For this concert, the cast of the recording and stage version presented at the Royal Opera of the Palace of Versailles in 2023 has been recreated, with Stéphanie d'Oustrac giving a striking performance in the title role.
Among the most notable works in the history of opera, Lully's Armide occupies a special place. It was the last lyric tragedy by Lully and Quinault: undoubtedly the librettist's greatest dramatic success, and the culmination of the composer's musical tragedy project, who died the year after its creation. Never did language seem so beautiful and tragic in Lully's music, and the drama of this Christian knight falling in love with the Muslim sorceress who renounces killing him was so powerfully felt that it held the stage for a century!
