Hervé Niquet has revived Sémélé by Marin Marais – the final opera by one of the leading composers from the reign of Louis XIV.
Hervé Niquet, conductor
Shannon Mercer, Sémélé
Bénédicte Tauran, Dorine
Jaël Azzaretti, La Grande Prêtresse de Bacchus
Hjördis Thébault,Junon
Anders J. Dahlin, Adraste
Thomas Dolié, Jupiter
Lisandro Abadie, Mercure
Marc Labonnette, Cadmus
Le Concert Spirituel, choir and orchestra
The restitution of Semélé's score is the result of research and publishing work conducted by Gérard Geay, researcher at the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles.
Recorded at Notre Dame du Liban, Paris, in February 2007
Engineered by Manuel Mohino
Produced by Dominique Daigremont
Known above all for his compositions for the viola da gamba, Marais the composer was at the same time the author of a number of tragédies lyriques which he wrote for the Académie royale de Musique. Even to this day it has only been Alcyone which has attracted the attention of music lovers and musicians. Yet Sémélé – first performed in 1709 – arrives now full of music to charm and seduce the listener: a sparkling prologue honouring Bacchus, a set of arias with a freshly-minted appeal, a marvellously inventive diabolical scene, divertissements rich in character; all this leading up to an earthquake scene memorably anticipating the later work of Rameau.
For all lovers of glorious baroque music, here is now the opportunity to discover and enjoy a masterpiece which has lain in the shadows for the last three centuries.
