This fascinating recital, filled with rarities from the French Baroque/Classical period, is comprised of a series of monologues by tragic heroines: they’re enraged, submissive, and everything in between. Véronique Gens is an amazingly classy singer, incapable of vulgar exclamation, but she still manages to express the full range of emotions required here. Her lower register has gained in volume and thrust and the top of her voice remains free and clear; her classical line, enunciation, and legato are flawless; her mastery of ornamentation is exquisite.
Composed about 100 years apart, Lully’s and Gluck’s Armide bookend the program and use the same text; the latter’s is far more manic but the character’s torment is equally clear, and Gens makes the stylistic distinctions. A great find is a selection from Leclair’s Scylla et Glaucus, in which Circe sings in front of Mount Etna, demanding assistance for her horrors. Gens shows that she can sing a lament at a mournful whisper and can rant with great muscle.
There are occasional orchestral solos as well–Chaconnes from Castor et Pollux and Hippolyte…, dances from Lully’s Armide, and a couple of overtures. Christophe Rousset leads his Talens Lyriques with great elegance and is not afraid of asking them to attack their strings with enough power to set the “terrible” scenes and awaken the feelings. Each selection is riveting: this is a veritable primer in the emotions, styles, and powers of early French opera. [6/22/2006]
