Grétry: Richard Cœur de Lion Le Concert Spirituel & Hervé Niquet

• André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry (1741 - 1813): Richard Cœur de lion, Acte I:
• 1 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte I: I. Ouverture et Introduction 01:24
• 2 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte I: II. Un peu plus vite, "Chantons célébrons ce bon ménage" 02:01
• 3 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte I: III. Plus lent, "Comment ! C'est demain que le vieux Mathurin..." 03:16
• 4 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte I: IV. Air de Blondel, "La danse n'est pas ce que j'aime" 02:52
• 5 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte I: V. Air, "Ô Richard, Ô mon Roi !" 03:10
• 6 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte I: VI. Morceau d'ensemble, "Quoi, de la part du gouverneur" 07:31
• 7 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte I: VII. Air de Laurette, "Je crains de lui parler la" 03:51
• 8 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte I: VIII. Chanson, "Un bandeau couvre les yeux du dieu" 03:51
• 9 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte I: IX. Orchestre 01:15
• 10 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte I: X. Chanson, "Que le sultan Saladin rassemble dans son jardin" 04:42
• Richard Cœur de lion, Acte II:
• 11 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte II: I. Ronde de Nuit 01:57
• 12 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte II: II. Air de Richard, "Si l'univers entier m'oublie" 05:55
• 13 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte II: III. Duo, "Une fièvre brûlante un jour me terrassait" 02:10
• 14 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte II: IV. Chœur de Soldats, "Sais-tu, connais-tu" 04:15
• 15 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte II: V. Final, "Ah ! Monseigneur" 01:55
• Richard Cœur de lion, Acte III:
• 16 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte III: I. Trio, "Il faut il faut que je lui parle" 04:09
• 17 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte III: II. Morceau d'ensemble, "Oui chevalier, oui ce rempart tient prisonnier le roi Richard" 06:01
• 18 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte III: III. Trio, "A Florestan pendant la danse" 02:36
• 19 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte III: IV. Ronde et Chœur, "Et zic et zic et fric et froc" 01:05
• 20 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte III: V. On danse, Ballet 01:02
• 21 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte III: VI. Contredanse et Air très vif pour valser 01:41
• 22 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte III: VII. Chœur, "Que Richard à l'instant soit remis dans nos mains" 00:30
• 23 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte III: VIII. Combat 01:45
• 24 Richard Cœur de lion, Acte III: IX. Marche noblement 04:25
• Total Runtime 01:13:19

Info for Grétry: Richard Cœur de Lion

Perle der französischen Oper: Ein ungeschriebenes Gesetz in Frankreich bestimmte, dass Tragédie lyrique und gesprochene Tragödie unterschiedliche Stoffe zu behandeln hatten: die Oper mythologische und fantastische, die Tragödie mythologische und historische Themen. Vertonungen der Tragödien von Racine oder Corneille waren ebenfalls absolut tabu. Selbstbewusst hatte sich Grétry für seine erste Tragédie lyrique dennoch Racines gleichnamiges, enorm erfolgreiches Stück von 1667 ausgesucht, dessen Text der Librettist Louis-Guillaume Pitras fast unverändert übernahm. Musikalisch brachte Grétry seine reichen Erfahrungen aus der Opéra comique ein, was sich z.B. in der flexibleren Gestaltung der Solo- und Ensemblenummern äußert. Damit hatte er allerdings gleich mehrere Tabus gebrochen: Er hatte den geheiligten Racine vertont; er hatte Elemente aus einer niedriger gestellten in eine höhere Gattung eingebracht und sich viel zu weit vom als Norm empfundenen Gluck entfernt. Prompt fi el das Stück durch, was keineswegs an der Musik Grétrys lag im Gegenteil: Seine Frischzellenkur mit Elementen der Opéra comique nimmt man heute als interessante Bereicherung wahr, die auf uns weder schockierend noch deplaziert wirkt. Erneut gelingt es Hervé Niquet, unser Bild von der französischen Oper im 18. Jahrhundert nicht nur zu ergänzen, sondern durch ein echtes Meisterwerk zu bereichern.

Karine Deshayes, Sopran
Maria Riccarda Wesseling, Mezzosopran
Sébastien Guèze, Tenor
Tassis Christoyannis, Bariton
Matthieu Heim, Bariton
Élodie Hache, Sopran
Edmond Hurtrait, Tenor
Le Ballet de l’Opéra Royal
Le Concert Spirituel Choeur et orchestre
Hervé Niquet, Leitung

Hervé Niquet
follows the example of baroque musicians in his versatility. In addition to his ability as a keyboard-player, conductor and composer, he also studied singing and from the age of seventeen turned his attention to the establishment and direction of choirs. In 1980 he was appointed chef de chant at the Paris Opéra National. In 1985 he was commissioned by Princess Caroline of Monaco to write an orchestral work and ballet inspired by a novel of Stefan Zweig for the reopening of the Monte Carlo Ballet.

Shaped by participation in the principal baroque ensembles, Hervé Niquet has developed an affinity with the French grand motet of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and to revive this still relatively little-known repertoire he established in 1988 Le Concert Spirituel, thus bringing to life again one of the most famous musical institutions of the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI.

Increasingly in demand as a conductor, Hervé Niquet has appeared at the Baroque Music Festival of Lamèque in Canada, in addition to other engagements as a conductor in France.

Le Concert Spirituel
was the first company to perform private concerts in France. Founded in the eighteenth century, it closed with the outbreak of French Revolution. Its name was revived by Hervé Niquet when he founded his ensemble of ancient instruments in 1987, bringing back to life the great French repertoire played at the court of Versailles. In this spirit, Le Concert Spirituel collaborates closely with the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles and is devoted to airing the works of the great composers of French musical heritage, from Charpentier to Lully, by ways of Campra or Boismortier.

Expanding its repertoire to Italian, English and other masters, Le Concert Spirituel has made a name for itself on the national and international stage as one of the authoritative ensembles for the interpretation of Baroque music. Guest to the Salle Pleyel, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and Château de Versailles each year, Le Concert Spirituel is also invited at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, London’s Barbican Center and Wigmore Hall, at the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Prom’s, at the Luxemburg Philharmonie, Tokyo Opera, BOZAR in Brussels, Auditorio Nacional de Madrid, Shanghai Concert Hall, and Theater an der Wien etc.

Hervé Niquet is proud to assemble an orchestra of keen musicians who interpret music, make instruments and conduct historical researches. This dynamic confederation provides for a "team ethic" which enables the realization of projects that are on the cutting edge of the latest discoveries in interpretation on period instruments. The Fireworks & Water Music production, whose recording received the Edison Award, is typical of this work.

While Le Concert Spirituel specializes in French sacred music and is recognized the world over for its work on this repertoire, an important part of its activity is also devoted to lyrical music. The ensemble unveiled works that received the most prestigious international awards : Marais's Sémélé was voted « Opera Recording of the Year » by the ECHO Klassik Awards in 2009, Grétry's Andromaque was awarded a “Grand Prix – Académie du disque Charles Cros” in 2010, and Campra’s Carnaval de Venise lately received the Supersonic Award and German Record Critic’s Award in 2011.

These musical adventures were also the opportunity to work with directors and choreographers as diverse as Gilles and Corinne Benizio (alias Shirley & Dino), Karol Armitage, Georges Lavaudant,and Joachim Schloemer. This process involving French operas has given birth to a collection of book-CD's in collaboration with the label Glossa (distributed by Harmonia Mundi), with whom Le Concert Spirituel has an exclusive recording engagement since 2000.

In 2013-2014, Le Concert Spirituel had scheduled a series of events: a European tour with Striggio’s Mass for 40 voices in Paris, Utrecht, Bremen, Bruxelles and Metz, a unique re-creation of the French version of Mozart’s La Flûte Enchantée at Salle Pleyel in Paris, a new production of Rameau’s Les Fêtes de l’Hymen et de l’Amour at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Opéra royal de Versailles and the Palais de Beaux-Arts of Bruxelles (250th death anniversary of Rameau), the production of Purcell’s King Athur (stage directors Corinne and Gilles Benizio alias Shirley et Dino) at the Opéra de Massy, a production of Purcell’s The Indian Queen (stage director Joachim Schloemer) at the Opéra-Théâtre de Metz.

Le Concert Spirituel, in residence at the Opéra-Théatre de Metz Métropole and the Arsenal de Metz - Metz en Scènes, is funded by the Ministry for the Arts and the Communication and the City of Paris. Le Concert Spirituel is funded by the Fondation Bru.

Booklet for Grétry: Richard Cœur de Lion