Beethoven thought Cherubini was the greatest composer of the time. We look at his first French opera.
167. Démophoon (Cherubini)
Category: Italian composers
164. Les Horaces (Salieri)
Patriotism and self-sacrifice in Salieri's austere music drama.
82. Œdipe à Colone (Sacchini) – REVISED
The best opera of 1786.
147. Eliogabalo (Cavalli)
Where is the black stone of Emesa?
116. Médée (Charpentier)
Tragédie lyrique in a prologue and 5 acts Composer : Marc-Antoine Charpentier Libretto : Thomas Corneille First performed : Académie royale de musique, Paris, 4 December 1693 Lully was dead – and with him his monopoly over opera. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x44fg5c For more than a decade, only he had been able to compose opera in France. He defined the tragédie … Continue reading 116. Médée (Charpentier)
115. Armide (Lully)
ARMIDE Tragédie lyrique in prologue and 5 actsComposer : Jean-Baptiste LullyLibretto : Philippe QuinaultFirst performed : Académie royale de musique, théâtre du Palais-Royal, Paris, 15 February 1686 Armide, Lully and Quinault’s final tragédie lyrique, is generally considered their masterpiece. The critics, for once, are right. If you listen to only one Lully, listen to this. We’ve been rather … Continue reading 115. Armide (Lully)
114. Roland (Lully)
Composer: Jean-Baptiste LullyLibretto: Philippe Quinault, after Aristo's Orlando FuriosoFirst performed: Versailles, 8 January 1685 Lully considered Roland his best opera. It certainly contains some of his best music, but the story is insubstantial and over-extended. The opera is based on an episode in Ariosto's epic poem Orlando Furioso (1516), a chivalric romance full of warring Christians … Continue reading 114. Roland (Lully)
