2022–2023 Season
BEMF Chamber Opera Series
Lully's Idylle sur la Paix & Charpentier's La Fête de Rueil
Paul O’Dette & Stephen Stubbs, Musical Directors
Gilbert Blin, Stage Director
Saturday, November 26, 2022 | 8PM
Sunday, November 27, 2022 | 3PM
NEC's Jordan Hall, Boston
The GRAMMY-winning BEMF Chamber Opera Series returns to the French Baroque with a Double Bill of music written for Louis XIV!
Lully’s Idylle sur la Paix and Charpentier’s La Fête de Rueil were each commissioned in 1685 for lavish garden parties planned by French courtiers to celebrate King Louis XIV. Both pieces feature an idyllic utopia where shepherds in the French countryside celebrate a recent truce “given” to Europe by the Sun King. The genius of Charpentier and Lully raises these formal tributes to musical masterpieces where dazzling singing combines with charming dances in a vivid depiction of the people’s desire for peace.
These splendid chamber operas are led by BEMF’s GRAMMY-winning Musical Directors Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs and acclaimed Stage Director Gilbert Blin. With an all-star roster of 26 singers, dancers, and instrumentalists, this all-new production featuring period-inspired staging and lavish costumes will truly be an entertainment fit for a King!
“Spellbinding.”
Production Photos
Photos by Kathy Wittman
Pre-Concert Talk
Program Book
Artists
Paul O’Dette & Stephen Stubbs, Musical Directors
Gilbert Blin, Stage Director
Robert Mealy, Concertmaster
Melinda Sullivan, Choreographer
Gwen van den Eijnde, Costume Designer
Kelly Martin, Lighting Designer
Kathleen Fay, Executive Producer
Boston Early Music Festival Vocal Ensemble
Danielle Reutter-Harrah, soprano
Teresa Wakim, soprano
Mireille Lebel, mezzo-soprano
Jason McStoots, tenor
James Reese, tenor
Aaron Sheehan, tenor
John Taylor Ward, bass-baritone
Jonathan Woody, bass-baritone
Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble
Robert Mealy & Cynthia Roberts, violin
Sarah Darling & Laura Jeppesen, viola
Phoebe Carrai, violoncello
Emi Ferguson & Andrea LeBlanc, traverso
Gonzalo X. Ruiz & Kathryn Montoya, oboe & recorder
Dominic Teresi, bassoon
David Morris, viola da gamba
Michael Sponseller, harpsichord
Paul O’Dette, theorbo
Stephen Stubbs, theorbo & Baroque guitar
Boston Early Music Festival Dance Company
Julian Donahue, Shaun Ferren, Caitlin Klinger & Sonam Tshedzom Tingkhye