The Era of Madame de MAINTENON 

Opera Lafayette’s 2023-2024 season illuminates the Era of Madame de Maintenon, marking the conclusion of three consecutive Opera Lafayette seasons highlighting the relation of historical women in 18th century France to the musical life of their time. Madame de Maintenon was the last mistress and secret wife of Louis XIV, whose time at Versailles was characterized by private concerts and music of a religious nature. However, in the years on both sides of Louis XIV’s death in 1715, comedy and dance spectacle became popular as a reaction to the dour mood of the King’s final years. The various musical influences of this period would be felt for years to come and, as this season will reveal, still carry relevance today.

Full seasons performed in both
Washington, DC & New York City.

Mouret’s Les Fêtes de Thalie

((A MODERN PREMIERE))

Join us for the modern premiere of an opéra-ballet that broke the mold for its time by putting contemporary characters on stage. True to its innovative roots, this present-day retelling cleverly swaps the original muses' debate over the qualities of comedy and tragedy for composers, librettists, and choreographers debating which of their art forms garners the best reviews!

With renowned conductor Christophe Rousset on the podium and Catherine Turocy directing, this witty, joyful, female-centric tale will have you laughing and cheering until the end. Thalie promises to uphold Opera Lafayette’s reputation as "one of the most creatively game and artistically sound operations in the business."(The Washington Post). 

Thalie features a diverse and talented cast of American singers including Jonathan Woody (Opera Lafayette Artistic Associate), Angel Azzarra, Pascale Beaudin, Paulina Francisco, Scott Brunscheen, Jean Bernard Cerin, Patrick Kilbride, John Taylor Ward, and Ariana Wehr. The production also includes eight dancers led by choreographers Anuradha Nehru, Pragnya Thamire, Julian Donahue, Julia Bengtsson, and Caroline Copeland.

Upcoming Performances

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Terrace Theater
Washington, DC
Friday, May 3, 2024, 7:30pm
Saturday, May 4, 2024, 7:30pm
Pre-show discussion begins at 6:30pm both nights.
&
El Museo del Barrio
New York, NY
Tuesday, May 7, 2024, 6:00pm
Pre-show discussion begins at 5:00pm at El Café.

PROGRAM BOOK

This season our physical program books are available for purchase both online and in-person at our performances in May. For only $5, take home a commemorative piece of art and dive into the history and musical legacy of Madame de Maintenon featuring commissioned essays from leading scholars on our three productions performed throughout the season: Couperin le Grand, From Saint-Cyr to Cannons: Moreau and Handel's Esther, and Les Fêtes de Thalie.

You can also access the program book digitally with no paywall.

Cast

From Saint-Cyr to Cannons: Moreau and Handel’s Esther

This orchestral concert with vocalists includes works by Jean-Baptiste Moreau (1656-1733) and George Frederic Handel (1685-1759), both connected to French dramatist Jean Racine’s play Esther, based on the Old Testament story. Moreau wrote the incidental music for Racine’s Esther, which was first performed at Maintenon’s school for girls in 1689, while Handel’s version is known to be his first English oratorio. The concert will be co-directed by harpsichordist Justin Taylor and Opera Lafayette Artistic Associate Jonathan Woody (returning after his performance in Couperin le Grand).

Vocalists will include Paulina Francisco (Esther), Jesse Darden (Ahasuerus), Jonathan Woody (Haman), Jacob Perry (Tenor II), Paulina Francisco (Israelite Woman, Soprano I (Moreau)), Elisse Albian (Soprano, Soprano II (Moreau)), and Kristen Dubenion-Smith (Alto (Handel & Moreau)).

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES

St. Peter’s Church
619 Lexington Avenue. (at 54th Street)
New York, NY
Thursday, May 9, 2024, 7:00pm
Pre-show discussion begins at 6:00pm.

DIVE DEEPER

CAST

Couperin le Grand

This chamber music concert is devoted to the work of François Couperin (1668-1733) and his contemporaries who were influential in the time of Madame de Maintenon. The concert will feature the acclaimed harpsichordist and conductor Christophe Rousset (founder and director of one of France's most distinguished early music ensembles, Les Talens Lyriques) making his Opera Lafayette harpsichord debut in a concert including Opera Lafayette Artistic Associates Jacob Ashworth, violin and Jonathan Woody, and with Immanuel Davis, flute, and Joshua Keller, viol. The repertoire will include Ariane consolée par Bacchus, a Couperin cantata recently discovered by Rousset, in addition to works by Montéclair, and Clérambault.

PAST PERFORMANCES

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Terrace Theater
Washington, DC
Wednesday, October 25, 2023, 7:30pm
Pre-show discussion begins at 6:30pm.
&
Kosciuszko Foundation
New York, NY
Thursday, October 26, 7:00pm
Pre-show discussion begins at 6:00pm.

Opera Lafayette's educational team for this season includes Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Philip Kennicott (Art and Architecture Critic of The Washington Post), author Rebecca Harris Warrick (Cornell University, author of Dance and Drama in French Baroque Opera), and Benjamin Bernard (University of Virginia, author of Administering Morals in the French Enlightenment: Education, Sexuality, and Authority at the Parisian Collège, 1645-1763).