Presto Recording of the Week
15th November 2024

Florian Sempey (baritone), Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Chœur de l'Opéra National de Bordeaux, Victor Jacob

Gretry: Richard Cœur-de-Lion, Act I. Ô Richard, Ô mon roi
Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor, Act I Scene 2. Quel air sombre / D’un amour qui me brave & À moi viens, ouvre tes ailes
Orff: Carmina Burana. II. In Taberna: No. 1, Estuans interius
Tchaikovsky: La Belle au bois dormant, Op. 66, Act I Scene 9. Finale
Orff: Carmina Burana. II. In Taberna: No. 3, Ego sum abbas & II. In Taberna: No. 4, In taberna quando sumus
Thomas, Ambroise: Hamlet, Act II. Ô vin, dissipe la tristesse
Romain Dumas: Les mirifiques aventures du Chevalier d'Eon. De Bourgogne je suis un fruit
Indy: Fervaal, Op, 40, Act III. Prélude
Gounod: Roméo et Juliette, CG 9, Act I. Mab, la reine des mensonges
Meyerbeer: Le pardon de Plöermel, Act I Scene 5. Ô puissante magie
Wagner: Tannhäuser, WWV 70, Act III. O du mein holder Abendstern
Tchaikovsky: La Belle au bois dormant, Op. 66, Act II Scene 10. Entracte et scène
Thomas, Ambroise: Hamlet, Act 5. La fatigue alourdit mes pas - Comme une pâle fleur
Tchaikovsky: The Enchantress, TH 9, Act III. What have I done?
Wagner: Lohengrin. Prelude

Following his Rossini recital (Alpha 791), Florian Sempey shares another of his passions: his enthusiasm for the world of knights and medieval narrative. For him, "a mysterious force emanates from castles and other antique buildings; their ancient stones have always fascinated me." Ferrum Splendidum (the Latin for 'Resplendent Metal') recalls the singer's ancestors, who were blacksmiths in the Perigord region. Though not following in that family tradition, Sempey concentrated instead on forging and moulding the metal of his brilliant baritone voice. Now a much sought-after opera soloist at the height of his art, he has devised a programme ranging widely through different heroic characters and operas, including Gretry's Richard the Lionheart, Hamlet by Ambroise Thomas, Meyerbeer's Le Pardon de Ploermel, as well as Tchaikovsky's opera The Enchantress, Wagner's Tannhauser, extracts from Carl Orff's famous neo-medieval cantata Carmina Burana, and even the premiere recording of a piece by Romain Dumas, Le Chevalier d'Eon, composed in 2019. Once again Florian teams up with the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine and its young maestro Victor Jacob, who was named a 'Revelation' in the conductor category at the 2023 Victoires de la musique awards.