J-J. de Mondonville: Daphnis et Alcimadure - The FIRST complete recording (Please read description)

Описание: PLEASE READ FURTHER for more information, credits and timestamps of my favourite movements. It's impossible for the video recording of this performance to be uploaded here due to copyright, so this is solely the audio from that performance alongside a black screen.



CONTEXT/LISTENING NOTES (all written by me):

This three act opera (1754) to a libretto written by the composer himself in the Languedocien dialect of the Occitan language of Southern France, is surely Mondonville's greatest masterpiece that has survived. Prior to Act 1, there is a prologue in the French language titled 'Jeux Floraux' (Floral Games) to a libretto by Claude-Henri de Fusée de Voisenon. This opera had its premiere at the Palace of Fontainebleau in front of King Louis XV and his court, followed by successful performances at the 'Académie Royale' (the Paris Opera). This opera's story, as in all of Mondonville's surviving operas, is simplistic yet sweet, with an abundance of pastoral charm. A decent short synopsis can be found at the bottom of the Wikipedia article for this opera.

This work contains a truly wonderful selection of incredible textures, harmonies and melodies, spanning a wide range of emotional moods. Throughout this whole work, there is an astonishingly large amount of purely instrumental music compared to most operas, likely even more than the amount of vocal/choral music. In fully staged productions, these stunning instrumental scenes would have been danced to. Despite all this instrumental music, there are some truly powerful arias and choral moments with unexpected and inventive twists and turns, accompanied by the constantly pulsating strings so typical of Mondonville's unique style.

I strongly recommend you listen to this entire opera at least once, even if it is spread across many days. But if that's too much of a time commitment, or if you just want to hear the best bits, my personal favourite moments of the opera are timestamped below for your enjoyment :)

This recording took place in October 2022 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Mondonville's death in 1772, and is also the very first time the complete opera has been recorded. A recording from 1981, which can be found on YouTube, is a massively shortened (and very poorly recorded) version to fit on LP discs, and in 1999 a few solely instrumental movements were recorded. This new opportunity to listen to this special and unique opera in full should not be overlooked!



CREDITS:

Conductor - Jean-Marc Andrieu

'Daphnis' (haute-contre) - François-Nicolas Geslot
'Alcimadure' (soprano) - Elodie Fonnard
'Jeanet' (tenor) - Fabien Hyon
'Clémence Isaure' (soprano) - Hélène Le Corre

Orchestra - Les Passions (Orchestre Baroque de Montauban)
Special credit to Etienne Mangot (Cello) and Yvan Garcia (Harpsichord) for masterfully playing the continuo part for over 2 hours with no break whatsoever and to Florent Tisseyre for truly bringing this opera to life with his wonderful percussion.

Choir - Les Éléments (Chœur de Chambre)
Special credit to Muriel Batbie-Castell who was the Occitan language teacher/advisor for all the singers (she is brought on stage during the applause).

This performance took place at the Opera national du Capitole de Toulouse on 12th/13th October 2022.



MY PERSONAL FAVOURITE MOMENTS WITH TIMESTAMPS:

Prologue:
00:02 - Ouverture
07:37- Recit with Choir
10:57 - Entrance of the People
12:38 - Recit with Choir
15:24 - Air for the same
20:40 - Choir

Act 1:
26:58 - Daphnis (Modere)
31:30 - Alcimadure (Leger et Fort)
36:02 - Daphnis (Leger)
49:34 - Choir
51:36 - Air (Gracieux et Doux)
54:42 - Air for the Shepherds
55:59 - Daphnis (Ariette)
58:21 - “Adaption of a genuine Country Air” (See the preface at the beginning of the score)
01:01:17 - Tambourine

Act 2:
01:04:14 - Jeanet with Choir
01:08:24 - Daphnis (Lent)
01:12:50 - Jeanet (Vite)
01:15:19 - Jeanet (Fierement) (By far the most dramatic movement of the opera)
01:22:39 - Alcimadure and Jeanet with Choir
01:24:18 - Entrance of the Hunters
01:28:28 - Alcimadure
01:31:08 - Jig
01:32:28 - Jeanet with Choir
01:34:04 - Tambourine

Act 3:
01:40:12 - Jeanet (Air)
01:48:11 - Alcimadure (Lent)
01:52:24 - Daphnis and Alcimadure (Love Duet)
01:59:16 - Alcimadure (Ariette)
02:04:42 - Air (Vivement)
02:06:17 - Daphnis with Choir (Finale)