Opera Lafayette Orch:Brown - Gretry: Le Magnifique

Andr�-Ernest-Modeste Gr�try was the greatest French composer of op�ra-comique in the eighteenth century. His librettist for Le Magnifique, Jean-Michel Sedaine, took a tale by La Fontaine and fashioned it into a compelling libretto. Gr�try responded with an outstanding score, including one of the first programmatic overtures in musical history. His expressive love music, and extended preludes and postludes, add to the theatrical variety of this important and varied opera.