Following on logically from his complete cycle of Monteverdi madrigals, Paul Agnew â?? here both conductor and stage director â?? presents his intimate and â??sacredâ?? version of the composerâ??s first opera (and the first great opera in musical history). In a fine collective spirit, the singers and instrumentalists of Les Arts Florissants participate in the drama on equal terms, mingling in a single set that gives increased prominence to the (masterly) lighting and to the protagonists (overwhelmingly moving in their restrained movements and expressions): we are transported to the very heart of Monteverdiâ??s masterpiece, as if we had fallen into a painting by Nicolas Poussin, caught up in the mystical adventure of two lovers more mythical than ever. - I GEMELLI / EMILIANO GONZALEZ TORO / EMOKE BARATH