Opera Lafayette – Actéon

operaLafayette-lavendar&black-on-whiteOpera Lafayette presents Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Actéon on Wednesday and Thursday, May 1 and 2, at 7:30 p.m. at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater


Ryan Brown, conductor
Seán Curran, director
Colin K. Bills, lighting designer

Actéon………………Aaron Sheehan
Diane……………….Yulia Van Doren
Arthébuze…………..Kelly Ballou
Daphne……………..Laetitia De Beck Spitzer
Hyale, Junon………..Sarah Mesko
Hunters……………..François-Olivier Jean and David Newman

with dancers from the Seán Curran Company and members of the Opera Lafayette Orchestra

Tickets start at $55 and are available at operalafayette.orgkennedy-center.org, or from InstantCharge at (202) 467-4600.

ActeonPoster

Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s opéra de chasse, Actéon, a compelling work of French classicism in one act, comes to life in a semistaged production directed by the modern choreographer Seán Curran.  The story is an allegory of transgression and transformation, in which an ideal pastoral setting becomes a landscape of loss, told through exquisitely beautiful solos and choruses by a cast of seven vocalists, dancers, and a chamber ensemble.

Opera Lafayette is an American period-instrument ensemble that specializes in the French repertoire, rediscovers masterpieces, and creates a recorded legacy of its work.  Founded in 1995 in Washington, DC by conductor and artistic director Ryan Brown, Opera Lafayette has earned critical acclaim and a loyal following for its performances and recordings with international singers renowned for their interpretations of baroque and classical operas.  The New York Times has said, “Opera Lafayette…has built a sterling reputation through specializing in rarities by Gluck, Grétry, and the like.”  Opera Lafayette’s season includes performances at major venues in Washington, DC and New York City.  At the invitation of Château de Versailles Spectacles, Opera Lafayette made its international debut at the Opéra Royal in February 2012 with the modern world première of Monsigny’s Le Roi et le fermier.  France’s Opéra magazine said, “This production should be noted and remembered in the annals of Versailles for the intelligence of its staging, the beauty of its sets, and its high musical quality.”  Opera Lafayette’s discography on the Naxos label has expanded to eight releases:  Gluck’s Orphée et Euridice (2005), Sacchini’s Oedipe à Colone (2006), Rameau’s Operatic Arias (2007), Lully’s Armide (2008), Rebel and Francœur’s Zélindor, roi des Sylphes (2009), Monsigny’s Le Déserteur (2010), Philidor’s Sancho Pança (2011), and Grétry’s Le Magnifique (2012).  Le Roi et le fermier and David’s Lalla Roukh are to follow in 2013 and 2014, respectively.