Programme
Atys
Tragédie lyrique in a Prologue and Five Acts (1676)
Music by Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687)
Libretto by Philippe Quinault (1635-1688)
This third CMBV joint residency project features Les Ambassadeurs ~ La Grande Écurie and evokes the splendour of court entertainment under Louis XIV with a historic performance of Lully’s Atys based on a fresh interpretation of its sources and with a dazzling cast accompanied by the CMBV choir Les Pages & Les Chantres.
In the wake of Rameau’s Zoroastre, Francoeur’s Symphonies pour le Festin royal de Monseigneur le comte d’Artois and Mondonville’s Carnaval du Parnasse, the spotlight now focuses on the Grand Siècle. Alexis Kossenko and his ensemble Les Ambassadeurs ~ La Grande Écurie have joined the Atelier lyrique de Tourcoing for this CMBV’s residency project. They have chosen Atys, an iconic work from the Baroque revival of the 1980’s. The latest findings from research into court entertainments during the reign of Louis XIV have inspired Alexis Kossenko to apply the new sounds unearthed from the various musical, literary and administrative sources. Here he has come up with a truly stunning production of Atys. The CMBV to this end is pursuing its organological mission, promoting the reproduction of French oboes and cromornes based on the period instruments housed in the Musée de la Musique. The musicians and CMBV choir Les Pages & Les Chantres are sure to do full justice to both Lully’s music and Quinault’s poetry.
