Boston Early Music Festival Presents: Les Délices

Woman Scorned: Circé, Phèdre, and Armide

Founded by renowned oboist Debra Nagy in 2009, Les Délices has established a reputation for unique programs that are “thematically concise, richly expressive, and featuring composers few people have heard of” (The New York Times). They make their eagerly anticipated BEMF début in a fascinating program exploring themes of desire, jealousy, shame, and revenge by giving voice to the spurned lovers of antiquity. This program exalts in the wild, passionate music portraying characters such as Circé, Phèdre, and Armide while contemplating the somewhat misogynistic portrayals of the women in these works that can be far removed from their Classical origins. The remarkable selections are by Rebel, Bourgeois, Lully, Senaillé, and Blamont.