William Christie, Les Arts Florissants - Marc-Antoine Charpentier: La Descente d'Orphée aux Enfers (1995)
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 278 Mb | Total time: 56:10 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Erato | 0630-11913-2 | Recorded: 1995
EAC | FLAC | Image (Cue & Log) ~ 278 Mb | Total time: 56:10 | Scans included
Classical | Label: Erato | 0630-11913-2 | Recorded: 1995
The myth of Orpheus–the divine musician who went to Hades to rescue his bride Eurydice from the dead and whose song actually persuaded Pluto to release her–has been irresistible to operatic composers from Monteverdi to Offenbach. One of the happiest rediscoveries of the Baroque revival is this lovely one-act chamber opera by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, which combines the gentle lilt typical of French Baroque music with the beautiful melodies and delicious suspensions in which Charpentier excelled. Charpentier diverged from the myth in one important respect: he omitted the tragic ending in which Orpheus loses Eurydice a second time, instead allowing the couple to live happily ever after.