C. Lecocq - Fille de Madame Angot-Comp Opera - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

This product is an authorized manufactured on demand CD-R

Lakme, Delibes greatest opera, is performed by Opera Australia in all it's oriental glory. Starring the exquisite coloratura soprano Emma Matthews as the innocent girl priestess Lakme, and superb tenor Aldo Di Toro as the love-struck Gerald, the story tackles religion and cross-cultural love against a backdrop of British rule in India in the mid-19th century. French conductor Emmanuel Joel-Hornak brings out the full depth of the rich, dramatic score, with familiar high points being the beautiful renditions of the well-known Flower Duet and Bell Song. Dominica Matthews adds her rich voice as Mallika and Stephen Bennett is darkly dominating as Brahmin priest Nilakantha, Lakme's father, while Roxane Hislop is a consummate Mistress Bentson.

During his lifetime, Rameau enjoyed a glittering reputation and was admired by all Europe, while Debussy's Hommage à Rameau proves that his fame survived down the centuries. But what do we know about the rest of the Rameau family? After a highly acclaimed album devoted to the Forqueray family (ALPHA247, Gramophone Editor's Choice, Choc of the year 2016 in Classica, Grand Prix de l'Académie Charles Cros), our harpsichordist-genealogist Justin Taylor sets out on the trail of Jean-Philippe's son Claude-François and his nephew Lazare. To be sure, Rameau's genius dwarfs all around him, as is demonstrated by such pieces as La Livri, La Poule and L'Égyptienne, not to mention the magnificent Nouvelle Suite in A minor, but the music of his descendants has it's own interest. Justin Taylor introduces us to a work by Claude-François Rameau (La Forqueray) and the Sonata no.1 in E major by Lazare Rameau. He switches from the splendid harpsichord of the Château d'Assas (a two-manual instrument of the first half of the eighteenth century, attributed to the Lyon-based maker Donzelague) to the 1891 Érard piano of the Musée de la Musique in Paris for Debussy's tribute to his great predecessor.