Opera Tickets Italy

The renowned French conductor and musician Hervé Niquet takes to the Venetian stage at the Gran Teatro La Fenice for a performance of works by Antoine Dauvergne, Étienne Nicolas Méhul and Marc-Antoine Charpentier in a varied and exciting programme. Conducting La Fenice's highly respected orchestra and choir, the concert begins with Persée: ouverture e danze by Dauvergne, followed by Méhul's Symphony No. 1 in G minor, with Te Deum in D Major H.146 by Charpentier serving as the finale. Niquet, who was born in 1957, has enjoyed an illustrious career specialising in French baroque music, notably choral forms.

Dauvergne was a French composer and violinist born in 1713, noted for his numerous ballet and operatic works. He was one of three composers who were commissioned to adapt Persée, an opera by Jean-Baptiste Lully and a libretto by Philippe Quinault. Widely seen at the time as Lully's masterpiece, Dauvergne collaborated on reviving it for the wedding of the future Louis XVI and his bride, Marie Antoinette, on 16 May 1770 at the newly built Royal Opera House at Versailles Palace. Niquet breathes new life into the 18th-century version of the opening overture and dance from the royal wedding.

The concert at La Fenice Opera House continues with a rendition of Méhul's first symphonic work. This dramatic piece is in the tradition of much French symphonic music that François-Joseph Gossec established and which the likes of Hector Berlioz, Camille Saint-Saëns, Ernest Chausson and César Franck continued. Consisting of four movements, Méhul began writing the symphony in 1808. Although the date of its premier is not fully established, it probably occurred around March 1809.

Charpentier's Te Deum in D Major follows. It is the type of so-called grand motet composition for which Niquet is particularly associated, a musical form that focuses on choral arrangements. Probably commissioned to celebrate the 1692 Battle of Steinkirk between French forces and those under the command of William of Orange during the Nine Year's War, this late 17th-century composition originally had six different arrangements of which four survive. The best-known section of music is the prelude which, today, serves as the signature tune of the Eurovision Song Contest. Written when Charpentier was serving as the music master for the Jesuits in Paris, his version of Te Deum is arranged for soloists, choir and orchestra. The date of its première is not known.

With such an expert in the French baroque style of music taking command of a top-quality orchestra and choir in Venice, these concerts at La Fenice are sure to delight all audience-goers.