Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade Josh Lovell, Rocio Pérez, Marie Lys, Maite Beaumont, Mathilde Ortscheidt, Alex Banfield, Les Talens Lyriques & Christophe Rousset

• Domenico Cimarosa (1749 - 1801): Sinfonia:
• 1Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade: Sinfonia04:52
• L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 1:
• 2Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 1: Recitativo. "Ho risoluto, Aminta"02:26
• 3Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 1: Aria. "Siam navi all’onde algenti"03:02
• L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 2:
• 4Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 2: Recitativo. "Misero! E fui sì cieco"01:07
• 5Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 2: Aria. "Superbo di mes stesso"05:50
• L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 3:
• 6Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 3: Recitativo. "O generoso amico!"00:39
• 7Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 3: Aria. "O care selve"02:17
• L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 4 - Scene 5:
• 8Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 4 - Scene 5: Recitativo. "Ecco Aristea" - Recitativo. "Figlia, tutto è compito"04:31
• L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 5:
• 9Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 5: Aria. "Del destin non vi lagnate"06:29
• L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 6:
• 10Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 6: Recitativo. "Udisti, o Principessa?"00:28
• 11Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 6: Aria. "Tu di saper procura"06:11
• L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 7:
• 12Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 7: Recitativo. "Dunque Licida ingrato"00:32
• 13Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 7: Aria. "Fra mille amanti un core"03:25
• L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 8:
• 14Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 8: Recitativo. "Licida. Amico."03:25
• 15Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 8: Aria. "Mentre dormi"01:13
• 16Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 8: Accompagnato. "Che intesi eterni Dei!"02:10
• L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 9:
• 17Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 9: Recitativo. "Stranier? Chi mi sorprende?" - Accompagnato. "E mi lasci così ?"03:42
• 18Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act I Scene 9: Duetto. "Ne’giorni tuoi felici"06:24
• L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 1:
• 19Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 1: Recitativo. "E trovar non poss’io"01:02
• 20Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 1: Aria. "In un cor, que fu piagato"03:00
• L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 2:
• 21Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 2: Recitativo. "Questi d’un labbro infido"01:13
• L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 3:
• 22Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 3: Accompagnato. "Io compiango il tuo duol" - Aria. "Grandi, è ver, son le tue pene"05:48
• L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 4 - Scene 5:
• 23Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 4 - Scene 5: Recitativo. "Giovane valoroso" - Recitativo. "All’odiose nozze"03:30
• L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 5:
• 24Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 5: Aria. "Bell’alme innamorate"03:58
• L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 6 - Scene 7:
• 25Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 6 - Scene 7: Recitativo. "Fra l’amico e l’amante" - Recitativo. "Oh, ricordi crudeli!" - Accompagnato. "Senti… Ah, no… Dove vai?" - Accompagnato. "Misero me, che veggo"09:13
• L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 8:
• 26Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 8: Accompagnato. "Intense tutto, Aristea ?"00:45
• 27Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 8: Aria. "Se cerca, se dice"04:18
• L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 9 - Scene 10 - Scene 11 - Scene 12:
• 28Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 9 - Scene 10 - Scene 11 - Scene 12: Recitativo. "Che labirinto è questo" - Recitativo. "A me, barbaro ?" - Recitativo "In angustia più fiera" - Recitativo. "Difendetemi il padre"04:45
• L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 13:
• 29Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 13: Recitativo. "Eppur, mi fa pietade…"01:00
• 30Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 13: Aria. "Torbido il ciel s’oscura"03:31
• L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 14:
• 31Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 14: Recitativo. "Giusti Dei! Che sarà"01:29
• 32Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 14: Accompagnato. "Qual poter, qual incanto"01:27
• 33Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 14: Aria. "Mi sento, oh Dio! Nel core"07:29
• L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 15:
• 34Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 15: Recitativo. "Stelle, vi sono in cielo"00:45
• 35Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 15: Aria. "Spiegar non posso appieno"02:40
• L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 16:
• 36Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 16: Accompagnato. "Giovane sventurato!"04:35
• 37Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 16: Aria. "Non so donde viene"04:53
• L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 17:
• 38Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 17: Recitativo. "Ah, vieni, illustre esempio"02:20
• 39Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 17: Accompagnato. "Ah barbari fermate!"01:57
• 40Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Scene 17: Aria. "Nel lasciarti"06:23
• L'Olimpiade, Act II Final Scene:
• 41Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Final Scene: Recitativo. "Fermati, o Re"02:44
• 42Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade, Act II Final Scene: Finale. "Quanto mai, per sì gran dono"08:17
• Total Runtime02:25:45

Info for Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade

Born in 1749, by the late 18th century Cimarosa was one of the leading composers in all of Europe. It was during his most prolific period, when he produced operas in Naples, Florence, Rome, Turin, Verona and Venice, that he created L’Olimpiade, premiered in Vicenza in 1784. To Pietre Metastasio’s already-famous libretto, this great opera seria is transfigured into a sumptuous bel canto drama. The athletes competing in the Games at Olympia are elevated to heroes by Cimarosa, with the winner set to marry Princess Aristaea. Unaware of this promise, Magacles agrees to pose as Prince Lycidas. But when he emerges victorious, he discovers his prize, Aristaea, whom he has always loved but must hand over to Lycidas…

This seemingly inextricable plot grants Cimarosa the most extraordinary arias ever to be composed to this libretto, perfectly in keeping with the “Olympic spirit” of summer in Versailles. Christophe Rousset, the great champion of the Italian fin de siècle repertoire, leads a stunning cast in this bel canto tempest!

“The end of the first act of L’Olimpiade had made a great impression on me the first time I heard it. I had always had it in mind to perform this opera one day, and when Château de Versailles Spectacles proposed that Les Talens Lyriques present it on the occasion of the celebration of the Olympic Games in Paris, I was absolutely delighted! Cimarosa is known above all for his comedies, such as Il matrimonio segreto, but also Il marito disperato and Il mercato di Malmantile, two operas that I had conducted with Les Talens Lyriques.

L’Olimpiade, a tragic piece, sparkles with technical virtuosity, but it is also very tense in its expression; the passions are clearly represented in the music. All this work makes Cimarosa’s music absolutely exquisite, and there is no doubt that Josh Lovell and Rocío Pérez, two great virtuosos whom I am delighted to see again, will absolutely do it justice, as will Maité Beaumont, Sophie Harmsen, Marie Lys and others, who appear regularly with Les Talens Lyriques, and the very promising young tenor, Alex Banfield. Returning to this Neapolitan music and this classical style is like going back thirty years in time to the very early days of Les Talens Lyriques, when we were recording works such as Jommelli’s Armida abbandonata or Traetta’s Antigona.” (Christophe Rousset)

Josh Lovell, tenor (Clistene)
Rocio Perez, soprano (Aristea)
Marie Lys, soprano (Argene)
Maite Beaumont, mezzo-soprano (Megacle)
Mathilde Ortscheidt, mezzo-soprano (Licida)
Alex Banfield, tenor (Aminta) Les Talens Lyriques

Christophe Rousset, conductor

Christophe Rousset
During his youth in Aix-en-Provence, Christophe Rousset developed a passion for the Baroque aesthetic. At the age of thirteen he decided not to study archaeology but to satisfy his keen interest in the discovery of the past through music instead, by taking up the harpsichord. That took him to the Schola Cantorum in Paris, where he studied with Huguette Dreyfus, then to the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, to work with Bob van Asperen. At twenty-two he won the prestigious First Prize, as well as the Public Prize, in the Seventh Bruges Harpsichord Competition (1983).

At Aix he also developed his love for opera and the stage by attending rehearsals at the Festival d’Art Lyrique. It was there that opera gave him his first strong emotions, which still guide him in his work today.

Christophe Rousset’s performances as a harpsichordist soon attracted the attention of the international press as well as record companies. He became a member of Les Arts Florissants, then Il Seminario Musicale, before embarking on a career as a music director, which led him to form his own ensemble, Les Talens Lyriques, in 1991. Firing the ensemble with his enthusiasm as a conductor and researcher, he was soon among the front runners of Baroque, acclaimed in France and internationally.

Engagements at the world’s Baroque festivals, numerous recordings (Harmonia Mundi, L’Oiseau-Lyre, Fnac Music, Emi-Virgin, Decca, Naïve and Ambroisie), film soundtracks (Farinelli)… within a few seasons Christophe Rousset had established his reputation as a talented, industrious and conscientious young director with a passion for the voice and for opera, an indefatigable discoverer of original scores (Antigona by Traetta, La Capricciosa Corretta by Martin y Soler, Armida Abbandonata by Jommelli, La Grotta di Trofonio by Salieri, Temistocle, by Jean-Chrétien Bach …), a soloist and chamber musician always at his peak, and a patient and untiring teacher.

His various projects lead him to explore European music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (opera, cantata, oratorio, sonata, symphony, concerto, suite…), constantly shedding light on all the forms that played a part in the history of music before Rossini, and ‘serving’ music in a very personal way.

His many recordings include the complete harpsichord works of François Couperin, Jean-Philippe Rameau, d’Anglebert and Forqueray, and his interpretations of works by J. S. Bach (Partitas, Goldberg Variations, Harpsichord Concertos, English Suites, French Suites, Klavierbüchlein für Wilhelm Friedemann ) are regarded as references. With his ensemble Les Talens Lyriques, his great successes on disc include Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Mozart’s Mitridate, Overtures by Rameau, and Persée and Roland by Lully.

Christophe Rousset is an Officier des Arts et Lettres, and “Chevalier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite”.

Booklet for Cimarosa: L'Olimpiade