Philidor: Les Femmes Vengées

The first performances of Les Femmes Vengées (The Avenged Women) in 1775 restored the fortunes of Francois-André Danican Philidor, which had been wavering since the great success of 'Tom Jones' a decade earlier. His opéra-comique, which foreshadows the plot of Mozart’s 'Così fan tutte' (Mozart had been in Paris during the first performances of Philidor’s work), offers delicious opportunities for mock-indignation and repartee in its arias and ensembles. This recording presents the complete music. There are cuts in the spoken dialogue (the complete text with spoken dialogue is available on Naxos’ website). This is high-class opéra-comique, essentially lighthearted, in the last quarter of the eighteenth-century. Ryan Brown and his ensemble are world-leaders in the performance of Philidor’s music.