The ensemble Les Surprises, conducted by Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas.

Premiere album, released on March 13th, 2026.

I invite you to listen, in its radio premiere, to the album Reines by soprano Véronique Gens, an artist we recently heard as the goddess Cybele in Lully's opera Atys. This album was also produced by the Alpha label, released on March 13th, and we have included it in the Discs of the Year 2026 project. Another common thread is the collaboration with Benoît Dratwicki, Artistic Director of the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles, who notes that queens in opera are powerful women, often torn between duty and passion, possessing an inherent psychological depth and a range of emotions that align with the dramatic and theatrical effects of the stage, but above all contribute to the creation of intense and sophisticated music. The album Reines brings together arias, as well as orchestral and choral excerpts from French Baroque operas of the 17th and 18th centuries, from the Grand Siècle to the Enlightenment, drawn from works by composers (eleven in total) who were famous in their time but are now mostly little known, with the exception of the renowned Jean-Philippe Rameau. Alongside Véronique Gens, we hear the ensemble Les Surprises (choir and orchestra), led by conductor Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas, the ensemble's artistic director, working with its flexible configuration.

With admirable vocal freshness, Véronique Gens captivates us through this selection of arias that highlight her artistry, while she, in turn, lends the necessary distinction to the queens brought to life through her voice and delivery. Phèdre, Médée, Armide, and Zaïde are just a few of the sovereign figures portrayed. Each character is finely shaped, Véronique Gens impressing us with a range of moodsfrom vulnerability to sharp intensityin keeping with each queen's character and the dramatic context of the operas they belong to. Under Camboulas's direction, Les Surprises… offers no surprises, but rather, quite naturally, a rich, luxuriant accompaniment in the style that defined the glorious era from which these musical works originate.

We wish soprano Véronique Gens many musical years ahead, as today marks her birthday celebrating six decades of life.