Opera Lafayette - Opera Lafayette History

Opera Lafayette is an American period instrument ensemble dedicated to performances of 17^th- and 18^th-century operas, particularly the French repertoire. Founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Ryan Brown, and now in its 13^th year, Opera Lafayette has garnered critical acclaim and a loyal following for its concert and staged opera productions with well-known American and international artists. Its collaborations with The New York Baroque Dance Company, the leading baroque dance group in this country, have produced world premiere musical and dance performances.

Opera Lafayette records for Naxos, and its debut recording of the 1774 Paris version of Gluck’s Orphée et Euridice was released internationally in 2005, followed by Sacchini’s Oedipe à Colone in 2006. Both receive a steady stream of international acclaim (read Reviews). The company’s latest recording, Rameau’s Extraits d’Airs d’Opéras with tenor Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, will be released in September, 2007, followed by Lully’s Armide (2008) and Rebel and Francoeur’s Zélindor, roi des Sylphes (2009).

With the 2007-2008 Season’s performances and recording of Zélindor, Opera Lafayette launches an extraordinary three-year project to present modern American premieres of three 18^th-century French operas in Washington, D.C. and New York City, and also to create the world premiere recordings of these operas. Each of the three seasons will feature a work with a significant 18^th-century performance history, and each showcases a different genre of French opera - opéra ballet, opéra comique, and tragédie lyrique. Together they will give a picture of the artistic imaginings which resonated with the public during this tumultuous period.

Concert in the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Opera Lafayette was founded by Artistic Director Ryan Brown in 1995 as The Violins of Lafayette, producing a series of chamber concerts in the Salon Doré, an 18^th-century drawing room in the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The ensemble quickly established a reputation for excellence, giving particular attention to opera in both semi-staged and concert performances. Among these were Charpentier’s Actéon; in 1999, Rameau’s Pygmalion in 2000, and Lully’s Acis et Galatée with The New York Baroque Dance Company at the Embassy of France.

The newly-named Opera Lafayette was presented on the 2001-2002 inaugural season of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland. Gluck’s Orphée et Euridice (1774 Paris version) with French tenor Jean-Paul Fouchécourt began a series of performances and recordings of 17^th- and 18^th-century opera at the Center. Also in the 2001-2002 season, Opera Lafayette performed sections of Charpentier and Moliere’s Le Malade Imaginaire in collaboration with the Redwoods Festival in California, following a tour of Handel’s Acis and Galatea in collaboration with The Four Nations Ensemble. In recent seasons, Opera Lafayette has produced Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie in concert, Haydn’s Il Mondo della Luna in a semi-staged production directed by Leon Major, and Mozart’s Idomeneo in concert with The New York Baroque Dance Company. Last season centered on The Armide Project, performances of two operatic masterpieces based on the same magnificent libretto, a concert performance with the New York Baroque Dance Company of Lully’s 1686 Armide and a fully staged production by director Leon Major of Gluck’s 1777 Armide.

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