Opera Lafayette is a baroque opera company based in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, that produces

French opera French opera is both the art of opera in France and opera in the French language. It is one of Europe's most important operatic traditions, containing works by composers of the stature of Rameau, Berlioz, Gounod, Bizet, Massenet, Debussy, Ra ...

s from the 17th and 18th centuries. It was founded in 1995 by Ryan Brown and is the only opera company to produce its full season in both Washington and New York City.

History

Specializing in French

Baroque opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

, Opera Lafayette was founded in Washington's

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...

neighborhood in 1994 by Ryan Brown as the Violins of Lafayette, named after the

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...

. It adopted its current name during 2001 and, in 2005, released its first recording on the

Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...

label,

Christoph Willibald Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; ; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period (music), classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of th ...

's '' Orphée et Euridice''. In 2012, Opera Lafayette staged its first international performance,

Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny (; – ) was a French composer and a member of the French Académie des Beaux-Arts (1813). He is considered alongside André Grétry and François-André Danican Philidor to have been the founder of a new musical gen ...

's ''

Le roi et le fermier ''Le roi et le fermier'' is a 1762 opéra-comique in 3 acts by Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny to a libretto by Michel-Jean Sedaine.Otto Jahn - 2013 Life of Mozart: - Volume 2 -p12 Sedaine was so interested in Monsigny that he intrusted all his oper ...

'' (''The King and the Farmer''); this "forgotten" Monsigny work was performed at the

Royal Opera of Versailles The Royal Opera of Versailles () is the main theatre and opera house of the Palace of Versailles. Designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, it is also known as the Théâtre Gabriel. The interior decoration by Augustin Pajou is constructed almost entirel ...

using recently discovered backdrops from a 1780 staging of the opera. An ensemble from the company performed aboard the French frigate ''Hermione'', a replica of the 32-gun ''Concorde'' class frigate that once ferried the Marquis de Lafayette to the United States, during its 2015 visit to

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

. According to the ''New York Times'', Opera Lafayette has "won consistent praise and loyal audiences for its historically informed productions of French Baroque operas using period instruments, appropriate costumes and elegant dancing". The paper has further described it as "a skillful purveyor of French Baroque operas", while ''DC Theatre Scene'' has said the company "should be considered a national treasure".

Organization

As of 2019, the opera's conductor and artistic director is Ryan Brown, Lisa Mion is the managing director, and Nizam Kettaneh and Dorsey C. Dunn are the co-chairs of the company's board of directors. The concertmaster of Opera Lafayette's orchestra is Jacob Ashworth. On July 20, 2023, Opera Lafayette announced the appointment of Patrick Dupré Quigley as Artistic Director Designate, effective immediately. Quigley will formally assume the Artistic Director role in 2025. The company performs a split season with performances in Washington at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

, and in New York at Frederick P. Rose Hall. In 2025, a collaboration between Opera Lafayette and OperaCréole plans to premiere

Edmond Dédé Edmond Dédé (November 20, 1827 – January 5, 1901) was an American musician and composer. A Free Negro, free-born Louisiana Creole people, Creole, he moved to Europe in 1855. He worked in Bordeaux for more than forty years, first as assistant ...

's opera ''Morgiane'', nearly 130 years after it was completed by the composer in 1887.

Discography

Opera Lafayette has released a few recordings, all on the Naxos label: # '' Orphée et Euridice'' by

(2005) # '' Oedipe à Colone'' by

Antonio Sacchini Antonio Maria Gasparo Gioacchino Sacchini (14 June 1730 – 6 October 1786) was an Italian classical period (music), classical era composer, best known for his operas. Sacchini was born in Florence, but raised in Naples, where he received his m ...

(2006) # ''Rameau Operatic Arias'' sung by

Jean-Paul Fouchécourt 2015 Jean-Paul Fouchécourt is a French tenor, mostly as an opera singer. He was born on 30 August 1958 at Blanzy in the Burgundy region. He is best known for singing French Baroque music, especially the parts called in French ''haute-contre'', ...

(2007) # '' Armide'' by

Jean-Baptiste Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( – 22 March 1687) was a French composer, dancer and instrumentalist of Italian birth, who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he spent most of his life working in the court o ...

(2008) # ''

Zélindor, roi des Sylphes ''Zélindor, roi des Sylphes'' () is an opera-ballet, a ''divertissement'' in one act, created at Versailles in 1745 by François Rebel to a libretto by François-Augustin Paradis de Moncrif. In March 1753 the ballet was revived and was the last s ...

'' by

François Rebel François Rebel (19 June 17017 November 1775) was a French composer of the Baroque era. Born in Paris, the son of the leading composer Jean-Féry Rebel, he was a child prodigy who became a violinist in the orchestra of the Paris Opera The Pari ...

and ''Le Trophée'' by

François Francoeur François Francœur (21 September 1698 – 5 August 1787) was a French composer and violinist from the late Baroque (music), Baroque era and the Classical period (music), Classical era. Biography François Francœur was born in Paris, the son ...

(2009) # '' Le déserteur'' by

(2010) # '' Sancho Pança'' by

François-André Danican Philidor François-André Danican Philidor (7 September 1726 – 31 August 1795), often referred to as André Danican Philidor during his lifetime, was a French composer and chess player. He contributed to the early development of the ''opéra comique''. ...

(2011) # ''

Le magnifique ''Le Magnifique'' (literally ''The Magnificent''; also known as ''The Man from Acapulco'') is a 1973 spy comedy, a French/Italian international co-production, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jacqueline Bisset and Vittorio Caprioli that was directe ...

'' by

André Grétry André Ernest Modeste Grétry (; baptised 11 February 1741; died 24 September 1813) was a composer from the Prince-Bishopric of Liège (present-day Belgium), who worked from 1767 onwards in France and took French nationality. He is most famous ...

(2012) # ''

'' by Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny (2013) # '' Lalla-Roukh'' by

Félicien David Félicien-César David (13 April 1810 – 29 August 1876) was a French composer. Biography Félicien David was born in Cadenet, and began to study music at the age of five under his father, whose death when the boy was six left him an impoverish ...

(2014) # '' Les femmes vengées'' by François-André Danican Philidor (2015) # ''

L'épreuve villageoise ''L’épreuve villageoise '' (''Trial in a Village'') is an opéra bouffon in two acts by André Grétry to a French libretto by Pierre Jean Baptiste Choudard Desforges, Pierre Desforges. It is a revision of a work called ''Théodore et Paulin'' ...

'', by André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry, 2016 # '' Les fêtes de l'Hymen et de l'Amour'', by Rameau # ''

Léonore, ou L'amour conjugal ''Léonore, ou L'Amour conjugal'' (Leonore, or marital love) is an opéra comique in two acts by Pierre Gaveaux after a libretto by Jean-Nicolas Bouilly. It was premiered on 19 February 1798 at the Théâtre Feydeau in Paris. Orchestra The or ...

'', by

Pierre Gaveaux Pierre Gaveaux (6 October 1760 – 5 February 1825) was a French operatic tenor and composer, notable for creating the role of Jason in Cherubini's ''Médée'' and for composing ''Léonore, ou L'amour conjugal'', the first operatic version of the ...

, 2018. Selections from the above recordings are included in the two CDs accompanying a Naxos book, ''A–Z of Opera, 2nd Edition''.

References

External links

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1994 Music companies based in Washington, D.C. Lafayette 1994 establishments in Washington, D.C. Performing arts in Washington, D.C.