Cast
Yánnis Kókkos — Stage director
Susan Graham — Didon
Anna Caterina Antonacci — Cassandre/Clio
Renata Pokupic — Anna
Gregory Kunde — Enée
Ludovic Tézier — Chorèbe
Nicolas Testé — Panthée
Stéphanie d'Oustrac — Ascagne
Lydia Koniardou — Andromaque
Donald Palumbo — Chorus director
Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique
Sir John Eliot Gardiner — Conductor
Program notes
Les Troyens, conducted by John Eliot Gardiner at the Théâtre du Châtelet in 2003, returned to mark the 200th anniversary of the composer, a highly acclaimed production that offers a revival in the masterpiece of Berlioz.
"Berlioz was the person who understood how orchestras became great," said John Eliot Gardiner: this production of The Trojans is a real revival because for the first time, the conductor mobilizes all period instruments desired by the composer.
The production is enhanced by a casting choice to give a musical performance great distinction: American mezzo-soprano Susan Graham who sang the role of Dido, Italian soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci in the role of Cassandra and the American tenor Gregory Kunde playing Aeneas.
In this "perfect marriage of text and music," the singers expressed poignantly all characters of pathos that spring (madness, despair...)