Les Talens Lyriques

Les Talens Lyriques, whose members include singers as well as instrumentalists, was founded in 1991 by Christophe Rousset. The ensemble’s name, which is taken from the subtitle of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s opera Les Fêtes d’Hébé, attests to the focus of its repertoire: Its artistic work centers around music theater of the 18th century, including works by Handel, Traetta, Jommelli, Martín y Soler, Cimarosa, and Mozart. Additionally Les Talens Lyriques perform select operas from the 17th century, such as those by Monteverdi and Lully. Rousset and his musicians put special emphasis on bringing the dramatic dimension of these works to life; thus they have undertaken remarkable collaborations with such directors as Pierre Audi, Irina Brook, Mariame Clément, Jerôme Deschamps and Macha Makaïeff, David McVicar, Jean-Marie Villégier, and Krzysztof Warlikowski. The ensemble has performed at De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam, the Bach Festival in Leipzig, the Theater an der Wien, the Salzburg Festival, the Göttingen Handel Festival, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, and the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. Along with music theater, Les Talens Lyriques are also devoted to such genres as the motet, cantata, madrigal, and “airs de court,” choosing works created along the geographical axis from Naples to Paris that was so decisive for Baroque music. Their CDs have won numerous awards, including the Classical Music Victory Award in 2001. Les Talens Lyriques are supported by the French Cultural Ministry, and the City of Paris. The Annenberg Foundation—Regina and Gregory Annenberg Weingarten—and the Cercle des Mécènes are sponsors of this evening’s concert, which is also made possible by collaboration with the Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de musique romantique française.

August 2011