Cast
Amélie Raison Soprano
Anaïs Bertrand Alto
Paco Garcia Countertenor
Cyril Auvity Tenor
Victor Sicard Baritone
Le Poème Harmonique Choir and Orchestra
Vincent Dumestre Conductor
The programme of the show is available here.
Presentation
PROGRAMME
Anonyme
Te Deum - Plain chant
Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704)
Te Deum
Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687)
Te Deum
With his Te Deum, the Superintendent of the King's Music signed a major score, which established an official genre for a century. On 9 September 1677, in the Chapel of Fontainebleau, Lully conducted his Te Deum, composed for the christening of his eldest son, in the presence of Louis XIV, the child's godfather. The work is commensurate with the event: a masterpiece of musical architecture, the imposing orchestra requiring trumpets and timpani. The Te Deum remained the most performed religious work of its time: a royal wedding, a military victory, a cure for the king... 1677 was the year of Lully's most magnificent creations, composed for a monarch at the height of his glory, including the tragedy Atys, which became the " King's opera ". Of the ten or so performances of the Te Deum conducted by Lully, history has only remembered the one in the Church of the Feuillants, which caused the composer's death in 1687: it was while beating the bar that, carried away by zeal, he pierced his foot with the end of his cane. Lully died of gangrene on 22 March 1687, but his aura remained intact until the end of the monarchy.
Charpentier is the Angel of French Baroque music, but it is in the few years he spent in Italy in his youth that he developed his sense of pomp and circumstance as much as his sensitivity. The music he heard in Rome was demonstrative, colourful and profound, with many musicians placed throughout the church. In France, from 1661 onwards, Lully had turned the Grand Motet into a monument: Louis XIV's superintendent of music subsequently produced several masterpieces requiring all the musical forces available, including for his own Te Deum in 1677, which was particularly inspired and grandiose. It was in this vein of the Versailles ceremonial that Charpentier wrote the Te Deum that would make him famous in the twentieth century: performed for the military victory at Steinkerque in 1692, probably in the church of Saint-Louis-des-Jésuites, where Charpentier was the Maître de Chapelle, this work, which glorified the King's arms, was a great success, but was never performed before Louis XIV. Since its rediscovery, this powerful fresco, whose prelude opens with the timpani and trumpets’ martial rhythms, has come to symbolise the Grand Siècle of the arts, but also of Louis XIV's conquests.
Concert dedicated to the memory of Joëlle Broguet, Founder of ADOR - the Friends of the Royal Opera
Royal Chapel

Royal Chapel - Access map
Prices
Catégorie 3
Catégorie 2
Catégorie 1
Prestige
Prestige VIP
PRESTIGE VIP CATEGORY : Best seats in house with complimentary glass of champagne and programme.
PRESTIGE CATEGORY : Excellent seats with complimentary glass of champagne and programme.
REDUCED RATE applicable to under 26s, Chateau de Versailles Spectacles card holders and groups of more than 10 people (excluding special company offer).
To ensure the best welcome possible, people with limited mobility are advised to book their seats by telephone at +33 (0)1 30 83 78 89.
In case of any technical problem, the box office service remain available to complete your order by phone at +33 (0)1 30 83 78 89 (Monday-Friday from 11am to 6pm) or in our box office-shop (3 bis rue des Réservoirs, 78000 Versailles ; Monday-Friday from 11am to 6pm, and on Saturdays with concerts or shows except during the Musical Fountains Shows, from 2pm to 5pm).