Charpentier La descente d'Orphée aux Enfers
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Genre:
Opera
Label: Erato
Magazine Review Date: 5/1996
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 56
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 0630 11913-2
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| (La) Descente d'Orphée aux enfers |
Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Composer
(Les) Arts Florissants Orchestra Fernand Bernadi, Pluton, Bass François Piolino, Tantale, Tenor Jean-François Gardeil, Apollon; Titye, Bass Katalin Károlyi, Aréthuze, Soprano Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Composer Monique Zanetti, Prosperine, Soprano Patricia Petibon, Daphné; Énone, Soprano Paul Agnew, Orphée, Tenor Sophie Daneman, Euridice, Soprano Steve Dugardin, Ixion, Alto William Christie, Conductor |
Author: Lindsay Kemp
Les Arts Florissants have had Charpentier’s chamber opera La descente d’Orphee aux enfers in their repertoire for at least a dozen years, so it is surprising that they, of all people, should have waited so long to record it. It may not be a work on the scale of Medee or David et Jonathas, but the familiar tale of Orpheus entering the Underworld to retrieve his lost love Euridice provides Charpentier (like so many others) with plenty on which to exercise his considerable dramatic skills. That is true, even without the customary denouement, for this two-act piece (composed in the mid 1680s for private performance at the residence of the Duchesse de Guise) ends with the triumph of Orpheus’s music over the powers of the Underworld, and thus misses out the moment when he loses Euridice for a second time. In his insert-notes, H. Wiley Hitchcock suggests that a third act may at least have been intended, and certainly there are some prophetic lines in Act 2 which would make more sense if that were true. The existing ending works quite well, however, and it is at least worth noting that in 1710 Clerambault’s famous cantata, Orphee, ended at the same point in the story.
As it is, Charpentier provides us with a chillingly sudden death for Euridice, an interesting scene in which three shades are charmed by some relatively minor examples of Orpheus’s art, and a hero with all the desperation and impetuosity one would need to undertake as reckless a task as his. These last qualities are excellently conveyed by the unrestrained, dramatic singing of Paul Agnew, who is also equal to the task of characterizing Orpheus’s musical entreaty to the Underworld, by turns artful and impassioned (and accompanied with great tenderness by two bass viols). Agnew’s heart-on-sleeve approach is not always beautiful, but it never leaves good taste behind, and in this he is well matched by his colleagues. William Christie’s direction shows its customary sure dramatic touch, and the result – not for the first time from these artists – is a performance which seems unlikely to be bettered.'
As it is, Charpentier provides us with a chillingly sudden death for Euridice, an interesting scene in which three shades are charmed by some relatively minor examples of Orpheus’s art, and a hero with all the desperation and impetuosity one would need to undertake as reckless a task as his. These last qualities are excellently conveyed by the unrestrained, dramatic singing of Paul Agnew, who is also equal to the task of characterizing Orpheus’s musical entreaty to the Underworld, by turns artful and impassioned (and accompanied with great tenderness by two bass viols). Agnew’s heart-on-sleeve approach is not always beautiful, but it never leaves good taste behind, and in this he is well matched by his colleagues. William Christie’s direction shows its customary sure dramatic touch, and the result – not for the first time from these artists – is a performance which seems unlikely to be bettered.'
Charpentier La descente d'Orphée aux Enfers
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