Recorded just before lockdown in 2020, the album “La Grotte de Versailles” mixes Lully’s music written for Philippe Quinault’s libretto with a particularly cruel comedy by Molière.
It was recorded in the Crusade Rooms set up by Louis-Philippe in the Château de Versailles around 1845 to pay tribute to the nobility after upheavals from the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror.
Love doesn’t triumph in Georges Dandin and marriage is viewed more like a market where feelings don’t come into play. This gritty comedy-ballet was created in Versailles in 1668 for the Great Royal Entertainment, a party held by Louis XIV to celebrate the peace treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle that brought the war between France and Spain to a close.
This album precedes a huge theatrical project by the Ensemble Marguerite Louise conducted by Gaétan Jarry. Featuring actors dressed in refined outfits by Christian Lacroix, the project will be directed by Michel Fau who is accustomed to nightmarish stage productions. The coronavirus pandemic has only added to the nightmare, forcing the programme to be postponed until 2021. This brilliant recording gives us a taster of the shows that will be held next year in Versailles, Compiègne and many other places. © François Hudry/Qobuz