After an ecclesiastical and military career, Destouches decided to devote himself entirely to composition in 1696. After taking Campra's classes, he wrote his operas: Amadis de Grèce and Marthésie Reine des Amazones (1699), Omphale (1701) and Le Carnaval de la Folie (1703). He returned in 1712 to triumph with his Callirhoe. There he wrote a great lyrical tragedy which was repeated until 1743.
Hervé Niquet, harpsichordist and conductor
Stéphanie d'Oustrac, Callirhoé
Cyril Auvity, Agénor
João Fernandes, Corésus
Ingrid Perruche, la Reine
Renaud Delaigue, le Ministre
Stéphanie Révidat, a princesse of Calydon, a Bergère
Concert Spirituel's Choir and Orchestra
recorded a the Arsenal de Metz in February 2006
The restitution of the score is the result of research and publishing work carried out by Françoise Escande as part of a doctoral thesis in musicology (under the direction of Jean-Christophe Maillard) in collaboration with the Centre de musique baoque de Versailles.
Callirhoe is built on the model of the Lullist tragedy with a prologue and five acts. The excellence of the booklet is one of the reasons for its success. The story is strong and the dramatic contours are well done. Furious, he asks the gods for revenge. Priests fill the city with fear and the whole people become the victims of his rage. Questioned by the minister of Pan, the oracle, in exchange for peace, claims the blood of Callirhoe or that of a lover who will offer himself in his place.
In this work, Destouches contributes to the evolution of the genre of lyrical tragedy through the meaning of theatre and drama. The recitatives and dialogues are exceptionally realistic. They are very moving thanks to a succession of subtle harmonies, rich in contrasts, made up of delays and dissonances. The melodic lines are made of expressive intervals, the style is supple and singing, close to the air, and often even Italian arioso.
