Lully: Ballets & recits italiens

Featuring

Emanuela Galli
Fabio Bonizzoni
Stefanie True
Yetzabel Arias Fernández
La Risonanza
Jean-Baptiste Lully

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Historical Context

When Lully arrived in France in 1646, the court already had many Italian composers invited by Cardinal Mazarin, who aimed to popularize Italian repertoire, especially opera.

Cultural Impact

The text of the Italian aria 'Di rigori armata il seno' from Lully's Ballet des Nations was reused two and a half centuries later by Hugo von Hofmannsthal in Richard Strauss's opera Der Rosenkavalier (1911).

Composition History

Lully actively participated in the productions of Francesco Cavalli's Italian operas Xersés (1660) and Ercole amante (1662) in Paris, composing the ballet entrées performed between acts.

Critical Reception

The success of the Italian scene 'Deh, piangete al pianto mio' from Lully's tragédie-ballet Psyché was such that a parody of the aria appeared thirty years later in a comedy.

Compositional Technique

Lully was particularly fascinated by the Italian lamento style, even using its structure in some of his French works, such as the 'Plainte de Vénus' in Ballet de Flore (1669).

Composer Biography

Jean-Baptiste Lully, though primarily associated with French music, began his career composing vocal music in the Italian style.

Composition History

The collaboration between Lully and Molière in the second half of the 1660s produced several comédies-ballet, a genre considered a forerunner of French opera.