Grétry: L'épreuve Villageoise
) | Label: Naxos Opera Catalog: 8660377 Format: CD Fernández-Rueda, Francisco; Opera Lafayette Chorus; Junker, Sophie; Dolié, Thomas; Trevigne, Talise; Opera Lafayette Orchestra; Brown, RyanL’épreuve villageoise – which, in its original form, was first performed before Marie Antoinette at Versailles - was one of André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry’s most popular works. For a century after its 1784 premiere it enjoyed huge acclaim across Europe and even travelled to the New World, where it captivated audiences in New York. Grétry was a master of eighteenth-century opéra comique and his crisp and lively farce centres on a clever farmer’s daughter and her two competing suitors. Employing divergent stylistic registers – finesse and naiveté, music reminiscent of popular song, and extended ensembles – Grétry fashioned a score of sophisticated wit and huge charm.  Price: $19.98 |