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: Louisville, Kentucky. LA Opera: Leonardo in El último sueño de Frida y Diego (2023, debut); Handelian Heroes with Les Talens Lyriques (2026).

Countertenor Key’mon Murrah, heralded by Opera News for the “resplendent, voluptuous tone throughout his enormous range and phrasing with the feel of fine silk,” continues to garner international acclaim for his “vocal acrobatics” and “mature artistry.” Already performing on major stages around the world, Murrah has quickly become one of the leading and versatile artists of this generation.

In the 2024/25 season, Murrah debuted with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl in performances of Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, led by Music Director Gustavo Dudamel. Further performances in the season include the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s Earth 2.0 with the Fort Worth Symphony (and later performances with Grand Rapids Symphony) and a recital at the Kennedy Center as the 2024 recipient of the Marian Anderson Award. He also made important debuts in France as Sesto in Giulio Cesare with Opéra National Capitole in Toulouse and as Sifare in Mozart’s Mitridate for Opéra Montpelier led by Philippe Jaroussky. Murrah finished his season with performances as Arbace in Artaserse with Haymarket Opera. In the summer of 2025, he is a soloist in the world premiere of Siddhartha, She by Christopher Theofanidis at the Aspen Music Festival.

The 2023/24 season saw Mr. Murrah make debuts at the Metropolitan Opera in El Niño as Countertenor 1, at LA Opera in El último sueño de Frida y Diego in the role of Leonardo, the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in Giulio Cesare in the role of Tolomeo, and the New Jersey Symphony in Handel’s Messiah. These performances followed a summer of appearances in Europe, where Mr. Murrah appeared with the Bavarian State Opera in Dido and Aeneas as the Sorceress, in concert at the Cologne Opera, and with Komische Oper Berlin as Hamor in Jeptha, for which the Morgen Post praised his “wonderfully supple voice.”

In the 2022/23 season, Mr. Murrah’s performances included his debut at the Bavarian State Opera in Dido and Aeneas, Handel's Messiah with St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the National Chorale, his debut with San Diego Opera in the world premiere of El último sueño de Frida y Diego, the title role in Xerxes for Detroit Opera, and the Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse in the Bach Christmas Oratorio.

In the 2021/22 season, Murrah debuted the title role in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice at Seattle Opera, where he also presented a solo recital. He also performed in Houston Grand Opera’s Giving Voice concert series, and appeared as a soloist with the Grand Rapids Symphony in the Bach B-Minor Mass. 

Mr. Murrah has performed with the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre and the Bluegrass Opera. He has sung the role of Tolomeo from Handel’s Giulio Cesare with the Red River Lyric Opera and Asprano in Vivaldi’s Montezuma with the America Baroque Opera Company.

Murrah is the 2023 first prize winner of the Giulio Gari Vocal Competition. In 2021, he was the winner of Houston Grand Opera’s 33rd Annual Concert of Arias, the grand prize winner of the Premiere Opera Foundation + NYIOP International Vocal Competition, and a finalist and encouragement award winner of Operalia.

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