Christophe Rousset conducts Montéclair, Corelli, Scarlatti, Handel — With Sandrine Piau

In the intimate, candlelit atmosphere of Bayreuth's St. George's Church, a group of the world's finest Baroque interpreters comes together for an unforgettable evening at the Bayreuth Baroque Opera Festival! Soprano Sandrine Piau, harpsichordist and conductor Christophe Rousset, and Rousset's world-renowned ensemble Les Talens Lyriques present a program of concertos and secular cantatas created in 17th- and 18th-century Rome by Handel, Arcangelo Corelli, Alessandro Scarlatti, and French composer Michel Pignolet de Montéclair.

Sandrine Piau uses her superb soprano voice and extraordinary stage presence to give the tragic heroines of Roman history a chance to tell their stories in song. She first brings to life the heartbreaking role of Michel Pignolet de Montéclair's Lucretia, raped by the son of the Roman king Tarquin and driven to take her own life. Later, she tells the tale of Agrippina, that of a mother put to death by her own son Nero, in Handel's cantata Agrippina condota a morire (Agrippina condemned to die), based on the same source as his opera Agrippina. Between these finely wrought cris de cœur, the orchestra performs Arcangelo Corelli's serene Concerto Grosso No. 6 and the charming Sonata a quattro in F by Alessandro Scarlatti.