Shanghai gets a rare taste of Versailles' musical opulence as the palace's resident orchestra teams up with three extraordinary countertenors for an evening of forgotten Baroque treasures. From ceremonial splendor to vocal pyrotechnics, this is 18th-century French court culture reimagined for modern audiences.

The historic Versailles Royal Opera Orchestra returns to Shanghai with three exceptional countertenors for an evening of Baroque splendor. Following their acclaimed performance celebrating 60 years of Franco-Chinese diplomatic relations in 2024, this ensemble - hailing from UNESCO-listed Versailles Palace - presents a program of Lully's ceremonial marches and rare Handel arias, showcasing the golden age of French court music.

Program

• Jean-Baptiste Lully - Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, LWV 43: Marche pour la cérémonie des Turcs
• Attilio Ariosti - Il Vespasiano: Ouverture
• Johann Adolf Hasse - La Spartana Generosa, Act I Scene 2: Aria "Sagace è la mano" (Acrotato)
• Georg Friedrich Händel - Tolomeo, re d'Egitto, HWV 25, Act 3: "Stille amare"
• Carl Heinrich Graun - Cleopatra e Cesare, Act 1: "Tra le procelle assorto"
• Georg Friedrich Händel - Berenice, HWV 38, Act 1: "Se il mio amor fu il tuo delitto"
• Nicola Porpora - Polifemo: Scena ultima terzetto "La gioia immortal che alletta"
• Georg Friedrich Händel - Solomon, HWV 67, Act 3: "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba"
• Georg Friedrich Händel - Rinaldo, HWV 7a, Act 1: "Venti, turbini, prestate"
• Nicola Porpora - Polifemo, Act 3: "Alto Giove"
• Georg Friedrich Händel - Arminio, HWV 36, Act 2: "Quella fiamma, ch'il petto m'accende"
• Nicola Porpora - Germanico in Germania, Act 2: "Temi lo sdegno mio, perfido traditore"

*Program is subject to change

Featured Artists

Stefan Plewniak: Music Director, Baroque specialist who recorded Handel with Jakub Józef Orliński

Samuel Mariño: "One of opera's rarest voices" (The Guardian), 2022 Opus Klassik nominee

Filippo Mineccia: Leading interpreter of castrato repertoire, regular at La Scala

Meili Li: China's pioneering countertenor, 2016 Farinelli Prize winner

About Versailles Royal Opera

Built for Louis XIV's court spectacles, this 1770 wooden-marble opera house hosted royal weddings and Napoleon III's state banquets. Its resident orchestra maintains 100 annual performances while running the Château de Versailles Spectacles label, 2022 ICMA Label of the Year.

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