Les Talens Lyriques, named after the subtitle of Rameau’s opera ‘Les Fêtes d’Hébé’ (1739), was founded in 1991 by harpsichordist and conductor Christophe Rousset.
Championing a broad vocal and instrumental repertoire spanning from the early Baroque to the dawn of Romanticism, Les Talens Lyriques aims to shed new light on the great masterpieces of music history through the lens of rare or previously unreleased works. Their musicological and editorial work is a key priority for the ensemble and plays a major role in its reputation.
The ensemble’s repertoire ranges from Monteverdi (‘L’Incoronazione di Poppea’, ‘Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in patria’, ‘L’Orfeo’), Cavalli (‘La Didone’, ‘La Calisto’), Landi (‘La Morte d’Orfeo’), Pallavicino (‘Le amazzoni nell’isole fortunate’), Legrenzi (‘La divisione del Mondo’), to Händel (‘Scipione’, ‘Riccardo Primo’, ‘Rinaldo’, ‘Admeto’, ‘Giulio Cesare’, ‘Serse’, ‘Arianna in Creta’, ‘Tamerlano’, ‘Ariodante’, ‘Semele’, ‘Alcina’, ‘Agrippina’, ‘Saul’, ‘Messiah’, ‘Jephtha’, ‘Orlando’), through to Lully (‘Persée’, ‘Roland’, ‘Bellérophon’, ‘Phaéton’, ‘Amadis’, ‘Armide’, ‘Alceste’, ‘Isis’, ‘Thésée’, ‘Atys’, ‘Proserpine’, ‘Cadmus et Hermione’), Desmarest (‘Didon’, ‘Vénus et Adonis’), Mondonville (‘Les Fêtes de Paphos’), Cimarosa (‘Il Mercato di Malmantile’, ‘Il Matrimonio segreto’, ‘L’Olimpiade’), Traetta (‘Antigona’, ‘Ippolito ed Aricia’, ‘Ifigenia in Tauride’), Porpora (‘Ifigenia in Aulide’), Jommelli (‘Armida abbandonata’), Martín y Soler (‘La Capricciosa corretta’, ‘Il Tutore burlato’), Mozart (‘Mitridate’, ‘Die Entführung aus dem Serail’, ‘Così fan tutte’, ‘Die Zauberflöte’, ‘La clemenza di Tito’, ‘Ascanio in Alba’), Gassmann (‘L’Opera seria’), Salieri (‘La Grotta di Trofonio’, ‘Les Danaïdes’, ‘Les Horaces’, ‘Tarare’, ‘Armida’, ‘Cublai gran Kan de’ Tartari’), Rameau (‘Zoroastre’, ‘Castor et Pollux’, ‘Les Indes galantes’, ‘Platée’, ‘Pygmalion’), Gluck (‘Bauci e Filemone’, ‘Alceste’, ‘Orphée et Eurydice’, ‘Armide’), Beethoven, and finally Cherubini (‘Médée’), García (‘Il Califfo di Bagdad’), Berlioz, Massenet, Gounod (‘Faust’), Spontini (‘La Vestale’), Saint-Saëns, Louise Bertin (‘Fausto’), and even Schubert (complete symphonies).
The revival of these works goes hand-in-hand with close collaborations with stage directors and choreographers including Pierre Audi, Jean-Marie Villégier, David McVicar, Eric Vigner, Ludovic Lagarde, Mariame Clément, Jean-Pierre Vincent, Macha Makeïeff, Laura Scozzi, Natalie van Parys, Marcial di Fonzo Bo, Claus Guth, Robert Carsen, David Hermann, Christof Loy, Jetske Mijnssen, Alban Richard, David Lescot, Phia Ménard, Calixto Bieito, Laurent Pelly, Jeanne Desoubeaux, Damiano Michieletto, Dmitri Tcherniakov, and Max Emanuel Cenčić.
Beyond the operatic repertoire, the Ensemble explores other genres such as the madrigal, cantata, air de cour, symphony, and the vast sacred music repertoire (Masses, motets, oratorios, Tenebrae Lessons…). Season after season, Les Talens Lyriques performs around the world, in formations ranging from a handful of musicians to over sixty performers of all generations.
The 2025-26 season of Les Talens Lyriques is titled ‘Love Stories’. Christophe Rousset and the ensemble explore different facets of love through emblematic works and exciting rediscoveries: ‘Ifigenia in Tauride’ by Tommaso Traetta, ‘Orlando’ by Händel, ‘L’Opera seria’ by Gassmann, ‘Ascanio in Alba’ and ‘La Clemenza di Tito’ by Mozart. The season also sees the conclusion of the remarkable complete recording of Lully’s tragédies lyriques with ‘Cadmus et Hermione’, to be heard in concert at the Philharmonie de Paris.
A new partnership is also launching this season between the Ensemble, the Salle Cortot, and the École Normale de Musique de Paris: Les Talens Lyriques will offer public masterclasses and themed, annotated concerts.
Les Talens Lyriques now boasts a rich discography of over 100 recordings released on Erato, Fnac Music, Auvidis, Decca, Naïve, Ambroisie, Virgin Classics, Ediciones Singulares (PBZ), Outhere, Château Versailles Spectacles (CVS), and Aparté. The ensemble also recorded the famous soundtrack to Gérard Corbiau’s film ‘Farinelli’ (1994), which sold over one million copies.
The season will feature two new album releases: ‘Proserpine’ by Lully (Château de Versailles Spectacles) and ‘Ifigenia in Tauride’ by Tommaso Traetta (Aparté).
Since 2007, the ensemble has introduced students to music through a wide-ranging programme of ambitious artistic projects and innovative educational initiatives. Les Talens Lyriques have been in residence in schools across Paris and the Île-de-France region for over 15 years, running orchestra classes and a broad cultural outreach programme. Their three educational apps, t@lenschool, have generated great enthusiasm and have won multiple French and international awards.
Les Talens Lyriques have also launched a music therapy programme in the palliative care unit at the Toussaint Clinic in Strasbourg.