ANDRÉ CARDINAL DESTOUCHES

Callirhoé

CD 1
Ouverture
Acte Premier
Acte Deuxième

CD 2
Acte Troisième
Acte Quatrième
Acte Cinquième

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About this CD

André Cardinal Destouches… not exactly a name that automatically generates much recognition these days. Possibly, we might locate him among other composers from the early 18th century such as Desmarest, Campra and Marin Marais. But even if a few titles from his output, such as Issé, Télémaque et Calypso or Marthésie, might ring a few bells, who could actually claim to have heard even a single one of his arias? And yet, Destouches was, in his time, one of the clear and unequivocal leading figures of French opera and a composer of masterpieces: Callirhoé is without doubt one of them and now, under the direction of Hervé Niquet, this opera recovers a new lease of life.

Benefiting from an inspired cast of highlytalented young soloists, the musicians of Le Concert Spirituel as well as the researchers from the Centre de Musique Baroque in Versailles, this recording reveals for us a moving tragedy in which love, jealousies, power and a noble generosity of spirit are embraced and merged into one captivating whole.