Credits:

Sebastien Dauce

Description:

England’s first true opera: Matthew Locke’s PsycheSubstantial instrumental writing, choruses and solos throughoutSbastien Dauc’s remarkable reconstruction is a notable achievement in itselfPsyche, a major work from the earliest years of English opera, arrives on disc. Locke’s Psyche (1675) was created in the wake of the enormous success of the French Psych (1671), the collaboration between Lully, Molire, Corneille and Quinault. Determined that it should stand comparison with opera on the Continent, its creators mounted it with the utmost lavishness, not only in its drama, song and dance but in its stage machinery and scenery as well. The vocal writing, the instrumental parts and the choruses are all substantial and richly worked, making for consistently rewarding listening.The catalyst was Lully’s Psych, premiered in 1671, created at the personal instigation of Louis XIV and a triumph in Fra