[AMS-announce] ANNOUNCEMENT: Opera Lafayette to present "Zélindor, roi des Sylphes," North Bethesda, MD and NYC, October 2007

[ams-announce-admin at list.bowdoin.edu]

Opera Lafayette, a Washington, D.C.-based period 
instrument ensemble, will present the modern 
world premiere of Zélindor, roi des Sylphes 
(1745) by François Rebel and François Francoeur 
on Thursday, October 4, at Music Center at 
Strathmore in North Bethesda, Maryland, and on 
Wednesday, October 17, Rose Theater, Frederick P. 
Rose Hall, jazz at Lincoln Center on Broadway at 
60th Street, New York City.  It will be performed 
in concert with dance and feature The New York 
Baroque Dance Company, tenor Jean-Paul 
Fouchécourt, soprano Heidi Grant Murphy, baritone 
William Sharp, and the Opera Lafayette Chorus and 
Orchestra, conducted by Ryan Brown.  Both performances will start at 8:00 pm.

With Zélindor, Opera Lafayette launches an 
extraordinary three-year project to present 
modern American premieres of three 18th-century 
French operas in Washington, D.C. and New York 
City and also to create world premiere recordings 
of these operas. Each season will feature a work 
which enjoyed a significant performance history 
in the later half of the 18th century, and each 
showcases a different genre of French opera - 
opéra ballet, opéra comique, and tragédie 
lyrique.  Together they draw a picture of the 
artistic imaginings which resonated with the 
public during this tumultuous period.

Opera Lafayette is an American period instrument 
ensemble based in Washington, D.C., dedicated to 
performances of 17th- and 18th-century operas, 
particularly the French repertoire.  Now in its 
13th year, Opera Lafayette has garnered both 
critical acclaim and a loyal following for its 
concert and staged opera productions with 
well-known American and international 
artists.  Opera Lafayette records for Naxos and 
its discography includes Gluck's Orphée et 
Euridice (released in 2005), Sacchini's Oedipe à 
Colone (2006), and Rameau's Extraits d'Airs 
d'Opéras with tenor Jean-Paul Fouchécourt 
(scheduled for release in September 2007).  These 
will be followed by Lully's Armide (2008) and 
Rebel and Francoeur's Zélindor, roi des Sylphes, 
the world premiere recording, in 2009.  Ryan 
Brown is the conductor and artistic director of Opera Lafayette.

For tickets and other information about Opera 
Lafayette, please visit online at 
www.operalafayette.org or call (202) 546-9332.