Programme
Médée
Tragédie en Musique in a Prologue and Five Acts (1693)
Music by Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704)
Libretto by Thomas Corneille (1625-1709)
A CMBV joint residency with Hervé Niquet and Le Concert Spirituel at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées would normally result in a rarely performed opera, but 2023 will see a production of Charpentier’s famous Médée.
Hervé Niquet, a tireless researcher, has always used his ensemble Le Concert Spirituel to promote in particular long-forgotten French music. For over thirty years he has naturally forged close links with the CMBV. Le Concert Spirituel’s joint residency at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées commenced in 2022 with a revival and recording of Marais’ Ariane et Bacchus and it continues in 2023 with Charpentier’s celebrated Médée. With an exceptional cast starring Véronique Gens in the title role, this production is a special event thanks also to its use of historical sources: for the first time Médée will be performed and recorded using the original orchestral and choral formations. It will offer audiences a new world of sound, revealing in the score hitherto undiscovered gems.
