Les Talens Lyriques

From: Avignon, France. LA Opera: From Light to Darkness concert (2018); The Sound of Music in Versailles concert (2024)

Founder of the ensemble Les Talens Lyriques and an internationally acclaimed harpsichordist, Christophe Rousset is a musician and conductor inspired by his passion for opera and the rediscovery of Europe's musical heritage.

Studying the harpsichord at the Schola Cantorum in Paris with Huguette Dreyfus, then at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague with Bob van Asperen (at the age of 22 he won the prestigious first prize at the 7th Bruges Harpsichord Competition), followed by the creation of his own ensemble, Les Talens Lyriques, in 1991, gave Christophe Rousset a perfect grasp of the richness and diversity of the Baroque, Classical and pre-romantic repertoires.

Christophe Rousset is now regularly invited to perform with Les Talens Lyriques throughout Europe: Opéra National de Paris, Opéra-Comique, Théâtre du Châtelet, Netherlands National Opera, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Philharmonie de Paris, Opéra de Lausanne, Theater an der Wien, Staatsoper de Vienne, Opéra Royal de Versailles, La Monnaie de Bruxelles, Wigmore Hall and Barbican Center in London, Bozar Brussels. ...as well as tours all over the world to Mexico, New Zealand, Canada, the USA, etc.

At the same time, he pursues an active career as a harpsichordist and chamber musician, performing and recording on the finest historical instruments. His recordings of works for harpsichord by Louis and François Couperin, Rameau, D'Anglebert, Royer, Duphly, Forqueray, Balbastre, Scarlatti and the various recordings devoted to works by J. S. Bach (partitas, Goldberg Variations, harpsichord concertos, English Suites, French Suites, Klavierbüchlein, Well-Tempered Clavier) are considered to be benchmarks.

The educational dimension is of paramount importance to Christophe Rousset, who conducts and leads masterclasses and academies: CNSMDP in Paris, Académie d'Ambronay, Fondation Royaumont, Opera Studio in Ghent, OFJ Baroque, Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Amici della Musica in Florence, Piccola Accademia in Montisi, and the Britten-Pears Orchestra. 

Christophe Rousset also pursues a career as a guest conductor: Liceu de Barcelona, San Carlo de Naples, Scala de Milan, Opéra Royal de Wallonie, London's Royal Opera House, the Spanish National Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre du Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and others.

He also devotes himself to musical research and writing, through critical editions and the publication of monographs devoted to Rameau (2007, Actes Sud) and François Couperin (2016, Actes Sud). His book of interviews on music conducted by Camille de Rijck (2017, La Rue Musicale / Philharmonie de Paris) was published under the title L'impression que l'instrument chante.

One of his latest recordings, L'art de la Fugue (Aparté, 2023), was hailed by the critics: " Rousset, who has already recorded large parts of Bach's piano works, masters this pinnaclework of polyphonic art with astonishing aplomb." (Concerti, January 2024).

Other recent Aparté releases include Le manuscrit de Madame Théobon (Lully and others), Pièces de Viole with Atsushi Sakai and Marion Martineau (Marin Marais), and The Sphere of Intimacy with Cyrille Dubois (François Couperin and others).

The 2024/25 season will see the release of a superb digital reissue of the complete François Couperin harpsichord works (Harmonia Mundi - August 2024), and Christophe Rousset will conclude his exploration of J.S. Bach's keyboard corpus with the Complete Toccatas (Aparté - October 2024).

Christophe Rousset is a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres and Officier de l'Ordre national du Mérite.


Photo:  Eric Larrayadieu

From: Issy-les-Moulineaux, Paris, France.

A renowned figure in the world of baroque music, French soprano Sandrine Piau regularly performs with celebrated conductors such as William Christie, Philippe Herreweghe, Christophe Rousset, Gustav Lleonhardt, Ivor Bolton, Ton Koopman, René Jacobs, Marc Minkowski and Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

She has performed many roles on international stages, including Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare and Morgana in Alcina at the Opéra de Paris; Dalinda in Ariodante at the Salzburg Festival; Alcina, Mélisande, Sandrina in La Finta Giardiniera and Sœur Constance in Dialogues des Carmélites at la Monnaie in Brussels; Alcina and Dalinda in Amsterdam; Pamina in The Magic Flute, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and Sœur Constance at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris; and Despina in Cosi fan tutte and Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Festival d’Aix en Provence.

As a celebrated recital singer of both French and German repertoire, Sandrine Piau performs with renowned accompanists including Jos van Immerseel, Roger Vignoles and Susan Manoff. She regularly gives recitals and has appeared in concert in New York, Paris, London, Tokyo, Munich, Zurich, and Salzburg, and recently in Hamburg for the opening of the Elbphilharmonie.

Sandrine Piau has an extensive discography and she now records exclusively for Alpha Classics. She recently released three critically-acclaimed discs: Enchantresses (Les Paladins / Jérôme Correas), Rivales (Véronique Gens, Julien Chauvin and Concert de la Loge) and Voyage Intime (David Kadouch).

During the 2023/2024 season, Sandrine Piau participated in several concert tours across Europe with different orchestras and ensembles such as the National Orchestra of Belgium, Coro e Orquestra Gulbenkian, Les Talens Lyriques, Insula Orchestra, the ensembles La Pucinella, Gli Angeli and Les Paladins. She also performed at the Bayerische Staatsoper and the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in the world premiere of Marc André Dalbavie's Melancholy of Resistance.

Learn more at SandrinePiau.com.

The ensemble Les Talens Lyriques, which takes its name from the subtitle of Rameau's opera Les Fêtes d’Hébé (1739), was founded in 1991 by the harpsichordist and conductor Christophe Rousset. 

Championing a wide lyrical and instrumental repertoire that spans from early Baroque to early Romanticism, Les Talens Lyriques aim to shed light on the great masterpieces of music history through the lens of rarer or unpublished works, true missing links in the European musical heritage. This musicological and editorial work is a priority for the Ensemble and contributes to its renown. 

Les Talens Lyriques journey from Monteverdi (L’Incoronazione di Poppea, Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, L’Orfeo), Cavalli (La Didone, La Calisto), Landi (La Morte d’Orfeo), Pallavicino (Le amazzoni nell’isole fortunate), Legrenzi (La divisione del Mondo) to Handel (Scipione, Riccardo Primo, Rinaldo, Admeto, Giulio Cesare, Serse, Arianna in Creta, Tamerlano, Ariodante, Semele, Alcina, Agrippina, Saul, Messiah, Jephtha, Orlando), passing through Lully (Persée, Roland, Bellérophon, Phaéton, Amadis, Armide, Alceste, Isis, Thésée, Atys, Proserpine), Desmarest (Didon, Vénus et Adonis), Mondonville (Les Fêtes de Paphos), Cimarosa (Il Mercato di Malmantile, Il Matrimonio segreto, L’Olimpiade), Traetta (Antigona, Ippolito ed Aricia), Jommelli (Armida abbandonata), Martin y Soler (La Capricciosa corretta, Il Tutore burlato), Mozart (Mitridate, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Così fan tutte, Die Zauberflöte), Salieri (La Grotta di Trofonio, Les Danaïdes, Les Horaces, Tarare, Armida, Cublai gran Kan de’ Tartari), Rameau (Zoroastre, Castor et Pollux, Les Indes galantes, Platée, Pygmalion), Gluck (Bauci e Filemone, Alceste, Orphée et Eurydice, Armide), Beethoven, and finally Cherubini (Médée), García (Il Califfo di Bagdad), Berlioz, Massenet, Gounod (Faust), Spontini (La Vestale), Saint-Saëns, Louise Bertin (Fausto), and Schubert (complete symphonies). 

The recreation of these works goes hand in hand with close collaboration with directors and choreographers such as Pierre Audi, Jean-Marie Villégier, David McVicar, Eric Vigner, Ludovic Lagarde, Mariame Clément, Jean-Pierre Vincent, Macha Makeïeff, Laura Scozzi, Natalie van Parys, Marcial di Fonzo Bo, Claus Guth, Robert Carsen, David Hermann, Christof Loy, Jetske Mijnssen, Alban Richard, David Lescot, Phia Ménard, Calixto Bieito, Laurent Pelly, Jeanne Desoubeaux, Damiano Michieletto, or Dmitri Tcherniakov. 

Besides the lyrical repertoire, the ensemble explores other musical genres such as the madrigal, cantata, air de cour, symphony, and the vast sacred repertoire (mass, motet, oratorio, leçons de ténèbres...). From season to season, Les Talens Lyriques perform worldwide, with ensembles ranging from a few musicians to over 60 performers of all generations. The new season of Les Talens Lyriques for 2024/25, titled "Myths and Stories," will be rich in emblematic works and rediscoveries. Under the direction of Christophe Rousset, the ensemble will explore mythological and legendary stories through six operas and an oratorio. The season will begin with Ifigenia in Aulide by Nicola Porpora, followed by Handel's Orlando and Giulio Cesare, Mozart's Mitridate, Gassmann's L’Opera seria, J.S. Bach's Easter Oratorio, and Lully's Proserpine. Concurrently, Les Talens Lyriques will offer a series of concerts and recitals highlighting notably a young generation of soloists: Paul Figuier and Zoltan Darago (alto), Ambroisine Bré (mezzo-soprano), Lysandre Châlon (bass-baritone), as well as loyal interpreters who will participate in the European and North American tours of the season. The rich discography of Les Talens Lyriques today includes over 100 recordings, published by Erato, Fnac Music, Auvidis, Decca, Naïve, Ambroisie, Virgin Classics, Ediciones Singulares (PBZ), Outhere, Château Versailles Spectacles (CVS), and Aparté. The ensemble also produced the famous soundtrack for Gérard Corbiau's film Farinelli (1994), which sold over a million copies. 

The new season will see the release of four albums for Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques: Airs de Cantates pour alto with Zoltan Darago (Aparté – September 2024) and the world premiere recreation of Antonio Salieri's Cublai, gran Kan de’ Tartari (Aparté – April 2025). The complete harpsichord pieces by François Couperin, recorded by Christophe Rousset, will finally be reissued in digital format (Harmonia Mundi – August 2024), followed by the release of The Complete Toccatas, magnificently concluding Christophe Rousset's exploration of J.S. Bach's keyboard corpus (Aparté - 4 October 2024). 

Since 2007, the ensemble has been committed to introducing students to music through an ambitious program of artistic activities and innovative educational initiatives. They are in residence in schools in Paris and Île-de-France, where they have notably created an orchestra class and a small Talens choir. The three educational apps t@lenschool, available for free download, are very popular and have won numerous French and international awards. Les Talens Lyriques have also launched a music project in palliative care at the Clinique de la Toussaint in Strasbourg. 

Les Talens Lyriques are supported by the Ministry of Culture-Drac Île-de-France, the City of Paris, and the Circle of Patrons. The ensemble thanks its Major Patrons: the Annenberg Foundation / GRoW – Gregory and Regina Annenberg Weingarten, Madame Aline Foriel-Destezet, and the Société Générale Corporate Foundation. 

The ensemble is regularly supported for its national and international outreach and its recording productions by the National Music Centre. Les Talens Lyriques have been associated artists in residence at the Singer-Polignac Foundation since 2011. Les Talens Lyriques are founding members of FEVIS (Federation of Specialized Vocal and Instrumental Ensembles) and PROFEDIM (Professional Union of Producers, Festivals, Ensembles, Independent Music Distributors). 

www.lestalenslyriques.com