“Roland, an undoubted masterpiece, was among the last operas Lully composed. It shows an overall dramatic unity that brings it close to earlier works such as Thésée or Atys. And Armide, written after Roland, follows the same pattern. The epic vein has been abandoned here, as have all mythological elements, and the story is centered on the French paladin, nephew of Charlemagne, Roland, whose praises are sung in many literary works, the most famous of them being Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso. This vast poem also inspired Lully to compose the ballets Alcine (1610) and the Le Palais d’Alcine (1664). In Italy, Francesca Caccini based an opera on the poem: La Liberazione di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina (Florence, 1625). (…)”
Christophe Rousset Lausanne, december 2003
With the generous support of Rosalie and André Hoffmann, the Banque de Dépôts et de Gestion and the Ecole Polytechnique de Lausanne.
© Naïve/Ambroisie/Astrée
3 CD Ambroisie / AMB 9949 Recorded at the Opéra de Lausanne in January 2004 Released in 2004
