Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre's Cephale et Procris: Opera Matinee Thursday 7 March

[doversoul1]

Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre was a child prodigy and performed on the harpsichord at a young age before the French king, Louis XIV. She was one of the few well-known female composers of her time, and today we hear her 1694 opera Céphale et Procris, first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique. This five-act tragédie lyrique was the first opera written by a woman in France.

Presented by Kate Molleson

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0002zg3

[french frank]

Looks as if it's this very one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsEepShZEPo

(Thinks: Cannot be that many performances to choose from …)

[BBMmk2]

This is very good News!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

This is very good News!

[vinteuil]

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... the story-line of the myth of Cephalus & Procris is pretty untidy - one of the more baffling -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cephalus_of_Phocis

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procris

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Jacquet de La Guerre's version simplifies things a bit -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9phale_et_Procris_(Jacquet_de_la_Guerre)

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[MickyD]

I'll catch up on this tomorrow. Have just finished listening to Elizabeth Farr's Naxos recording of the complete harpsichord works - by far my favourite version on account of the spacious recording given to her by producer Wolfgang Rubsam. A really lovely couple of discs.

[Bella Kemp]

This was wonderful.

[doversoul1]

I’m sure this will sound appalling to serious opera listeners/goers but I very much enjoyed this just listening to the music. The plot sounded like an excuse for the composer to show off her talent. I thought both the singers and the ensemble were excellent.