooting approach of both the composer and the director are just perfect.

The cast of first-rank Europe-based singers is superb. In the title role of Francesca, American soprano Sara Jakubiak is visually, dramatically, and vocally brilliant. So is her counterpart, the sonorous tenor Jonathan Tefelman in the role of Paolo. Both these singers have resilient vocal equipment that can withstand the rigors of Zandonai’s no-holds barred vocal writing.

Baritone Ivan Inverardi is vocally impressive and dramatically pure coiled anger personified as Giovanni. In a supporting role made more important by his talent, Charles Workman is flawless as the physically and emotionally impaired Malatestino.

Carlo Rizzi perfectly paces a dozen more principal singes, and the Deutsche Oper Berlin Orchestra and Chorus in this indispensable, impeccably engineered video recording of a rarity whose long-overdue time has come.

-- Rafael's Music Notes

Henry Purcell was a genius whose ability to combine French and Italian influences transported the English language to new levels of expression in music. Dido and Aeneas was pioneering in its day and is considered one of Purcell’s foremost theatrical works, with a moving tale of love, betrayal and tragedy that has proved to be of unceasing appeal to audiences for centuries. Deborah Warner’s brilliant stage direction combines period color with present-day dynamism, while William Christie’s affection for this opera shines through in an overwhelmingly acclaimed performance filmed in December 2008 at the Opéra Comique in Paris.

REVIEW:

Deborah Warner’s production of Dido and Aeneas has taken a long time to reach us. It was filmed in December 2008 at the Opéra Comique in Paris, and the production was much admired when it was new. It has by and large been worth the wait.

Costumes are period (Purcell’s period, not that of ancient Carthage) for the main characters, with contemporary street clothes for most others.

The musical side of things is a real strength here. Christopher’s Maltman’s Aeneas is firm of voice, although his character is not so firm of purpose and the baritone does not try to make him more sympathetic than the tale justifies. He gets this just right in his stage manner, and sings as well as anyone has in the role I think.

Dido is Swedish mezzo-soprano Malena Ernman is excellent in this moving role, which is so central to the success of any production. From her first confession to Belinda that she is “pressed with torment” through to her “When I am laid in earth” and poignant cries of “Remember me” she combines pathos with queenly dignity, except in her rage at Aeneas’s announcement of his departure. The whole scene of Dido’s lament can rarely have been staged, directed and sung so well live.

The other roles are all well taken, the Belinda of Judith van Wanroij being especially attractive vocally and in stage deportment. The choral work is good, the fine instrumentalists of Les Arts Florissants make an appealing period sound, and the direction of William Christie has his customary authority in such repertoire. Warner’s direction is sure-footed and unfussy, and the stage business she invents to go with the dance music moments is always plausible.

-- MusicWeb International (Roy Westbrook)