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Pergolesi, Stabat Mater for Two Castrati
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April 2026 | ||||||
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Pergolesi: Stabat Mater for Two Castrati | Concert
Two countertenors for an iconic work: Pergolesi's Stabat Mater. This performance revives the history of the French premiere of the piece, originally sung by two castrati from the Royal Chapel of Louis XV!
Pergolesi, just months before his death at the age of twenty-six, was commissioned to compose a new Stabat Mater to replace an earlier version by Alessandro Scarlatti. Afflicted by illness, he expressed the Virgin's suffering in a language of passion borrowed from opera. Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, composed in 1736, is one of the emblematic works of the Baroque. It left a deep impression on the musical world of the 18th century, particularly in France.
The Italian castrati of the Royal Chapel of Versailles (Louis XIV had brought eight of them from Italy as early as 1679 for sacred music) had themselves brought the score from Italy and became its passionate promoters, both at the Court of Louis XV and at the Concert Spirituel. Upon discovering Pergolesi’s Stabat, Paris was enthralled and recognized it as the revolutionary work of a Neapolitan genius—tragically lost so young. Its success continued throughout the entire century.
To bring the full splendor to this sumptuous duet of angelic voices lamenting Mary's sorrow at the foot of the Cross, two performers are needed who can blend their timbres in the spirit of the Neapolitan castrati for whom the music was originally written.
Nicolò Balducci and Rémy Brès-Feuillet will be accompanied by the Orchestra of the Opéra Royal, conducted by Chloé de Guillebon.
Produced by Les Productions de l’Opéra Royal.
CD available in the Château de Versailles Spectacles collection.
Prestige VIP – Best seats in the house, including a glass of champagne and the show program.
Prestige – Includes a complimentary glass of champagne.
Program and cast
Nicolò Balducci and Rémy Brès-Feuillet, Countertenors
Orchestre de l’Opéra Royal
Chloé de Guillebon, Conductor
Programme
Stabat Mater pour deux castrats
Candlelight concert.
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
In furore iustissimae irae
Stabat Mater
Jean-Baptiste Pergolèse (1710-1736)
Stabat Mater
Royal Chapel of Versailles
The Royal Chapel was finished in 1710 at the end of Louis XIV’s reign. Jules Hardouin-Mansart proposed the plan to the King in 1669. The First Architect died in 1708 without seeing the end of the works which were taken over by his brother-in-law Robert De Cotte. The reigning monarch only came for major religious festivals where he received communion, for ceremonies of the Order of Saint-Esprit, for the baptisms and weddings of the royal children celebrated from 1710 to 1789. This exceptional palatine chapel was also used for a wide range of religious ceremonies, including the marriage of Archduchess Marie-Antoinette with the future Louis XVI.
Above the altar, around the organ by Clicquot decorated with a fine relief of King David, played by great masters like François Couperin, the Chapel’s music, famous all over Europe, sung motets everyday during all religious services. Today Handel’s Dixit Dominus or Messiah, Bach’s Oratorios, Magnificat, Cantatas or Passions, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater or Charpentier’s Te Deum ring out in this majestic architecture.
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