Mondonville: Titon et l’Aurore
Soloists
Les Musiciens du Louvre
Mark Minkowski
For the last Baroque opera in this part of the project we go over to the other side of the Guerre des Bouffons. In fact this opera was was at the centre of the dispute and the story is, I don’t know how true it iw, that the French supporters guaranteed its success by arranging for the army to keep Italian supporters away from the premiere.
Be that as it may this opera deserved success on its own merits. Mondonville was said to be the only composer who could rival Rameau and one can see why. This has all the characteristics that one finds in a Rameau opera - innovative orchestration, dance music, rich textures, impressive choral sections and some heroic arias as well as some comic moments. Altogether it is a very impressive work which I am very glad to have heard. It took me a long time to appreciate French Baroque opera but now I find myself returning to it time and time again.
This is a suitable point to finish this part of the project in which I have been exploring 18th century opera. Next I am picking up where I left off in Italian opera and will be listening to some late 19th and early 20th century operas by the composers who followed Verdi.
