With Thésée, Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques continue their tour of Lully’s operas, in which they have become specialists.

Lully’s third musical tragedy, and one of the least recorded, Thésée recounts the hero’s youth, long before his battle with the Minotaur or his intrigues with Ariadne and Phèdre.

The story takes the listener on a journey through a series of changing settings - from the underworld to the island of paradise, from Versailles to Athens - supported by the incredible vocal eloquence of Lully’s music, underpinned by a constant and hitherto unrivalled tension.

At the centre of the drama, Karine Deshayes sings a flamboyant Médée, a pugnacious and tragic figure, guiding the listener through the most enraged opera in Lully’s catalogue.

Matthias Vidal and Deborah Cachet portray a most poignant Thésée / Eglé, giving the duets all their dramatic power.

Médée’s emblematic aria ("Dépit mortel, transport jaloux") alone captures the movement and wizardry that run through the entire work.

Cast:
- Thésée: Mathias Vidal
- Médée: Karine Deshayes
- Églé: Deborah Cachet
- Cléone, Cérès, une bergère: Marie Lys
- Minerve, la Grande Prêtresse de Minerve, une divinité: Bénédicte Tauran
- Dorine, Vénus, une bergère, une divinité: Thaïs Raï-Westphal
- Bacchus, un Plaisir, un Jeu, un berger, un vieillard, une divinité: Robert Getchell
- un Plaisir, un Jeu, un vieillard, un combattant, une divinité: Fabien Hyon
- Égée: Philippe Estèphe
- Arcas, Mars, un Plaisir, un Jeu: Guilhem Worms