Three years of preparation for a three-hour performance the impressive work of historical research and musical preparation led by Mathilde Etienne and Emiliano Gonzalez Toro, at the head of the ensemble I Gemelli, comes to fruition this March with the re-creation of Roland, an unjustly neglected work from Lully’s repertoire, at the Royal Opera of Versailles.
They are four: Roxana and Yaoré on violins, Suzanne on cello and Louise on harpsichord. Behind the Celtic myth of the “banshee”, they reinvent the concert experience with a freedom shaped as much by Baroque aesthetics as by the spirit of an Irish pub. Their album, to be released in September on Alpha Classics, will explore Venetian and Viennese repertoire.
At the head of Le Concert d’Astrée for a quarter of a century, Emmanuelle Haïm remains one of the major figures on the international baroque scene. This year, in addition to a busy European season, she has taken on the artistic direction of the first Handel Project Festival, the fruit of a long collaboration with the LA Phil, while also being involved in educational initiatives in northern of France.
