Various Composers - Reines (Véronique Gens)

Information

1. Antoine Dauvergne - Polyxène: Tremblement de terre
2. Jean-Philippe Rameau - Hippolyte et Aricie, RCT 43: Quelle plainte en ces lieux m'appelle
3. Antoine Dauvergne - Hercule mourant: Marche funèbre
4. Antoine Dauvergne - Hercule mourant: Dieu, grand dieu sois sensible
5. François Francoeur - Scanderberg, Prologue: Ouverture
6. François-Joseph Salomon - Médée et Jason: Prête à porter d'horribles coups
7. Henry Desmarest - Renaud, ou la suite d'Armide: Ah ! Ne puis-je savoir
8. Henry Desmarest - Renaud, ou la suite d'Armide: Où s'égarent mes pas
9. Henry Desmarest - Renaud, ou la suite d'Armide: Dans notre empire
10. Henry Desmarest - Renaud, ou la suite d'Armide: Tremble Armide
11. André Cardinal Destouches - Callirhoé: Premier air pour les sacrificateurs
12. Pancrace Royer - Zaïde, reine de Grenade: Tyrans des cœurs
13. André Cardinal Destouches - Callirhoé: Deuxième air pour les sacrificateurs
14. Antoine Dauvergne - Canente: Sombre déesse du silence
15. Joseph Valette de Montigny - Chœur du sommeil
16. Jean-Baptiste Stuck - Méléagre: Quel charme me retient
17. Jean-Baptiste Stuck - Méléagre: Gouffres qui conduisez
18. Jean-Philippe Rameau - Dardanus, RCT 35: Air tendre
19. Jean-Philippe Rameau - Zoroastre, RCT 62: Amour, cruel amour
20. Jean-Philippe Rameau - Acanthe et Céphise, RCT 29: Menuet
21. Jean-Philippe Rameau - Dardanus, RCT 35: Air très vif
22. Michel Pignolet de Montéclair - Jephté: Rigaudons
23. Michel Pignolet de Montéclair - Jephté: Canarie

Véronique Gens, soprano

Ensemble Les Surprises

Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas, conductor

Date: 2026

Label: Alpha Classics

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Following album Passion, soprano Véronique Gens reunites with Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas and the ensemble Les Surprises for a programme dedicated to the figure of the queen in 17th- and 18th-century French Baroque opera. These operatic heroines embody powerful and complex women, often caught between duty and personal passion, whose emotional depth reflects the dramatic richness of the genre. As Benoît Dratwicki of the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles notes, such roles demand music that is both intense and refined. Through works by composers including Rameau, Rebel, Dauvergne, Royer, Desmarest, Salomon, Stuck, Destouches, and Francœur—some now rarely performed—the album highlights the expressive grandeur and psychological nuance of these royal characters.

Born in 1966, Véronique Gens is one of France’s leading sopranos, acclaimed for her mastery of Mozart and the French operatic repertoire. After achieving prominence in Baroque music, she gained international fame as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni under Peter Brook and Claudio Abbado at Aix-en-Provence. Her repertoire spans major Mozart heroines and roles from Iphigénie en Tauride to Falstaff and Die Meistersinger. She performs at top opera houses including Paris, Vienna, Covent Garden, and Madrid. Voted Vocal Artist of the Year in 1999, Gens has over eighty acclaimed recordings, with several earning Gramophone and International Opera Awards for their artistry and refinement.

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