Early Music Festival
27 February - 11 March 2018
In 2018, one of Hungary’s most significant historical music festivals offers a tastefully curated selection from the musical stages of the 17th-18th century once again.
Rameau’s opéra-ballet The Amorous Indies (Les Indes galantes), to be performed on 27 February, would never have came into existence if King Louis XV had not granted audience to a native American chief and his five companions in Paris, during their visit to France. The fantastic dance of the king’s guests inspired the composer, present at the time, so much that he immediately composed an orchestral suite entitled The Savages (Les Sauvages), followed by the merry and spectacular opera-ballet rich in characters (in 1735).
Well-known Moliére comedies, such as The Bourgeois Gentleman (Le Bourgeois gentilhomme), The Imaginary Invalid (Le Malade imaginaire) or Georges Dandin or the Confounded Husband (George Dandin ou le Mari confondu), primarily inspired Lully to create new theatre works. At the concert on 8 March, Rameau’s refined music can also be heard as performed by the extraordinarily talented soprano Rodica Vica and Musica Ricercata.
Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo is a veritable evergreen of early Baroque operas, performed on 10 March by two superstars, Roberto Villazón and Emőke Baráth in the leading roles. The 11 March performance of the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra will focus on the tragically short-lived Pergolesi who passed away at just 26.
