Recording of the Month

Cast and musicians deliver a solid-gold performance and an 18th-century opera revival to remember, says Berta Joncus

Lully Armide 1778

‘The performers are as outstanding as the score… This Armide is among the most brilliant opera projects of recent years’

Lully Armide 1778

Katherine Watson, Véronique Gens, Chantal Santon Jeffrey (soprano), Philippe-nicolas Martin, Reinoud van Mechelen, Zachary Wilder (tenor),

Tassis Christoyannis (bass); Le Concert Spirituel/hervé Niquet Alpha Classics ALPHA973 136:36 mins (2 discs)

In 1778, a huge revival was afoot at the Paris opera: Armide. The work, Lully’s last tragédie en musique, had by mid-century fallen from the repertoire. But in 1777 Gluck had the cheek to re-set its libretto. A culture war roared to life, ranging Gluckistes against Lullistes. To advance the Lulliste cause, the director of the Paris opera asked Louisjoseph Francoeur to re-invent Lully’s score as one vastly superior to Gluck’s. For reasons unknown, Francoeur’s Armide never reached the boards. Only in 2019 did the 1778 Armide get its world premiere, with top talent – scholars, singers, band – brought together for a co-production by the Versailles Centre for Baroque Music and Le Concert Spirituel led by Hervé Niquet.

Francoeur altered Lully’s masterpiece drastically, inserting his own complex orchestral movements: a symphonic overture, 15 new dances and many interludes. He changed Lully’s airs, revised the final act and rewrote all vocal accompaniment. In this new Armide, Francoeur reveals himself to have been a master of counterpoint, texture and lyricism; his woodwind solos are especially ravishing. In his application of timbral colour, Francoeur has the dexterity of an Impressionist.

This project’s performers are, from first note to last, as outstanding as the score.