For any enthusiast of Baroque music, the production of Lully's Armide at the Theatre des Champs Elysées, directed by William Christie and staged by Robert Carsen, was an exceptional event. The last and most successful collaboration between Lully and his librettist Quinault, Armide is the ideal of the genre as desired by Louis XIV: a tragic opera that achieves the perfect fusion of music, song and dance.

William Christie leads the orchestra and chorus of Les Arts Florissants and a dazzling cast. Stephanie D’Oustrac is the imperious sorceress Armida, overcome by the violence of a forbidden passion. The bewitching choreography is by Jean-Claude Gallotta.

Almost 25 years ago, William Christie and Les Arts Florissants gave a performance of Lully's Atys in what was a watershed for the Early Music movement. We have Christie and his groundbreaking colleagues to thank for the fact that in 2008, Robert Carsen's new production of Armide at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées - conducted by Christie - was one of the hottest tickets in town.

“Carsen has worked with Christie before, and his bristling intelligence is never in question. He opened this show with guides showing groups around Versailles. Tourists threaded in and out of the auditorium before bursting into song for the opening choruses in praise of the king. It was a magical moment, as the physical presence of the voices brought its own frisson of excitement. From here Carsen drew the public into the Baroque world… Christie and Les Arts Florissants offered a colorful, richly percussive reading. All the supporting singers were excellent...There was talent enough here to keep the Lully revival going strong for another twenty years.” - OperaNews.com

Cast:
- Stéphanie D’Oustrac (Armide)
- Paul Agnew (Renaud)
- Isabelle Druet (La Sagesse, Sidonie, Mélisse)
- Nathan Berg (Hidraot)
- Marc Mauillon (Ubalde Aronte)
- Marc Callaghan (Artémidore)
- Andrew Tortise (Le Chevalier Danois)
- Laurent Naouri (La Haine)
- Anders J Dahlin (Un Amant fortuné)