Mercury Baroque - Armide
September 18,21,22,24,25
Paris, France
Mercury Baroque makes its European debut with 5 performances of Lully’s opera Armide in Paris in September, 2010. Featuring the same artists and staging as Mercury Baroque’s Houston performances in May 2009, Armide will be directed by French director Pascal Rambert.
Lully’s Armide
Lully | Plante | Rambert
Théâtre de Gennevilliers
41 Avenue des Grésillons
92230 Gennevilliers, France
Tickets: http://www.theatre2gennevilliers.com/
Worlds collide and cultures clash as the Théâtre de Gennevilliers presents Armide after Mercury Baroque's Houston debut in 2009.
Armide, which some consider Lully’s finest work, first premiered at the Paris Opéra February 15, 1686. The opera was based on a popular epic poem brought to life by Lully and French dramatist and librettist Philippe Quinault. Unlike most of their operas, Armide is particularly compelling because it focuses on the emotional struggles of a single character, the sorceress Armide.
Originally set in Damascus, Armide falls in love with the French Crusader and valiant hero Renaud, her sworn enemy. The drama just begins.
Armide casts a love spell and Renaud is left powerless. Her spell backfires when she realizes that his love for her is insincere. The spell is finally broken when Renaud’s fellow knights find him, and he abandons Armide. Finally, Armide’s castle is overtaken by demons, and she narrowly escapes in a flying chariot. Armide’s internal conflict is at the forefront of a story entwined with heroism, villainy, war, unrequited love, sorcery, hate and duty.
"The cries of "bravo" rang loud and long through the Théâtre de Gennevilliers tonight, as a throng of Mercury Baroque supporters from Houston joined a jam-packed hall in acclaiming the orchestra's triumphant Paris debut. Mercury Baroque's appearance marks the first time a Houston orchestra has performed in Europe in almost ten years..."
Review of Armide on Opera Cake
