Special offer. Lully: Atys
Mathias Vidal (Atys), Véronique Gens (Cybèle), Sandrine Piau (Sangaride), Tassis Christoyannis (Célénus) et al, Les Ambassadeurs ~ La Grande Écurie, Alexis Kossenko
Awards:
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BBC Music Magazine, March 2026, Opera Choice
Solo singers are handpicked for their likely vocal similarities to performers at the 1676 premiere. Véronique Gens (who was a deity on Christie's recording) is outstanding as Cybéle...If you...
Special offer. Lully: Atys
Mathias Vidal (Atys), Véronique Gens (Cybèle), Sandrine Piau (Sangaride), Tassis Christoyannis (Célénus) et al, Les Ambassadeurs ~ La Grande Écurie, Alexis Kossenko
Purchase product
Awards:
-
BBC Music Magazine, March 2026, Opera Choice
Solo singers are handpicked for their likely vocal similarities to performers at the 1676 premiere. Véronique Gens (who was a deity on Christie's recording) is outstanding as Cybéle...If you...
About
This new recording from March 2024 of Jean-Baptiste Lully's musical tragedy, premiered in Saint-Germain-en-Laye 348 years earlier, is the result of the most recent historical, musicological and organological research. The instructions in the 1676 libretto regarding the orchestra's layout, the number and distribution of musicians, and the instrumental colours, particularly of the wind instruments, have been scrupulously followed by Alexis Kossenko and Benoît Dratwicki, artistic director of the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles. The choice of soloists was as close as possible to the characteristics of the singers who performed the work when it was first created, as much is known about their vocal and theatrical qualities. This has resulted in a first-rate vocal ensemble, including Mathias Vidal, Véronique Gens, Sandrine Piau, Tassis Christoyannis, Hasnaa Bennani, Eléonore Pancrazi, Adrien Fournaison, David Witczak... as well as the Pages and Chantres du CMBV (bringing together children and adults) and Les Ambassadeurs - La Grande Écurie, all experts in this repertoire.
Contents and tracklist
- David Witczak, Virginie Thomas, Antonin Rondepierre, Éléonore Pancrazi, Marine Lafdal-Franc, Adrien Fournaison, Mathias Vidal, Hasnaa Bennani, Sandrine Piau, Véronique Gens, Tassis Christoyannis, François-Olivier Jean, Alban Robert, Benoît Porcherot, Thomas Lefrançois, Antoine Ageorges, Marcos Almeida Costa, Colin Isoir, Sacha Riera, Dario Jara Novoa, Emmanuel Papadopoulos, Brieuc de Brémond d'Ars, Martin Barigault, François Joron, Constance Palin, Madeleine Prunel, Carlos Rafael Porto, Marie Baron, Henri de Montalembert
- Les Ambassadeurs ~ La Grande Écurie, Les Pages et les Chantres du Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles
- Alexis Kossenko, Reinoud Van Mechelen
Awards and reviews
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BBC Music MagazineMarch 2026Opera Choice
March 2026
Solo singers are handpicked for their likely vocal similarities to performers at the 1676 premiere. Véronique Gens (who was a deity on Christie's recording) is outstanding as Cybéle...If you like your Lully authentic but a little edgy, this is the Atys for you.
March 2026
Cybèle is a part that could have been written for Véronique Gens...Alexis Kossenko, also billed as one of the flautists, directs his large forces with a keen attention to detail. The quasii-mprovisatory contribution of the continuo group is one among many delights.
28th January 2026
The present recorded performance is the third to be released on the market within two years. In some respects, Alexis Kossenko’s account with his ensemble Les Ambassadeurs and some lustrous French singers (Véronique Gens, Sandrine Piau) is the best yet. Listen to the overture’s vigour and thrust: key qualities if Lully’s music is to reveal its full potential and move beyond the decorative and courtly.
