In the mids, a young Italian arrived in Paris and soon transformed the still-evolving art form of opera into something quintessentially French. More than three hundred years later, a harpsichordist born in Buffalo, New York, also came to Paris and had a similarly seismic effect on the performance and appreciation of 17th- and 18th-century French opera.
That musician, William Christie , turned 80 in December, and the explosion of gala celebrations honoring him touched down in New York City late last month.
You can opt out anytime. However, in LAF mounted a gripping production of Atys, and suddenly, French baroque opera became a hot ticket. Founded in and named after a short opera by Marc-Antoine Charpentier , another nearly forgotten composer that Christie has consistently championed, Les Arts Florissants first performed in New York in with a modest program at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Two years later, however, a large contingent of soloists, chorus and orchestra brought a lavish Atys to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and since then, Christie and his musicians have appeared nearly annually at BAM, Lincoln Center or Carnegie Hall.
Christie and LAF were not the first to delve into the rich body of sacred and secular vocal music written in France between and , but their bracingly dramatic yet intensely elegant approach has resulted in revelatory performances of masterpieces by Lully, Charpentier and Jean-Philippe Rameau , in addition to stage works by Henry Purcell and George Frideric Handel. The group began recording for Harmonia Mundi in the mids and their extensive discography on that label and, later on, Erato welcomed listeners to musical riches most had never heard before.
Christie then embarked on a busy concert tour showcasing highlights of his long career. For its only appearance in the U. Eschewing the minimally accompanied secco dry recitatives found in Italian opera seria, early French operas employ organically flowing recitatives that transition seamlessly into more expansive arias or duets and sometimes dances or choruses accompanied either by a small continuo group or the entire orchestra. He was joined by Rimondi and baritone Mathieu Walendzik who themselves were joined by Serge Saitta on traverse flute and Yanina Yacubsohn and Nathalie Petibon on recordersโtogether, they wove a hushed, magical spell.
