Les Trois Contre-tenors / Le Retour ! by Various, Lua 13 Márt 2023, Ó (2023/2023), Seoltóir Stefan Plewniak, Galerie des Glaces, Versailles, France

Presentation In Baroque Europe, the castrati had an extraordinary place as the first "stars" in the history of music. Almost all Italian and trained in the conservatories of Naples, they dedicated themselves to the opera career or to the service of the most prestigious princely chapels, from the Vatican to the Royal Chapel of Versailles, often combining both jobs. In many productions of operas and sacred oratorios, from Vienna to London, castrati were systematically given the title role (and in Rome all the female roles) and several important roles, creating a veritable competition on the stage: it was an escalation of virtuosity and emotion between the singers, of which the audience was the arbiter by its demands for encore performances, and then by the lavish gifts offered to the most admired singers. The opera was regularly supplemented by the "suitcase" arias that the most sought-after castrati brought with them to shine. And what if three of the best performers of our time were also to take part in this Virtuosity Competition? Samuel Mariño (born in Caracas), Eric Jurenas (born in United States) and Siman Chung (born in Busas, South Korea). Virtuoso arias, love duets and combative trios parade under the pen of the masters Handel, Ariosti, Porpora and Vinci, who made the castrati triumph. Each spectator can find his or her champion! A Les Productions de l'Opéra Royal production