Lully, Charpentier & Desmarets: Passion Véronique Gens, Ensemble Les Surprises & Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas

• Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632 - 1687): Amadis, LWV 63:
• 1Lully: Amadis, LWV 63: Air "Toi qui dans ce tombeau"02:50
• 2Lully: Amadis, LWV 63: Prélude00:55
• Pascal Collasse (1649 - 1709):
• 3Collasse: Achille et Polyxène: Air "Calme tes déplaisirs"01:58
• 4Collasse: Thétis et Pélée: Tempête01:46
• Henry Desmarets (1661 - 1741):
• 5Desmarets: Circée: Air "Désirs, transports"03:15
• Jean-Baptiste Lully:
• 6Lully: Proserpine, LWV 58: Deuxième air00:47
• 7Lully: Ballet du temple de la paix, LWV 69: Entrée des Bretons, passepied01:10
• 8Lully: Proserpine, LWV 58: Air et chœur "O malheureuse mère"05:05
• 9Lully: Proserpine, LWV 58: Air et chœur "Que tout se ressente de la fureur que je sens"03:05
• 10Lully: Atys, LWV 53: Air "Espoir si cher et si doux"03:00
• 11Lully: Ballet de la naissance de Vénus, LWV 27: Sarabande dieu des Enfers02:23
• 12Lully: Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, LWV 43: Canaries01:03
• 13Lully: Armide, LWV 71: Air "Enfin, il reste en ma puissance"04:05
• 14Lully: Persée, LWV 60: Ouverture02:11
• 15Lully: Le triomphe de l'amour, LWV 59: Air de la nuit "Voici le favorable temps"05:45
• Henry Desmarets:
• 16Desmarets: La Diane de Fontainebleau: Chœur du sommeil03:10
• Jean-Baptiste Lully: Alceste, LWV 50:
• 17Lully: Alceste, LWV 50: Pompe funèbre00:36
• 18Lully: Alceste, LWV 50: Air et chœur "La mort, la mort barbare"06:03
• Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643 - 1704): Médée, H.491:
• 19Charpentier: Médée, H.491: Air "Quel prix de mon amour"03:33
• 20Charpentier: Médée, H.491: Air et chœur "Noires filles du Styx"03:12
• Jean-Baptiste Lully:
• 21Lully: Le triomphe de l'amour, LWV 59: Air pour l'entrée de Borée et des quatre vents01:08
• Total Runtime57:00

Info for Lully, Charpentier & Desmarets: Passion

This programme marks the eagerly awaited return of Véronique Gens to Baroque music and Lully, in which she made a name for herself at the start of her career. It presents airs from Atys, Persée, Alceste, Proserpine, Le Triomphe de l’Amour and other works by Louis XIV’s famous composer, but also several by Marc-Antoine Charpentier (Médée), Henry Desmarets and Pascal Collasse. Whether well known, rare or in some cases even unpublished, all of them present roles for powerful women whose love is unrequited: dark passions, bitter laments, jealousy, vengeance, the type of dramatic characters that Véronique Gens embodies with all the charisma that has made her reputation. This recording is also the result of an encounter with the youthful ensemble Les Surprises, founded and directed by Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas. Together they conceived this programme, which mingles airs, dances and choruses, in collaboration with the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles.

Veronique Gens, soprano
Ensemble Les Surprises
Bestion de Camboulas, direction
Les Chantres Du Centre
De Musique Baroque de Versailles
Olivier Schneebeli, direction

Véronique Gens
made her Royal Opera debut in 1995 in King Arthur, and has since sung Eternity/Giunone (La Calisto), the title role in Niobe, regina di Tebe and Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) for The Royal Opera.

Gens was born in Orléans. She first studied English and Italian before training as a singer at the Paris Conservatoire. She began her career with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants, performing major roles in Baroque operas particularly of the French repertory. Other engagements include Iphigénie (Iphigénie en Aulide) for La Monnaie, Brussels, Iphigénie (Iphigénie en Tauride) for Theater an der Wien, Alceste for Aix-en-Provence Festival and Vienna State Opera, Vitellia (La clemenza di Tito) for La Monnaie, Donna Elvira for Vienna State Opera, Eva (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) for the Liceu, Barcelona, Alice Ford (Falstaff) for Bavarian State Opera, Hanna Glawari (Die lustige Witwe) for Opéra de Lyon, Agathe (Der Freischütz) for Berlin State Opera and Madame Lidoine (Dialogues des Carmélites) for the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris.

Gens sings regularly in concert and recital throughout Europe. Her large discography includes works by Purcell, Rameau, Lully, Monteverdi, Charpentier, Scarlatti and Handel, the Mozart/Da Ponte operas, a French song recital and three discs of tragic arias from French opera conducted by Christophe Rousset. Gens is a Chevalier of both L’Ordre des arts et des lettres and La Légion d’honneur.

Booklet for Lully, Charpentier & Desmarets: Passion