William Lincoln Christie is an American-born French conductor and harpsichordist. He is a specialist in baroque and classical repertoire and is the founder of the ensemble Les Arts Florissants.
Almira, Königin von Castilien is Handel's first opera, composed when he was 19 years old. It was first performed in Hamburg in January 1705.
Christoph Graupner was a German composer and harpsichordist of late Baroque music who was a contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann and George Frideric Handel.
Patricia Petibon is a French soprano.
Les Arts Florissants is a Baroque musical ensemble in residence at the Théâtre de Caen in Caen, France. The organization was founded by conductor William Christie in 1979. The ensemble derives its name from the 1685 opera Les Arts florissants by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. The organization consists of a chamber orchestra of period instruments and a small vocal ensemble. Current notable members include soprano Danielle de Niese and tenor Paul Agnew, who has served as assistant conductor since 2007. Jonathan Cohen is also on the conducting staff; Christie remains the organization's artistic director.
Actéon (Actaeon) is a Pastorale in the form of a miniature tragédie en musique in six scenes by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Opus H.481 & H.481a, based on a Greek myth.
Paul Raymond O'Dette is an American lutenist, conductor, and musicologist specializing in early music.
Les arts florissants is a short chamber opera in five scenes by Marc-Antoine Charpentier.
Paul Agnew is a Scottish operatic tenor and conductor.
Classic Produktion Osnabrück is a record label founded in 1986 by Georg Ortmann and several others. Its declared mission is to fill niches in the recorded classical repertory, with an emphasis on romantic, late romantic, and 20th-century music. The label also aims to release complete cycles of recordings, such as complete sets of symphonies, concertos, chamber music, and so forth. It is the house label of online retailer jpc.
Céline Scheen is a Belgian classical soprano.
The Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) is a non-profit organization founded in 1980 in Boston, Massachusetts, to promote historical music performance. It arranges an annual Boston and New York City concert series, produces opera recordings, and organizes a biennial week-long Festival and Exhibition in Boston.
La descente d'Orphée aux enfers H.488 is an incomplete chamber opera in two acts by the French composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier. It was probably composed in early 1686 and performed either in the apartments of the Dauphin that spring or at Fontainebleau in the autumn. Charpentier himself sang the title role, joined by musicians of Mademoiselle de Guise and members of the Dauphin's little ensemble; it was Charpentier's last appearance with this ensemble.
Les plaisirs de Versailles H.480 is a short opera by the French composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier. It was intended for performance at the new courtly entertainment known as les appartements du roi devised by King Louis XIV and held in his own apartments at the palace of Versailles in 1682. At the time, Charpentier was composer for Louis, le Grand Dauphin, the king's son. The librettist is unknown.
Matthew White is a Canadian countertenor.
Robert Mealy is a performer and teacher of baroque violin. He holds a joint position at the Yale School of Music and the Department of Music of Yale University, where he directs the Yale Collegium Musicum and teaches classes in musical rhetoric and historically-informed performance. He has recorded over 50 CDs of early music, ranging from Hildegard of Bingen with Sequentia, to Renaissance consorts with the Boston Camerata, to Rameau operas with Les Arts Florissants. At home in New York, he is a frequent leader and soloist with the New York Collegium, Early Music New York, the Clarion Music Society, and the ARTEK early music ensemble.
Sébastien Daucé is a French conductor, born in Rennes (France) on 4 June 1980. He is artistic director and founder of Ensemble Correspondances, formed from alumni of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon.
Aaron Sheehan is an American vocal tenor and professor of music who has been described as one of "the leading Early Music singers in the world". He was one of the recipients of the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.
Sophie Daneman is a British soprano specializing in the baroque repertoire.
Mireille Lebel is a Canadian-born opera singer based in Berlin, Germany. Her voice is a lyrical mezzo with soprano colour in the high notes.
