Les Danaides

Judith van Wanroij (Hypermnestre), Philippe Talbot (Lyncée), Tassis Christoyannis (Danaüs), Katia Velletaz (Plancippe) & Thomas Dolié (Pélagus / Officiers) & Les Chantres du Centre de musique baroque de Versailles & Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset

‘One evening I paid a visit to the Opéra. There I saw Les Danaïdes, by Salieri. The gorgeous splendour of the spectacle, the rich fullness of the orchestra and the chorus, the wonderful voice and pathetic charm of Madame Branchu, Dérivis’s rugged power […] filled me with an excitement and enthusiasm that I cannot attempt to describe.’ Thus Berlioz related his encounter with one of the most revolutionary operas of the ancient régime, written by an eminent pupil of Gluck, Antonio Salieri. Feeling the stirrings of early Romanticism, the latter imbued the tragic fate of Hypermnestra with pathos and vehemence such as were rarely attained even by his teacher. The horrible plot fomented by Danaus with his daughters, the Danaids, takes us from palatial splendour to the sinister darkness of a secret temple, and finally to the Underworld itself, where a vulture, serpents, demons and the Furies avenge the mass murder of the sons of Agyptus.

Salieri:
 Les Danaides

"Les Danaides gives the impression of hurtling momentum and heated emotion, even when the dramatic action pauses. It suits Rousset's urgent conducting style uncommonly well. The fever-pitch atmopshere is wonderfully maintained. Les Talens Lyriques sound dark, baleful and at time raw, and the choral singing is thrillingly committed and focused."
Gramophone Magazine - August 2015

"Les Talens Lyriques reveals the baleful splendours of Salieri's writing under Christophe Rousset. Judith van Wanroij's Hymnestre is fesity but in places could do with more power. Tassis Christoyannis's firm Danaüs makes an impressive use of text, while Philippe Talbot is lyrically agile as Lyncée."
BBC Music Magazine - October 2015 *****

"The present recording stems from a series of performances given in France during 2013. It represents yet another impressive feather in Christophe Rousset’s already handsomely adorned cap, a supremely well-played performance of huge dramatic compulsion that projects not only burning, thrusting conviction, but also empathy for the tender lyricism of the scenes between Hypermnestre and her lover Lyncée."
Opera - October 2015