Perséphone (1934, rev. 1949):
Parte I - Perséphone ravie (Persephone Abducted)
Parte II - Perséphone auf Enfers (Persephone in the Underworld)
Parte III - Perséphone renaissante (Persephone Reborn)

Stravinsky’s Perséphone (1934) is a dynamic music-theatrical narration of the myth of Persephone’s abduction to the underworld and return to earth. The transparent, sober but evocative music epitomizes Stravinsky’s sensuous take on Neoclassicism, and the piece showcases Stravinsky’s eclectic, original and highly personal approach to music and musical drama through a playful mixture of several genres – melodrama, song, chorus, dance and pantomime. Ultimately, Perséphone offers Stravinsky’s second ode to spring, albeit without the brutal excesses of Le Sacre.

This album was recorded live during the Helsinki Festival 2017 with a star cast featuring English tenor Andrew Staples and French actress Pauline Cheviller. They join forces with the Finnish National Opera’s chorus, children’s chorus and orchestra, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, in a breath-taking performance that lifts out the piece’s transformative power.

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This album was recorded at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet, Helsinki by the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle on 11 August 2017 at the concert produced by Helsinki Festival.