Jean-Marie Leclair’s Scylla et Glaucus provides an excellent opportunity for György Vashegyi, a luxury cast and music scholars at the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles to revisit the French Baroque operatic canon and emerge with a fresh new take on this established work, the violin virtuoso and composer’s single offering for the Paris Opéra. For this recording György Vashegyi has made use of the original performing manuscript of the batteur de mesure, one consequence being that the dramatic structure of the work is tightened: here, water-god Glaucus (Cyrille Dubois) convinces the reluctant nymph, Scylla (Judith van Wanroij) of his intentions towards her, but only once he has been to visit the wicked sorceress Circé (Véronique Gens) in search of magical assistance. A bad move, which culminates in a broken Glaucus looking out over the strait of Sicily towards a newly-formed rock formation... Called Scylla. Vashegyi’s Purcell Choir and Orfeo Orchestra, and supporting singers, are on hand to do justice to the resulting French Baroque emotional panoply of rustic and demonic dances, welcomed and spurned love arias, and choral and divine interventions.
