Reviving rarities: Palazzetto Bru Zane's festival in Paris

Palazzetto Bru Zane's fifth festival in Paris, 7 to 19 June 2017, is full of rare delights, presenting some unusual and seldom seen 19th century French opera. The festival opens with a concert performance of Fromental Halévy's La reine de Chypre which debuted in 1841 six years after La Juive. Hervé Niquet conducts the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris with Véronique Gens as Catarina Cornaro and Marc Laho in the Gilbert Duprez role, Gérard. The performance is being recording for future issue on CD.

Other delights include Jean-Baptise Lemoyne's Phèdre which premiered at Fontainebleau in 1786. The piece is being staged at the Theatre des Bouffes du Nord directed by Marc Paquien with Le Concert de la Loge, and Judith van Wanroij in the title role. At the Opera Comique, Francois-Xavier Roth and Les Siecles are performing Saint-Saens Le Timbre d'Argent in a production directed by Guillaume Vincent with Edgaras Montvidas, Helene Guilmette and Tassis Christoyannis. Written in 1865, it wasn't premiered until 1877 (but with cuts) and the performances will be using a version prepared in 1914 by Saint-Saens.

There is lots more besides, full details from the Palazzetto Bru Zane website.