Gaveaux: Leonore

Brown coaxes a convincing account of Gaveaux’s score from his orchestra playing on authentic instruments…The cast of mostly young French Canadians works very much as an ensemble…But it’s Léonore... — BBC Music Magazine, March 2019, 3 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 30th Nov 2018
Catalogue No: 2110591
Label: Naxos

Gaveaux: Léonore, ou L’Amour conjugal

Kimy McLaren, Pascale Beaudin, Jean-Michel Richer, Keven Geddes, Dominique Côté, Tomislav Lavoie, Alexandre Sylvestre
Opera Lafayette
Ryan Brown

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A political prisoner awaits death in his cell. A woman puts herself in mortal danger to seek justice. With its atmosphere of revolution and tale of devotional romance and a dramatic rescue from captivity, Pierre Gaveaux’s Léonore, ou L’Amour conjugal was the direct forerunner to Beethoven’s Fidelio. Having been entirely overshadowed by its famous successor and lain hidden for centuries, this both darkly sombre and entertainingly celebratory opéra comique is seen here in an acclaimed modern premiere whose timeless and inspiring story of female heroism and political injustice is as relevant today as ever.

Reviews

March 2019

Brown coaxes a convincing account of Gaveaux’s score from his orchestra playing on authentic instruments…The cast of mostly young French Canadians works very much as an ensemble…But it’s Léonore who really matters and Kimy McLaren is a beguiling heroine who makes the most of her first act aria and then the duet with Florestan. Who wouldn’t hope to be rescued by this Fidelio?

February 2019

Gaveaux’s music, charming in the domestic scenes, attains real depth in the ominous introduction to Act 2…McLaren makes a believable Léonore/Fidélio: forthright, valiant, tender in the dungeon scene, and with bright, fearless top notes. Jean-Michel Richer as Florestan, improbably well groomed, is just as credible…The orchestra under Ryan Brown play with spirit. This is an enterprising and rewarding production, well worth 82 minutes of your time.

Gaveaux: Leonore

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