Credits:

Federico Maria Sardelli, Florence May Music Festival Orchestra, Jean-François Lombard, Elena Garschagen

Description:

Lully's "Assis and Galatea" - Italian premiere and world premiere on film! When the shepherd Assis courts the beautiful sea nymph Galatea, she initially makes him impatient, but Galatea accepts his love. When the giant Polyphemos, who is infatuated with Galatea, appears and forces her to marry him, Galatea puts him off by saying that she needs her father's forgiveness. However, when Polyphemos finds Assis and Galatea on their way to the temple for the wedding, he learns that he has been cheated and throws a rock at Assis in anger, killing her.... The year before Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) passed away from an accidental illness, he composed "Assis et Galatea," a pastoral opera for a nobleman's feast in 1686, and it became his last completed opera. The work begins with a solemn overture in the French style, is followed by numerous songs and ballets, and concludes with a spectacular passacaglia, a masterpiece unique to Lully.This work was recorded as the first performance of the "Lully Project" launched by the City of Florence in 2022, the 390th anniversary of the composer's birth, with the aim of reviving Lully's works, which are extremely rarely performed in Italy despite his Florentine birth. The beautiful stage design by Banjaman Lazar and elegant ballets choreographed by Gutrun Skamrez are a delight to the eyes. The singers include Elena Harshani, who plays the role of Galatea with grace, and Jean-François Lombard, whose noble expression in the role of Assis is outstanding, as well as excellent young singers in the two title roles. The Florence May Festival Orchestra, led by master conductor Sardelli, who hits the floor with his conducting stick in homage to Lully, switches to period instruments for a performance full of liveliness and ancient elegance. Naxos Japan