Pierre de Medicis

About

The then famous Polish composer and singer, grand-nephew of the last Polish king and born in his father’s Italian exile after the end of the Polish-Lithuanian alliance, had successive Tuscan and French citizenship. Highly esteemed in Paris and a friend of Rossini, he had great success with several operas, in particular this four-act grand opéra performed in the Salle Peletier, an astonishingly mature work. The plot revolves around the tragic end of Pierre/Piero (‘the Unfortunate’), son of the legendary Medici prince Lorenzo (‘the Magnificent’), who ended the Medici reign in Florence through his foolish actions. The wrong friends, the wrong beloved – who is faithful to his brother – and wrong actions lead to his downfall. Patrick Kabongo is an ideal choice for the title role as a Francophone tenor, Claudia Pavone is a soprano in top form and the rest of the cast is also top class. José Miguel Pérez-Sierra conducts this unique concert performance, including the interesting ballet music.