Customer Reviews

Desmarest - Vénus & Adonis / Deshayes, Droy, Panzarella, Neven, Perruche, Baert, Jang, Angel, Dahlin, Teitgen, Les Talens Lyriques, Rousset

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New to me, this French composer falls in the period between Lully and Rameau, and we're fortunate to have Christophe Rousset and his Les Talens Lyriques bring this opera to light, its the type of music they excel at (Handel's RICCARDO PRIMO; Rameau's Overtures & Suites). Recorded live in Nancy from a set of performances in 2006, all the singers sound fine. Karine Deshayes as Venus sings beautifully, I kept playing back her arias. A review that led me to give this work a try, while recommending the disc strongly, did not care for the singing of Anna Maria Panzarella (Cidippe), commenting that she hits the notes alright, but doesn't put any feeling into the role. I thought her singing was enjoyable, I remember her from DEIDAMIA with Alan Curtis' ensemble. At least that reviewer and I agree that this is a set to buy. Besides this VENUS, lovers of French baroque might also be interested in JEPHTA by Monteclair, composed around the same period. Sophie Daneman sounds beautiful as always in that one.

Probably the best French opera between the death of Lully and the ascent of Rameau, "Venus and Adonis" contains much that is pleasurable. A standard tragedie lyrique, the opera plumbs the emotional depths of the characters nicely--Demarest's strong suit. We are fortunate to have this live recording by Les Talens Lyrique--I believe the only one in the catalog (?); but like the previous reviewer, I'm not totally happy with all the solo work. Still, a must for fans of baroque opera in general and French baroque opera in particular.