Félicien David (1810-1876) was a student of Cherubini's; a contemporary of Liszt and the great Romantics Schumann, Mendelssohn, Wagner and Verdi, he wrote numerous operas. One of the most famous of these was the four-act Herculanum, first staged in 1859. The plot of the piece set against the backdrop of a looming natural catastrophe and its eventual devastation is a love drama of temptation and deception between the pagan Romans and the representatives of the new Christian faith. If we add that Satan appears in the story, first in disguise and later revealing himself, one can see how powerfully the expressive style of David's work uses the extreme devices of Romanticism. The core of the production's international cast of singers consists of three French artists - soprano Gabrielle Philiponet, mezzo-soprano Aude Extrémo, tenor Cyrille Dubois and baritone Thomas Dolié - along with American bass-baritone Douglas Williams. György Vashegyi, who started his highly significant journey of exploration into the French repertoire with Rameau and operas from the Baroque period, also leads Hungarian music listeners across Classical and Romantic landscapes conducting works by Méhul, Cherubini, David and others.

Presented by: Hungarian National Philharmonic