Les Troyens (The Trojans) - Hector Berlioz
Information about the opera Les Troyens by Hector Berlioz, and the best recordings available on CD or DVD, or for download.
Berlioz's magnificent opera based on Virgil lasts for over five hours, and is often performed as two separate parts: La prise de Troie (The taking of Troy), and Les Troyens à Carthage (The Trojans at Carthage).
Synopsis
The opera is an epic music drama about the fall of Troy and the subsequent love affair between Dido and Aeneas.
Recommended recordings on CD
Davis/Vickers/Veasey (Philips 416 432-2)
A superb cast makes this the preferred version.
Wandsworth School Boys Choir, Royal Opera House Covent Garden Chorus, Royal Opera House Covent Garden Orchestra, conducted by Sir Colin Davis, 1969.
Cast: Jon Vickers (Aeneas), Josephine Veasey (Dido), Elisabeth Bainbridge (Cassandra), Berit Lindholm (Anna), Ryland Davies (Corebus).
Philips 416 432-2
Also included in the boxed set:
Berlioz: Complete Operas
Davis/Heppner/DeYoung (LSO Live LSO 0010)
Sets a high standard by which other performances will be judged.
London Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Colin Davis, 2000.
Cast: Ben Heppner (Aeneas), Michelle DeYoung (Dido), Petra Lang (Cassandra), Sara Mingardo (Anna), Peter Mattei (Corebus).
LSO Live LSO 0010
Recommended recordings on DVD
Gardiner/Kunde/Graham (Opus Arte OA 0900 D)
An outstanding production recorded live in 2003 at the Théâtre du Châtelet, and winner of the 2005 Gramophone Award for best DVD.
Monteverdi Choir, Choeur du Théâtre du Châtelet, Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, 2003.
Cast: Gregory Kunde (Aeneas), Susan Graham (Dido), Anna Caterina Antonacci (Cassandra), Renata Pokupic (Anna), Ludovic Tézier (Corebus).
Opus Arte OA 0900 D