Opera Lafayette presents Charpentier's Les Arts Florissants October 19, 2009

Charpentier’s "Les Arts Florissants," an intimate chamber opera written for an aristocratic 17th-century salon, is an allegory in which Music, Poetry, Architecture, and Painting are first threatened by Discord, and then allowed to flourish again with the arrival of Peace. Opera Lafayette’s concert performance with dance of this exquisite “Idylle en Musique” features Canadian soprano Nathalie Paulin and baritone William Sharp, with choreography by Catherine Turocy, Artistic Director of the New York Baroque Dance Company. The program opens with several short works written by Charpentier for Molière’s comedy "Le Mariage Forcé," featuring bass-baritone François Loup. Sung in French with English surtitles