Opera Lafayette is an American period instrument ensemble that specialises in French repertoire, rediscovers masterpieces, and creates a recorded legacy of its work. Founded in 1995 in Washington, DC, by conductor and artistic director Ryan Brown, Opera Lafayette has earned critical acclaim and a loyal following for its performances and recordings with international singers renowned for their interpretations of baroque and classical operas.

Opera Lafayette’s performances included Vivaldi’s Catone in Utica, Chabrier’s Une Éducation Manquée (An Incomplete Education), and Opera and the French Revolution: Three dramatic scenes from Œdipe à Colone by Antonio Sacchini, Sapho by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini (a modern première), and Médée by Luigi Cherubini.

At the invitation of Château de Versailles Spectacles, Opera Lafayette made its international début at the Opéra Royal in February 2012 with the modern world première of Monsigny’s Le Roi et le fermier. Opera Lafayette returned to Versailles for five sold-out performances of Mozart’s Così fan tutte and Philidor’s Les Femmes Vengées in January and February of 2014.

Opera Lafayette’s discography on the Naxos label has expanded to twelve releases, including Gluck’s Orphée et Euridice (2005), Sacchini’s Œdipe à Colone (2006), Rameau Operatic Arias (2007), Lully’s Armide (2008), Rebel and Francœur’s Zélindor, roi des Sylphes (2009), Monsigny’s Le Déserteur (2010), Philidor’s Sancho Pança (2011), Grétry’s Le Magnifique (2012), Monsigny’s Le Roi et le fermier (2012), Félicien David’s Lalla Roukh (2014), Philidor’s Les Femmes Vengées (2015), and Grétry’s L’épreuve villageoise (2016).

A Pilgrim’s Progress – Jeremy Siepmann talks to the conductor Ryan Brown

Photo: Louis Forget