Henry Desmarest (1661-1741)
Circé (1694)
Véronique Gens (mezzo) – Circé
Caroline Mutel (soprano) – Astérie; Minerve
Cécile Achile (soprano) – Éolie
Matthias Vidal (tenor) – Ulysse
Romain Bockler (baritone) – Polite; Phantase
Nicholas Courjal (bass) – Elphénor
Cécile Granger (soprano) – Amour
Les Nouveaux Caractères/Sébastien d’Hérin
rec. January 2022, L’Opéra Royal de Versailles
Booklet with full French text and English translation
Notes in French,English,German
Château de Versailles Spectacles CVS085 [2 CDs: 155]
The concert performance from which this recording derives is the first known performance of this opera in 328 years. Desmarest’s tragédie lyrique had its premiere in the time of adjustment to the world of French opera that followed the death of Jean-Baptiste Lully. While many new works were commissioned for the stage there appears to have been something of an artistic vacuum created by the opposing tastes of Louis XIV and his court, representing the old guard, and the Dauphin and his circle who were embracing newer musical and dramatic tastes in their diversions. Henry Desmarest appears to have been a composer who embraced the new camp, especially when he received a commission to compose this opera. One unusual feature of it being that it was to a libretto by the female poet and playwright Louise- Geneviève Gillot de Saintonge, who was the first woman to collaborate with the Académie royale de musique. It is an interesting fact that in the 17th and 18th centuries the majority of librettists were of a higher social standing than the composers that they worked with; consequently they had a far greater say in the outcome of the final work. In this opera There is certainly much more focus on the female characters than one had seen in the earlier tragédies lyriques. Although the story of Ulysse (Odysseus) is and his capture by the goddess Circe is central to the story, here the character of Ulysse ends up competing for stage time with the other secondary characters on Circe’s island. Musically Desmarest has provided an enchanting score sinuous and graceful by turns. The various airs show a definite leaning to a more Italianate melodic style than one finds with Lully. Interestingly Desmarest also seems to have virtually abandoned the extended dance sequences that are always a prominent feature of Lully’s work. This makes the drama a little more concentrated than before, but it also means that the orchestra has much less opportunity to shine on its own.
The cast assembled for these concerts comes from a fairly reliable group of regular performers who feature in French Baroque repertoire. The concerts were originally announced as featuring Gaëlle Arquez in the lead role of Circé; Véronique Gens eventually replaced her when the event occurred. Gens remains a fascinating vocalist whose voice is still in fine shape after some three decades of public singing. She embodies the complex nature of the godess while always retaining the listener’s sympathy. Her golden timbre, which is that of a true Falcon, is allied with a mastery of phrasing to make Circé come alive in all of her scenes. The other major female role is Astérie, Circé’s companion. Caroline Mutel is something of a disappointment in that the microphones reveal an uncomfortable sounding edge to her tone, especially when she has to sing louder phrases. In the much smaller role of Cupid/Amour, Cécile Granger has a sweetly delicate tone which suits the little troublemaker no end.
As the hero Ulysse, Matthias Vidal is expressively urgent in the Act Two scene of lament, and he gets to sing one of the mostly profoundly beautiful passages of the score. This is a long scene with Éolie, who is ably sung by Cécile Achile. Romain Bockler displays a slender toned but pleasing baritone as Polite. The cavernous sounding Nicholas Courjal makes a good effect as Elphénor, although he teeters on the verge of unsteady tone at times.
Sébastien d’Hérin leads the period ensemble Les Nouveaux Caractères in a crisp and sprightly reading of the score. The instruments are beautifully captured by the engineers with a recording that is very detailed although I think that the singers could benefit from a touch more atmospheric bloom around the voices than they receive in the balance. Ultimately there is much that is worth listening to here, especially for those who are curious about that less well-documented period of 54 years between the death of Lully and the rise of Rameau.
Mike Parr
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