Purcell: King Arthur / Niquet

Ana Maria Labin, Chantal Santon-Jeffery, soprano; Mélodie Ruvio, mezzo-soprano; Mathias Vidal, haute-contre; Marc Mauillon, tenor; Joao Fernandes, bass (King Arthur); Le Concert Spirituel; Hervé Niquet, direction

Henry Purcell: King Arthur

Purcell's sublime music is joined by a 'Monty Python'-esque comedy style to bring life to 'King Arthur'. This semi-opera is a bit odd in the fact that the major characters do not sing often but mostly speak dialogue. Gods and spirits sing and portray the emotions. This is almost in the same vein of Orazio Vecchi's madrigal comedy style. The music is masterful, and the play itself quite humourous. This is something worth a try.
For its first DVD release Glossa has chosen a veritable spectacular, combining the strong creative ideas represented by one of its established artistic teams in Hervé Niquet and Le Concert Spirituel, the fabulously funny and hugely successful French comedy duo of Shirley and Dino (Corinne and Gilles Benizio in real life), a film director in Olivier Simonnet with proven experience in the music of the Baroque and a masterpiece of a dramatick operatic score in Henry Purcell's King Arthur. Live from the Opéra National de Montpellier (March 2009) Adaptation, conception & stage direction: Corinne & Gilles Benizio (alias Shirley & Dino)

Price: $48.98