Lully: Armide

One of the masterworks of French baroque opera, Armide was composed to a libretto based on the tragic poem “La Gerusalemme liberate.” It tells the story of an enchantress who falls in love with a Christian soldier and puts him under a spell in a fruitless attempt to make him love her in return. I won’t give away the ending. Lully’s music for this opera is among his greatest achievements as an opera composer, and it remains among the most popular of his many works for the stage. It’s been recorded many times, and this live performance by Les Talens Lyriques under Christophe Rousset is one of the best.