Opéra Magazine's June 2021 pick of the month: Cadmus et Hermione

Cadmus et Hermione at the Opéra-Comique in 2008

Every month, France's Opéra Magazine rates new recordings (CD and video) on a scale from 1 to 5 and dishes out the occasional 'Diamant' ('Diamond') to what it considers exceptional ones, for whatever reason. This month, its 'coup de coeur', complete with a 'Diamant', is a 2-CD set of Lully's Cadmus et Hermione conducted by Vincent Dumestre, on the Versailles Spectacles label.

The review begins (my translation): 'After the sumptuous production at the Opéra-Comique in January 2008, then the acclaimed release of the show on DVD by Alpha Classics, Vincent Dumestre now offers us a Cadmus and Hermione of rare quality, without the visual trappings. With the help of highly inspired singers, he has made up for his first approach, which was somewhat overdone and vocally under-cast. For, let us say it straight out, the voices assembled for this studio recording, in November 2019, are far more convincing than those we heard at the Opéra-Comique: Lully's first 'tragédie lyrique' (1673) is audibly transformed.'

I saw the production at the Salle Favart and posted about it at the time. I'm glad the voices on the CDs are better: I might buy them.

This is the cast:

Cadmus: Thomas Dolié. Arbas, Pan: Lisandro Abadie. Hermione: Adèle Charvet. Charité, Mélisse: Eva Zaïcik. Arcas, La Nourrice: Nicholas Scott. Draco, Mars: Virgile Ancely. Le Grand Sacrificateur, Jupiter: Guilhem Worms. Premier Prince Tyrien, Le Soleil: Enguerrand De Hys. Second Prince Tyrien: Olivier Fichet. L'Envie, Premier Africain: Benoit-Joseph Meier. Second Africain, Echion: Kaëlig Boché. L'Amour, Palès, Junon: Brenda Poupard. Aglante, Pallas, Hymen: Marine Lafdal-Franc. Ensemble Aedes, Le Poème Harmonique.

This link is to Opéra Magazine's article, in French.

And here's a promotional clip: