Vincent Dumestre and his ensemble Le Poeme Harmonique take us on a musical journey through the music of the Italian Renaissance to the beautiful Palazzo Farnese in Rome. On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, the baroque ensemble together with French mezzo-soprano Eva Zaicik pays homage to the unique musicality and sensitivity of Bellerofonte Castaldi and his contemporaries Monteverdi and Frescobaldi, as well as Rossi, Buonamente and Uccellini.
Caligula
The Théâtre d’Arras unearthed a hidden treasure of opera history, Giovanni Maria Pagliardi’s Baroque “melodrama” Caligula, and breathed new life into it: Mimmo Cuticchio’s and Alexandra Rübner’s spectacular staging uses magnificent marionettes to tell a captivating tale of the mad Roman emperor, accompanied by Vincent Dumestre and his ensemble Le Poème Harmonique. The “excellent musicians” (Le Monde), specialized in vocal and instrumental music of the 17th and early 18th century, could not be better suited for the versatile score with ist overflowing energy. They support six singers, “each one as exquisite as the next” (Mouvement), who are positioned on either side of the stage to voice the marionettes. “Want to travel in time and space? This Caligula is made for you!” (Télérama) “A show for young and old, not to be missed under any circumstances!” (Mouvement)