Les Fêtes Vénitiennes - Brooklyn Academy of Music

#LesFetesVenitiennes
2016 BAM Winter/Spring
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Alan H. Fishman,
Chairman of the Board
William I. Campbell,
Vice Chairman of the Board
Adam E. Max,
Vice Chairman of the Board
Katy Clark,
President
Joseph V. Melillo,
Executive Producer
Les Fêtes
Vénitiennes
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
Apr 14 & 16 at 7:30pm; Apr 17 at 2pm
Running time: approx. three hours including intermission
By André Campra
Les Arts Florissants
Opéra Comique
Conducted by William Christie
Directed by Robert Carsen
Scenic design by Radu Boruzescu
Choregraphy by Ed Wubbe
Costume design by Petra Reinhardt
Lighting design by Robert Carsen and
Peter van Praet
English titles by Christopher Bergen
Season Sponsor:
In memory of Robert W. Wilson, with gratitude for his visionary and generous support of BAM.
Major support provided by the Selz Foundation.
Leadership support for opera at BAM provided by Aashish & Dinyar Devitre and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Additional support provided by Anne H. Bass; Norman S. Benzaquen; Michael E. & Mary Gellert; The Fan Fox &
Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; Robert L. Turner; and Sam & Ellen Sporn.
Endowment funding provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fund for Opera and Music-Theater.
Support for the Signature Artist Series provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation.
Major support for opera at BAM provided by The Francena T. Harrison Foundation Trust.
Les Fêtes Vénitiennes
CAST
Magali Léger, Soprano La Raison, Lucile, Lucie
Elodie Fonnard, Soprano Iphise, La Fortune
Rachel Redmond, Soprano Irène, Léontine, Flore
Emilie Renard, Mezzo Soprano La Folie, Isabelle
Reinoud Van Mechelen, Tenor Thémir, Un Masque, Zéphyr
Cyril Auvity, High tenor Maître de Danse, Suivant de la Fortune, Adolphe
Sean Clayton, Tenor Démocrite
Marcel Beekman, Tenor Maître de Musique, Maître de Chant
Jonathan McGovern, Baritone Alamir, Damir, Borée
François Lis, Bass Le Carnaval, Léandre, Rodolphe
Geoffroy Buffière, Bass Héraclite
WILLIAM CHRISTIE
SEAN CLAYTON
JONATHAN MCGOVERN
ROBERT CARSEN
CYRIL AUVITY
MARCEL BEEKMAN
ELODIE FONNARD
MAGALI LÉGER
RACHEL REDMOND
EMILIE RENARD
RADU BORUZESCU
ED WUBBE
GEOFFROY BUFFIÈRE
FRANÇOIS LIS
REINOUD VAN MECHELEN
PETRA REINHARDT
PETER VAN PRAET
Les Fêtes Vénitiennes—Synopsis
Les Fêtes Vénitiennes, an opéra-ballet by André
Campra, with a prologue and three entrées—Le
Bal, Les Sérénades, and L’Opéra—premiered at
the Académie Royale de Musique in 1710.
PROLOGUE
The Triumph of Folly over Reason during Carnival
Venice. Carnaval appears and invites the crowd
to join him for the festivities. Folie joins him
with her retinue of Pleasures and supports his
ambition to amuse and entertain. But a killjoy
arrives: Reason. Assisted by wise Democrite and
Heraclite, she attempts to disenchant the crowd
and warns everybody against the aberrations of
Carnaval. In vain: she must leave Venice, letting
Folie and Carnaval lead the festivities.
THE BALL
Prince Alamir courts Iphise without revealing his
identity. To test her sincerity, he swaps clothes
with his servant Thémir. A music master and a
dancing master, both French, have been asked to
organize the sumptuous ball given by the prince
in the evening. Each master endeavors to show
he is the best and that his art prevails. Thémir,
disguised as a prince, is to follow his efforts
while Alamir, dressed as a servant, puts Iphise
to the test by trying to convince her to accept the
love of “Prince” Thémir. Iphise is confused and
her despair brings about the revelation: Alamir,
delighted to be loved for himself and not for his
rank, proves to be the true patron of the festivity.
Charmed by the stratagem, Iphise reaffirms her
love for Alamir. Both the prince and his new
princess can partake in the ball light-heartedly.
—INTERMISSION—
SERENADES AND GAMBLERS
One evening two anxious and jealous girls
meet in a Venetian square: Isabelle and Lucile
have come to catch their unfaithful lover, each
one believing that her lover deceives her with
the other. It is indeed one and the same man,
Léandre, but the two rivals find out that a
third girl is involved. They hesitate to unite for
revenge, each one thinking that the other wants
to keep Léandre. The gallant is coming with a
troupe of musicians and plays a serenade under
the balcony of the one he hopes to conquer,
Irène. From her window, she responds with
an Italian tune in which she calls him a fickle
butterfly and spurns him. But Léandre,seeing a
woman approach in the dark, believes that Irène
came down to join him. He assures her that
neither Lucile nor Isabelle have ever charmed
him. But it turns out that he actually spoke to
the two girls who eventually reject him forever.
He comes to terms with it and rejoins a troupe
of gamblers who celebrate the power of Fortune:
she exhibits the influence of her fickleness on
gambling and love alike.
THE OPERA
In a theater where an opera is to be performed,
a new actor enters—Borée, who hopes to
approach Léontine, a singer he adores. Adolphe,
a singer himself and Damire’s friend, tries to
divert the knight from his venture, to no avail.
Damire is determined to abduct the woman
performing the part of Flore that evening before
she is abducted by his rival Rodolphe, attending
the performance. It turns out that Léontine is
really in love with Damire. Tired of pretending,
she wishes to be sincere despite the admonitions
of her colleague Lucie who appreciates the
duplicity of their situation. The singing master
arrives to make Léontine rehearse her part. But
he also loves her and shows his jealousy of
Rodolphe, who is awaiting Léontine backstage.
The performance begins with Rodolphe in
attendance. It is a pastoral featuring shepherds
and shepherdesses with Zéphire and Flore, the
latter played by Léontine. The entertainment is
interrupted by the untimely arrival of the god of
wind Borée, who abducts Flore with the help
of the north winds. While Zéphire mourns over
Flore’s disappearance, Lucie declares that the
performance cannot go on since Léontine has
truly been abducted, not by Borée but by he who
was portraying him: Damire! Rodolphe, furious
of having been abused, can only leave the
theater and run to the port as the two lovers are
about to leave Venice.
EPILOGUE
The carnival ends and life is back to normal
again… or so it seems!
Les Fêtes Vénitiennes
DANCERS
Alexandre Jolicoeur
Jean Gabriel Maury
Kiyan Khoshoie
Mischa van Leeuwen
Reid Cuming
Bonnie Doets
Bryndis Brynjolfsdottir
Leslie Humbert
Mara Hulspas
Maya Roest
Debora Soto (ballet master)
CHORUS
SOPRANOS
Solange Añorga
Maud Gnidzaz
Eugénie Lefèbvre
Virginie Thomas
Violaine Lucas
Brigitte Pelote
Juliette Perret
Isabelle Sauvageot
HIGH TENORS
Camillo Angarita
Sean Clayton
Bruno Renhold
Marcio Soares
Holanda
Jonathan Spicher
TENORS
Edouard Hazebrouck
Thibaut Lenaerts
Nicolas Maire
Jean-Yves Ravoux
Michael-Loughlin
Smith
BASSES
Geoffroy Buffière
Anicet Castel
Laurent Collobert
Simon Dubois
Christophe Gautier
Geoffroy Heurard
Julien Neyer
ORCHESTRA
VIOLINS
Florence Malgoire (violin solo)
Myriam Gevers
Liv Heym
Christophe Robert*
Catherine Girard
Sophie Gevers-Demoures
Michèle Sauvé
Emmanuel Resche*
VIOLAS I
Galina Zinchenko
Simon Heyerick
VIOLAS II
Kayo Saito
Deirdre Dowling
VIOLAS III
Jean-Luc Thonnerieux
Samantha Montgomery
CELLOS
Elena Andreyev
Magali Boyer
Ulrike Brütt
Brigitte Crépin Maillard
Damien Launay
Cécile Verolles
Alix Verzier
PERCUSSION
Marie-Ange Petit
MUSETTE
François Lazarevitch
BASSO CONTINUO
VIOLONCELLO
David Simpson
FLUTES
Serge Saitta*
Charles Zebley*
CONTRABASS
Jonathan Cable
OBOES I
Pier Luigi Fabretti
Yanina Yabubsohn
THEORBO, LUTE
Thomas Dunford*
Brian Feehan
OBOES II
Machiko Ueno
Vincent Blanchard
HARPSICHORD
Béatrice Martin
*Musicians on stage
BASSOONS
Claude Wassmer
Evolène Kiener
Co-produced with the support of the SELZ Foundation, Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse,
Théâtre de Caen, and Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles
Les Arts Florissants receives financial support from the Ministry of Culture and Communication. Since January
2015, the ensemble has been artist in residence at the Philharmonie de Paris.
The American Friends of Les Arts Florissants support all its activities.
Thanks to the support of The Danny Kaye and Sylvia Fine Kaye Foundation, the Baroque L1VE Xperience
program of Les Arts Florissants allows a group of teenagers to discover the concert under the best conditions
and to continue the experience on the Internet.
Who’s Who
WILLIAM CHRISTIE (conductor), a
harpsichordist, conductor, musicologist, and
teacher, is the inspiration behind one of the
most exciting musical adventures of the last
30 years. Born in Buffalo, Christie studied at
Harvard and Yale Universities and has lived
in France since 1971. He founded Les Arts
Florissants in 1979 and received major public
recognition in 1987 with the production of Atys
at the Opéra Comique in Paris (the production’s
US debut was presented at BAM in 1989; its
much-anticipated revival was presented at BAM
in September 2011). His pioneering work has
led to a renewed appreciation of 17th- and 18thcentury French repertoire. He is equally adept at
other European repertoire and has given many
acclaimed performances of works by Monteverdi,
Rossi, Scarlatti, Purcell, Handel, Haydn, and
Mozart. His extensive discography (more than
100 recordings, many of which have won
awards in France and abroad) with Harmonia
Mundi and Warner Classics/Erato is proof of this
versatility. Christie has a rich operatic career and
has collaborated with renowned directors such
as Jean-Marie Villégier, Robert Carsen, Alfredo
Arias, Jorge Lavelli, Graham Vick, Adrian Noble,
Andrei Serban, and Luc Bondy. In great demand
as a guest conductor, he has appeared with the
Berlin Philharmonic, Orchestra of the Age of
Enlightenment, Metropolitan Opera of New York,
Zurich Opernhaus, and Opéra National de Lyon.
Christie is Commandeur de l’Ordre de la Légion
d’Honneur as well as an Officier de l’Ordre
des Arts et des Lettres. He was elected to the
Académie des Beaux-Arts in 2008 and received
the 2005 Georges Pompidou Prize as well as the
Liliane Bettencourt Choral Singing Prize awarded
by the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 2004.
ROBERT CARSEN (director; ligthing design),
a Canadian native, studied at The Old Vic
Theatre school in Bristol, England, and has
directed productions at the world’s major opera
houses, including the Metropolitan Opera
(Eugene Onegin, Mephistopheles, Falstaff), La
Scala (Dialogue of the Carmelites), and Paris
National Opera (Manon Lescaut, Lohengrin,
Alcina, Les Boréades—BAM, 2003 Spring).
He won the distinguished Carl Ebert Award for
his work at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera
and was appointed a French Chevalier des Arts
et des Lettres in 1996. In addition, Carsen
has produced Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern Are Dead in New York, and
directed a number of celebrated productions
at the Festival d’Aix en Provence, including
Orlando (BAM, 1996 Spring), The Magic Flute,
and Semele. Carsen’s numerous works for
drama theater include Brecht’s Mother Courage
and Her Children for Piccolo Teatro di Milano,
Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan for Bristol
Old Vic Theatre, and Stoppard’s Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern Are Dead in New York. For
Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, Carsen has directed
Ute Lemper’s show Nomade, Bernstein’s
Candide, and Loewe’s musical My Fair Lady.
He staged Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Beautiful
Game (Cambridge Theatre, London) and Sunset
Boulevard (Great Britain tour).
RADU BORUZESCU (scenic design) worked
with his wife Miruna as a scenographer and
costume designer since the start of his career.
They worked together on the production of
Les Fêtes Vénitiennes until Miruna’s death
in April 2014. They both graduated from the
Academy of Visual Arts in Bucharest and were
involved in numerous productions: La Princesse
Turandot, L’Atlantide (Théâtre National de
Chaillot), La Mouette, Le Canard sauvage, Ce
soir on improvise (Théâtre de la Ville de Paris),
Arrabal (Théâtre National de la Colline), Così
fan tutte, Carmen (Welsh National Opera), Don
Giovanni, Die Zauberflöte, Rigoletto (Aix-enProvence Festival), Fidelio (Nederlandse Opera
and Maggio Fiorentino), Adelson e Salvini, La
Damnation de Faust, Parsifal (Bonn Opera), Il
Trovatore (Bregenzer Festspiele), and a number
of collaborations with R. Carsen. They have
collaborated with many stage directors such as
Arrabal, Bourseiller, Ciulei, Nureyev, Pintilie,
and Regy. Radu and Miruna Boruzescu also
participated in several film projects, especially
Les Noces de Pierre, selected at the Cannes
Festival, Felix et Otilia at the Venice Festival, and
Un été inoubliable.
ED WUBBE and SCAPINO BALLET
(choreographer; dancers) is acclaimed for
dance that is a virtuoso combination of
classical technique and the bold freedom of
contemporary dance. Wubbe’s full-length dance
and music production, Pearl (2012), inspired
by the baroque period and live accompanied
by Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, was
highly successful. Rameau, his first production
as resident choreographer in 1990, broke with
conventional ballet aesthetic. After Wubbe
became artistic director in 1992, the company
began to build a new repertoire. In 1992
Who’s Who
Wubbe’s Kathleen made a splash, and his fulllength Perfect Skin was presented in 1993. He
often draws inspiration from icons of Western
culture—Romeo&Julia (1995), Nico (1997),
The Schliemann Pieces (1998), Tsjaikovski
(2002), Orfeo Shows/Operation Orfeo (2003),
Paramount (2005), Songs for Drella (2011,
in collaboration with Marco Goecke), and
Pearl (2012)–and sets abstract dance within
an associative narrative or theme. In much of
Wubbe’s work, tension is produced by working
with opposites, resulting in multiple layers.
Music, dance, décor, and drama combine to
form a new whole. Wubbe collaborates with
those in other artistic disciplines: designers,
composers, architects, DJs, and VJs. An example
is MANYFACTS (2001), in collaboration with
MVRDV (architects) and Wieland & Gouwens
(computer graphic designers), which offered
a vision of the city of the future. MANYFACTS
was created for Rotterdam 2001, European
Cultural Capital. In Wubbe’s new dance
concept—the annual performance of TWOOLS, a
75-minute continuous dance spectacle—various
choreographers create short dances performed
with rapid décor changes, linked together by
Wubbe. Since 2004, Wubbe has been artistic
director of the Internationaler Wettbewerb für
Choreographen Hannover. In 2006 he began
the Scapino Production Prize; winners make a
10-minute piece at Scapino for the TWOOLS
series. He has worked on film projects such as
Embracing Time (2005), Lost (2001), Enclosed
(2000), and Single Manoeuvres (1999). Wubbe
has created more than 40 works for Scapino
Ballet, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this
year with the production TING!. It is the oldest
and one of the best-known dance companies
in the Netherlands and Wubbe and company
members have received a number of awards and
merits.
PETRA REINHARDT (costume design) has
designed the costumes for numerous directors
such as R. Carsen (Die Zauberflöte, Baden
Baden, Opéra Bastille), J. Solfaghari (Eine
Nacht in Venedig, Dresden), C.S. Zheng (Nixon
in China, Châtelet; Farewell My Concubine,
Beijing), J. Schaaf (Marie Victoire, Berlin; La
Tosca, Dresden, Die Fledermaus, Amsterdam),
J. Cura (Un Ballo in Maschera, Cologne;
La commedia è finita, Rijeka), W. Friedkin
(Salome, Das Gehege, Munich), K.M. Brandauer
(Lohengrin, Cologne; Die Dreigroschenoper,
Berlin; Mario und der Zauberer, Sicily), and
A. Serban (Werther, Vienna). In 2000 she
launched a renowned couture label. In 2005 she
directed, choreographed and was light designer
for the Luxicantica event at the Altaroma Fashion
Week in Rome. Her creations were displayed
at the O’dino exhibition at the 2009 Spoleto
Festival and were photographed by Vogel and
A. Lo Priore and exhibited at the Tribeca Film
Festival. Among her projects is CO2 (La Scala in
Milan).
PETER VAN PRAET (lighting design), of
Belgium, created the lighting design for Iphigénie
en Tauride (2007) and Falstaff (2012) for
the Royal Opera in collaboration with Robert
Carsen, who also directed the productions.
He created the lighting design for La Fura dels
Baus’ Oedipe, performed by the Royal Opera
in 2016 and originally created for La Monnaie,
Brussels. Van Praet began his career as the
manager of the technical lighting department
of Vlaamse Opera. He regularly collaborates
with Carsen; their credits include Jenufa, Kát’a
Kabanová, The Cunning Little Vixen, The
Makropulos Affair, and Battistelli’s Richard III
(Vlaamse Opera); Fénelon’s JJR, Citoyen de
Genève (Geneva); Rusalka and Capriccio (Paris
Opéra); Fidelio (Amsterdam and Florence); Tosca
(Liceu, Barcelona); Der Rosenkavalier (Salzburg
Festival); La Traviata (La Fenice, Venice); Elektra
(Tokyo); Iphigénie en Tauride (Lyric Opera of
Chicago, San Francisco and Canadian Opera);
The Turn of the Screw (Theater an der Wien);
Rinaldo (Glyndebourne Festival); and Candide
(Théâtre du Châtelet, La Scala, Milan, and
English National Opera). Van Praet also works
regularly with La Fura dels Baus; credits include
Der Ring des Nibelungen (Valencia) and Le
Grand Macabre (Liceu, La Monnaie, Brussels,
Rome Opera, and ENO). For director Pierre Audi
his lighting designs include Orlando furioso
(Paris and Nice) and Les Troyens (Dutch National
Opera). Further opera credits include Der Ring
des Nibelungen for Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires;
The Turn of the Screw in Lyon; and Don Giovanni
in Perm, all directed by Valentina Carrasco.
MAGALI LÉGER (soprano; La Raison, Lucile,
Lucie) studied vocals with Christiane Eda-Pierre
and Christiane Patard at the Conservatoire
National Supérieur de Musique in Paris, where
she was awarded a Premier Prix degree in 1999.
In 2003, she was nominated in the “Revelation”
category at the Victoires de la Musique. She
has been a regular on major concert and opera
Les Fêtes Vénitiennes. Photo by Vincent Pontet
Who’s Who
stages (Lyon, Nantes, Metz, and Rouen Operas,
Opéra Comique, Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg,
Châtelet, Cité de la Musique, Lincoln Center,
Bologna’s Teatro Comunale, Vienna, Aix-enProvence and Beaune Festivals, etc.), with
baroque, contemporary, classical, and romantic
repertoires. She has worked with names such
as Marc Minkowski, Evelino Pido, William
Christie, Macha Makeïeff, Rodrigo Ruiz, and
Jérôme Deschamps, and has sung in Mignon,
Die Lustige Witwe, Le Roi Malgré Lui, L’Etoile,
Thaïs, Werther, Don Pasquale, L’Elisir d’Amore,
Les Pêcheurs de Perles, Porgy and Bess, Die
Jakobsleiter (Schönberg), Elephant Man (Laurent
Petitgirard), Médée (Michèle Reverdy, premiere),
Belle Hélène, and Orpheus in the Underworld,
as well as Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro,
Idomeneo, and Die Entführung aus dem Serail.
She released two records with her baroque
ensemble Rosasolis in 2009 and 2010—one of
Handel motets and sonatas, the other Pergolesi’s
cantatas. Léger regularly appears in orchestral
concerts (including a European Handel tour with
Le Concert d’Astrée), and with pianists such
as Rémy Cardinale and Marcela Roggieri, in
repertoires spanning from Chopin to Piazzola.
She has worked for many years with the
composer and pianist M. Levinas, with whom
she has recorded Fauré’s melodies, including
La Bonne Chanson, and whose opera premiere,
Metamorphosis, based on Kafka’s short story,
she performed in 2011 at the Lille Opera.
Recently, she sang Poulenc’s Gloria with the
Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire in Nantes
and Angers, and Le Roi David at the Théâtre du
Capitole in Toulouse. In addition to Les Fêtes
Vénitiennes, this season she also appears in
multiple concerts, including Pergolesi’s Stabat
Mater with the Avignon Provence Orchestra, and
with the ensembles Rosasolis and Contraste.
ÉLODIE FONNARD (soprano; Iphise, La
Fortune) emerged in the public eye in William
Christie’s Jardin des Voix and is one of the
most prominent sopranos on the new baroque
scene. She will have performed in Les Fêtes
Vénitiennes at Opéra Comique, Théâtre de
Caen, and Capitole of Toulouse, in addition to
BAM. Récent engagements include Beethoven’s
Leonore Prohaska at National Opera Montpellier
with Laurence Equilbey and revivals of Une
Journée avec Le Roi Soleil with William Christie/
Les Arts Florissants at the Paris Philharmonie
and BOZAR Brussels. Trained as a pianist, she
studied singing with Luc Coadou and Alain Buet.
She graduated from Paris Conservatoire (Baroque
Music; Howard Crook and Kenneth Weiss’
classes). Fonnard debuted with Le Concert
d’Astrée (Emmanuelle Haim) for Opera of Lille in
Purcell’s Fairy Queen. She also performed with
Le Poème Harmonique (Vincent Dumestre), the
Ensemble Vocal Aedes (Matthew Romano), Les
Arts Florissants (William Christie), notably in
Atys (Flora), Dido and Aeneas (Belinda), Acis
and Galatea (Galatea), Acteon (Diana), and
Daphnis and Ægle (Ægle). She has performed
at the Royal Opera of Versailles, Festival d’Aixen Provence and in Europe, China (Forbidden
City Concert Hall, Beijing), Russia (Bolshoi),
the US (Lincoln Center, BAM, New York City),
Mexico (Palacio de Bellas Artes), and in South
America (Brazil, Colombia, Chile). In concert
repertoire, she sings Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s
Nelson Mass, Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio,
Beethoven’s Mass in C minor and Poulenc’s
Stabat Mater. Fonnard’s recording of Prévert &
Kosma songs is available on Anima Records. In
2015, Fonnard was the special guest of Théâtre
de Caen to celebrate European Opera Days.
Other projects include concerts with Les Folies
Françoises (cond. P.C. Akenine), and Eurydice in
Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice at Opéra de Dijon.
RACHEL REDMOND (soprano; Irène, Léontine,
Flore) was born in Glasgow and discovered her
love of singing with the Junior Chorus of the
Royal Scottish National Orchestra; she studied
at the Music School of Douglas Academy and
received her BA Hons from the Royal Scottish
Academy of Music and Drama, where she
was awarded the Florence Veitch Ibler prize
for oratorio performance. She earned an MA
with Merit at the Guildhall School of Music
and Drama. As a member of Jardin des Voix,
the academy for young singers of Les Arts
Florissants, Redmond performed concerts under
the direction of William Christie and Paul Agnew
in France, Spain, and New York. At Christie’s
invitation she débuted at Opéra Comique,
Paris, performing Iris in Atys. Also with Les Arts
Florissants, she sang the Angel in a European
tour of Jephtha, and Captif in David et Jonathas
at the Aix-en-Provence International Festival
and the Edinburgh Festival. She performed in
La Tragedie Lyrique, a concert spanning French
baroque opera with Paul Agnew and Les Arts
Florissants, and Damon in Acis and Galatea,
First Witch in Dido and Aeneas, and programs
of Purcell and Boismortier at Christie’s inaugural
Festival at Thiré. Redmond returned to the
Who’s Who
Opéra Comique for Les Fêtes Vénitiennes with
Les Arts Florissants, followed by her début at
the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris in La belle
Hélène. Other recent engagements include
Isbé (Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles,
Hungary), the revival of Les Fêtes Vénitiennes
(Les Arts Florissants, Théâtre du Capitole,
Toulouse), concerts with Collegio Ghislieri at
Malta Festival and at BOZAR, Brussels; with
Les Cris de Paris in Israel in Egypt (Beaune,
Lessay, La Chaise-Dieu Festivals), Les Grands
Motets de Rameau et Mondonville (Les Arts
Florissants, tour), Beatus Vir (Collegio Ghislieri,
La Chaise-Dieu and Ambronay Festivals),
Actéon and Caecilia, Virgin and Martyr, and a
recording of Charpentier Oratorio, all with Les
Arts Florissants. She sang The Fairy Queen
and Pygmalion (European Union Baroque
Orchestra), Esther (Wigmore Hall), St. Matthew
Passion (Dunedin Consort, Dunblane Cathedral),
Chichester Psalms (Royal Albert Hall, BBC
Scottish Symphony Orchestra), Saul (Aldeburgh),
Jenkins’ Gloria, and Beethoven Mass in C (Se,
Lisbon), among others. Redmond’s plans include
performances of St. John Passion (Ensemble
Aedes) and Bach Cantatas, French Motets, all
with Les Arts Florissants, St. John Passion with
Ensemble Aedes, The Fairy Queen (Barcelona
with Jordi Savall), a program based on La
Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers with Ensemble
Correspondences, and performances of works
by Handel, Jomelli, Pergolesi, and Vivaldi with
Collegio Ghislieri.
EMILIE RENARD (mezzo-soprano; La Folie,
Isabelle) studied at Royal Scottish Academy
of Music and Drama and Benjamin Britten
International Opera School of the Royal College
of Music. Renard was a member of Le Jardin
des Voix 2013, working with William Christie,
Paul Agnew, and Les Arts Florissants. Busy on
both concert and operatic platforms, highlights
include Upon Silence by George Benjamin
(Messiaen Festival, France), Dido (Dido and
Aeneas with Christie), Junon in Platée with Les
Arts Florissants (Theater an der Wien, Opéra
Comique and New York), her debut as Zweite
Dame in Die Zauberflöte (Nantes-Angers Opera),
Amore in L’incoronazione di Poppea (with
Laurence Cummings, Opera North), Ersinda
in Porpora’s Il Germanico in Germania (with
Alessandro de Marchi, Innsbruck Festival), and
Valetto in L’incoronazione di Poppea (Theater an
der Wien). Future engagements include the title
role in Armide for the Musikfestspiele Potsdam,
Innsbruck Festival to sing Mozart’s Coronation
Mass, Giuletta in Zingarelli’s Giuletta e Romeo
in the Schwetzingen Festival, and Zweite Dame
in Zauberflöte with Opera Dijon in Dijon, Paris,
Limoges, and Caen.
REINOUD VAN MECHELEN (tenor; Thémir,
Un Masque, Zéphyr) was born in 1987 in
Leuven and studied singing at the Conservatoire
Royal in Brussels. In 2007 he took part in the
Académie Baroque Européenne in Ambronay,
performing Plutus in Le Carnaval et la Folie by
Destouches under the baton of Hervé Niquet. In
2011 he was a member of Le Jardin des Voix of
William Christie and Paul Agnew, participating
in numerous concerts; he performed the role
of Zéphir in Atys on concert tour with Les Arts
Florissants, with which he has performed,
among others, at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence,
Edinburgh Festival, and Château de Versailles.
He has collaborated with ensembles such as
Le Concert Spirituel, Les Talens Lyriques, Le
Poème Harmonique, Il Gardellino, L’Arpeggiata,
Ausonia, Ludus Modalis, B’Rock, Ricercar
Consort, Scherzi Musicali, Insula Orchestra,
European Union Baroque Orchestra, and
Royal Philharmonic in Liverpool. On the opera
stage he recently performed Castor et Pollux
at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Les
Fêtes Vénitiennes at the Opéra Comique, and
Dardanus at Opéra National de Bordeaux.
CYRIL AUVITY (countertenor; Maître de Danse,
Suivant de la Fortune, Adolphe) received a
degree in physics at Lille University, completed
his musical studies at the conservatory in Lille in
1999, and won the international singing contest
in Clermont Ferrand that year. Chosen by William
Christie, he started his career at a young age,
performing Telemaco in Monteverdi’s Ritorno
di Ulisse in Patria in Aix en Provence Festival
and throughout Europe and the US. He received
numerous invitations to international festivals
and opera houses: Persée with Christophe
Rousset; Gli Strali d’Amore with Gabriel Garrido;
The Fairy Queen with Rousset (Spain tour);
Persée and Médée in Toronto; Dido and Aeneas
(Nancy Opera House and Aldeburgh Festival);
and the title role in Actéon with Emmanuelle
Haïm. His long collaboration with Christie
continued with new productions such as Les
Arts Florissants and David & Jonathas (title
role). He debuted the title role in Pygmalion in a
co-production between Nancy Opera House and
Théâtre du Châtelet under the baton of Hervé
Who’s Who
Niquet and a new production of Destouches’
Callirhoé in Montpellier. He took part in a big tour
with Le Medecin malgré lui and debuted in Don
Giovanni (Don Ottavio) with Emmanuel Krivine;
he performed the same role in a stage production
in Montpellier where the following year he sang
Tamino in The Magic Flute. At Lille Opera he sang
Basilio in Le Nozze di Figaro with Emanuelle Haïm
and Le Concert d’Astrée.
SEAN CLAYTON (tenor; Démocrite) trained at
Birmingham Conservatoire with Julian Pike and
continued his studies at the Royal College of
Music in London with Neil Mackie. In 2009, he
was invited to join Le Jardin de Voix, the young
artists program of Les Arts Florissants directed
by William Christie. He has sung several roles
with them and for numerous choral projects,
including music of Scarlatti and Charpentier.
Since 2011, Clayton has been a part of Les
Arts Florissants’ Monteverdi Madrigal project
directed by Paul Agnew, performing the eight
books all over Europe. Recent and current opera
engagements include Messenger in Theodora
(Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Paris), Carlos
and Tacmas in Les Indes Galantes (Lutosławski
Concert Studio Warsaw, Poland), Démocrite in
Les Fêtes Vénitiennes (Opéra Comique, Paris),
Berger in La Naissance d’Osiris (Théâtre de
Caen), Berger in Actéon, Summer in The Fairy
Queen (Glydebourne Opera), Secrecy in The
Fairy Queen (Festival Aix-en-Provence), Indian
Boy in Indian Queen (Paris), Blindman in Petite
Messe Solonnelle (Nico and the Navigators,
Berlin), and roles in Susannah, Orfeo, Dido and
Aeneas (English Touring Opera); The Lighthouse
(Montepulciano Festival); King Arthur (Der
Lautten Compagney); L’occasione fa il ladro
(Wexford Festival Opera); Semele (British Youth
Opera); Orfeo (English Bach Festival Trust); The
Merry Wives of Windsor (Opera South), and La
pietra del paragone and Falstaff (Stanley Hall
Opera). Clayton has performed all over the world
including at Opera Garnier, Opera Comique,
and Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris,
Festival of Aix-en-Provence, Opera National de
Bordeaux, Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and the
Marinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, BAM and
Lincoln Center in New York, Radialsystem V
in Berlin, Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms
and the Barbican in London, Auditorio Nacional
de Música in Madrid, Palau de la Música in
Barcelona, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the
National Conert Hall in Dublin, and the Wexford
Festival Opera.
MARCEL BEEKMAN (tenor; Maître de
Musique), a Dutch tenor, has appeared with the
Berliner Philharmoniker, Royal Concertgebouw
Orchestra, Orchestra of the 18th Century, Les
Arts Florissants, Musica Antiqua Köln, De
Nederlandse Bachvereniging, Staatskapelle
Dresden, and the ASKO|Schönberg under
conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, William
Christie, Christophe Rousset, John Adams,
and Peter Dijkstra. Recent opera appearances
include L’Incoronazione di Poppea and Il ritorno
d’Ulisse in patria (Theater an der Wien), Die
Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Dutch National
Opera), and L’écume des jours (Oper Stuttgart).
In 2014, he debuted in the title role of Rameau’s
Platée (Theater an der Wien and Lincoln Center),
followed by Les Fêtes Vénitiennes with Les Arts
Florissants (Opéra Comique, Paris), Canticum
Sacrum (SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden
und Freiburg), and Benvenuto Cellini (Dutch
National Opera). In 2015/16, he returns to
Theater an der Wien in L’Incoronazione di
Poppea with Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Les
Arts Florissants in Toulouse with Les Fêtes
Vénitiennes, Mozart’s Requiem (Noord
Nederlands Orkest, Israel Camerata), and
premieres the role of Pope Innozenzo XI in
Andriessen’s new opera Theatre of the World at
Dutch National Opera. Beekman has performed
new works by composers Elmer Schönberger,
Roderik de Man, Maarten Altena, and António
Chagas Rosa. He sang Ricardo in the world
première of Dutch composer Martijn Padding’s
opera Laika (Dutch National Opera) and Mucius
in the Dutch premiere of Glanert’s Caligula for
the NTR Zaterdagmatinee at the Concertgebouw
Amsterdam. At the Holland Festival he appeared
in the premiere of Calliope Tsoupaki’s St. Luke
Passion with Nieuw Ensemble and conductor
Ed Spanjaard. Festivals include Salzburg Easter
Festival, Utrecht Ancient Music Festival, Festival
de La Chaise-Dieu, and Saito Kinen Festival
Japan. His extensive discography includes Die
Entführung aus dem Serail, Le Nozze di Figaro,
L’Ipermestra, Les Indes Galantes, the title role
of Willem Breuker’s Jona, and in Salome, Il
Prigioniero, Isidora Žebeljan’s chamber opera
Maratonci, and in Netherlands first opera,
Granida (P.C. Hooft).
JONATHAN McGOVERN (baritone; Alamir,
Damir, Borée), a graduate of King’s College
London and the Royal Academy of Music,
performs in Les Fêtes Vénitiennes with Les
Arts Florissants/William Christie in Toulouse,
Who’s Who
and in a role and company debut as Pelléas
(Pelléas et Mélisande) in a new production for
English Touring Opera. He soon makes debuts
with Staatsoper Hamburg and Garsington
Opera. Recent engagements have included a
debut as Junior in Bernstein’s A Quiet Place
(Ensemble Modern/Kent Nagano, Konzerthaus
Berlin, Konzerthaus Dortmund, and Dresdner
Musikfestspiele). He sang Figaro in Il barbiere
di Siviglia (Verbier Festival), and the title roles
in Il ritorno d’Ulisse under Christian Curnyn and
Telemann’s Orpheus under Ian Page (London
Handel Festival). Concert highlights have
included Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy (Verbier
Festival under Charles Dutoit), Carmina Burana
(Teatro dell’Opera di Roma), the NDR Podium
der Jungen under Andrew Litton, and Mahler’s
Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Tampere
Philharmonic Orchestra under Daniel Cohen).
At English National Opera McGovern was in
three world premieres: Anderson’s Thebans
under Edward Gardner, Muhly’s Two Boys under
Rumon Gamba, and van der Aa’s The Sunken
Garden under André de Ridder. In recital, he
has performed with pianists Malcolm Martineau,
Simon Lepper, James Baillieu, Timothy End,
and James Cheung. Recently he appeared at
Oxford Lieder Festival, London English Song
Festival, and the Lichfield Festival. This season,
he returns to Wigmore Hall, debuts at Musée
d’Orsay, and performs Aeneas (Dido and
Aeneas) under Trevor Pinnock at the Wigmore
Hall, Alidoro in Orontea with La Nuova Musica
under David Bates, and Pilate in Rossi’s Per
la settimana santa at the Spitalfields Music
Festival under C. Curnyn. McGovern has received
prestigious awards: the 2010 Gold Medal and
First Prize at the Royal Over-Seas League Music
Competition, the 2011 Jean Meikle Duo Prize
at Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International
Song Competition, and Second Prize at the 2011
Kathleen Ferrier Awards.
FRANÇOIS LIS (bass; Le Carnaval, Léandre,
Rodolphe), a French bass, performed in recent
seasons as Don Fernando in Fidelio (Orchestre
Philharmonique de Radio France) and Zuniga in
Carmen at Châtelet Paris; the world premiere of
La Messe de Chimay at Festival de Chartres; Die
Zauberflöte for l’Opéra de Nancy and Ensemble
Matheus; Pope Clement VII in Benvenuto Cellini
for L’Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg; Frère
Laurent in Romeo et Juliette (Polish National
Opera); his debut at the Opéra National de Paris
as Jupiter in Platée; Asdrubalde in La Pietra del
Paragone (Châtelet and Teatro Reggio, Parma);
Narbal in Les Troyens in Strasbourg; and the
title role in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Opéra de
Lyon. Recent engagements include Alcina, La
Traviata, and Platée at Opéra National de Paris.
In 2009 he debuted as Don Giovanni and sang
Figaro at Opera Ireland in Dublin. Last season he
sang in La Cenerentola (La Monnaie, Brussels),
Hippolyte et Aricie, and Carmen at Théâtre du
Capitole, Toulouse. Other engagements: Jeanne
au Bûcher (Orchestre National de Lyon); Les
Paladins (Basel); Die Zauberflöte (Teatro Real),
Madrid; La Bohème (Opera Zuid, Belgium);
and l’Incoronazione di Poppea and La Forza
del Destino (Opéra de Rouen); among others.
He graduated in musicology from the Sorbonne
and finished his studies at Conservatoire
National Supérieur de Musique in Paris. Lis was
nominated for the Revelation Artiste Lyrique
of the Year in 2004. He recently sang Teucer
in Dardanus (Opéra de Lille) and Jupiter in
Platée (Opéra National du Rhin, Strasbourg),
Commendatore in Don Giovanni (Tourcoing
and Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Paris), and
Escamillo in Carmen (Opera Festival in Skopje
Macedonia). Lis in 2010 debuted as Zuniga
(Carmen) in Caracas, Los Angeles, and at Teatro
alla Scala; appeared at Opéra National de Paris
in Ariadne auf Naxos; and sang his first Marcel
in Les Huguenots (La Monnaie, Brussels). In
recent seasons he appeared in a world premiere
of Philippe Fénelon in JJR Citoyen de Genève
(Grand Théâtre, Geneva) and at Opéra de Paris
in Hippolyte et Aricie, Carmen, L’Enfant et les
Sortilèges, and La Cenerentola, and debuted
at Glyndebourne Festival in Hippolyte et Aricie.
More recently he was at Paris Opera with
Alceste, Platée, Le Roi Arthus, and more. He
sang at Festival de Radio France in Montpellier
in Caterina Cornaro by Donizetti, Les Fêtes
Vénitiennes with Les Arts Florissants/Christie,
Les Indes Galantes in Munich, and Ariodante in
Toronto.
GEOFFROY BUFFIÈRE (bass; Héraclite),
following musical studies at Maîtrise de NotreDame de Paris and at CRR Paris (studying with
Howard Crook and Kenneth Weiss), joined
the CNIPAL Marseille. He can be heard in
concert and on CDs in repertoires from early
and Renaissance polyphonies (with Clément
Janequin, D. Visse, Huelgas, and P. van Nevel
ensembles) to contemporary compositions (with
the Ensemble Intercontemporain and Susanna
Mälkki). He has worked with specialists of
Who’s Who
the Baroque repertoire such as Hervé Niquet,
William Christie, Emmanuelle Haïm, Rinaldo
Alessandrini, Masaki Suzuki, and Vincent
Dumestre. He also appears in recitals, especially
with Jeff Cohen. He regularly sings on French
stages (Rouen, Caen, Avignon, Opéra Royal de
Versailles, Aix-en-Provence Festival) and abroad
(BAM, Aldeburgh Britten Festival, Edinburgh
and Utrecht Festivals). As a member of the
first Opéra Comique Académie, he has often
sung at Salle Favart: David et Jonathas (under
W. Christie) and Mârouf savetier du Caire
(conducted by Alain Altinoglu). He recently
sang with Anne-Sofie von Otter in Die sieben
Todsünden at Sale Pleyel, and in Schumann’s
Manfred (con. Emmanuel Krivine, dir. Georges
Lavaudan, Opéra Comique), in La Grande
Duchesse de Gerolstein (con. Christophe
Grapperon, dir. Philippe Béziat, Théâtre de
l’Athénée), Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (con.
Christophe Coin, dir. Denis Podalydès), L’Orfeo
(con. Sébastien d’Hérin, dir. Caroline Mutel,
Opéra de Massy), and La Troupe d’Orphée à La
Haye (van Veggel, Schwartzman). In addition,
he has sung in concerts with ensembles such
as Correspondances, Le Concert Spirituel, La
Rêveuse, Le Poème Harmonique, Pygmalion,
Diabolus in Musica, and Accentus. He sang
the bass part in Weill’s Berliner Requiem at the
Festival Présence de Radio France. This season
and the last he has interpreted le Grand Prêtre
de Jupiter in Castor et Pollux (con. Emmanuelle
Haïm, Opéra de Dijon and Opéra de Lille), Achis
and l’Ombre de Samuel in David et Jonathas
(con. D. Visse, Tourcoing), le Médecin in Pelléas
et Mélisande (con. Jean-Claude Malgoire),
Polydorus and le Père de famille in L’Enfance du
Christ at the Opéra d’Avignon, Héraclite in Les
Fêtes Vénitiennes at the Opéra Comique and the
Capitole in Toulouse (dir. William Christie).
LES ARTS FLORISSANTS (orchestra and chorus)
William Christie, musical director and founder
Paul Agnew, associate musical director and
associate conductor
Jonathan Cohen, associate conductor
An ensemble of singers and instrumentalists
specializing in the performance of Baroque
music on period instruments, Les Arts Florissants
is renowned the world over. Each season the
ensemble gives around 100 concerts and
opera performances in France and is an active
ambassador for French culture abroad. Founded
in 1979 William Christie, the ensemble has
played a pioneering role in the revival of a
Baroque repertoire that had long been neglected.
Today that repertoire of the 17th and 18th
centuries is widely performed and admired.
Since 2007, William Christie has regularly
passed the conductor’s baton over to British
tenor Paul Agnew. Les Arts Florissants has
launched several education programs for young
musicians; the Academy of Le Jardin des Voix,
the Arts Flo Juniors program, and the partnership
with New York’s Juilliard School of Music. The
ensemble also organizes numerous events
aimed at building new audiences, designed for
both amateur musicians and non-musicians,
adults as much as children. The ensemble has
produced an impressive discography: nearly 100
recordings (CD and DVD) and its own collection
in collaboration with Harmonia Mundi. In 2012,
the ensemble created the annual festival Dans
les Jardins de William Christie, in partnership
with the Conseil départemental de la Vendée.
Les Arts Florissants receives financial support
from the Ministry of Culture and Communication.
The ensemble has been artist in residence at
the Philharmonie de Paris since 2015. The
American Friends of Les Arts Florissants support
all its activities.
OPÉRA COMIQUE was founded in 1714 under
the reign of Louis XIV. It is one of the oldest
French dramatic and musical institutions along
with the Opéra de Paris and the ComédieFrançaise. Located in Paris in the charming Salle
Favart, Opéra Comique has produced the most
famous pieces of French repertoire, as La Fille
du Regiment, La Damnation de Faust, Mignon,
Carmen, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Pelléas et
Mélisande, L’Heure Espagnole, Les Mamelles
de Tirésias, La Voix Humaine, and more. Opéra
comique as a genre is represented by the Opéra
Comique company. The term “comique” does not
mean that laughter is compulsory. Rather, sung
lines are interspersed with spoken drama. Opéra
comique stands in contrast with opera, which is
sung throughout, and its specifics were taught
until 1991. Today, the Opéra Comique is one of
the favorite venues for Baroque artists and lovers
and promotes the French repertoire from early to
contemporary music.