Friday, July 31 – 9:00 p.m. / Valloire Church
Prima Donna Composers
performed by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera of the Palace of Versailles, conducted by Sophie de Bardonnèche and Justin Taylor, featuring Gwendoline Blondeel
Have you heard of Mademoiselle Laurant, Elisabeth-Louise Papavoine, Mademoiselle Duval, or Wilhelmine von Bayreuth? Probably not. And yet, they are all great composers: Laurant composed for the Grand Apartments of Versailles in 1690; Papavoine demonstrated inventiveness and passion in her cantata*Le Cabriolet*; Duval conducted her opera from the harpsichord at the Paris Opera at the age of 18; and Wilhelmine von Bayreuth composed a concerto for that same instrument. This program, which gives pride of place to singing, but also to the harpsichord and violin, invites us to rediscover a whole chapter of 18th-century musical life, giving a voice back to these forgotten female composers, starting with the most famous among them: Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre!
Programme
Works by Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Mademoiselle Duval, Wilhelmine von Bayreuth, Mademoiselle Laurant, ...
Cast
String Quintet with
Sophie de Bardonnèche, First Violin and Artistic Director
Theorbo, Viola da gamba
Justin Taylor, Harpsichord and Artistic Director
Gwendoline Blondeel, soprano
Orchestra of the Royal Opera of Versailles
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera of Versailles, founded in 2019, is a flexible ensemble specializing in a repertoire ranging from Baroque to Romantic, with a particular focus on the 17th and 18th centuries. It collaborates with renowned conductors (Gaétan Jarry, Stefan Plewniak...) and adapts to a variety of projects, from chamber music to opera.
For the 2025–2026 season, it will present more than 25 productions in Versailles and on tour, including works such as *Ariodante*, *Messiah*, and *Carmen*. The orchestra also performs at festivals (Bayreuth, Napa Valley) and through partnerships, such as the one with the Hanoi Opera. It actively participates in recordings for the Château de Versailles Spectacles label .
Gwendoline Blondeel
Trained first in Belgium and then in Switzerland, Gwendoline Blondeel was introduced to the public by William Christie in Mondoville’s *Titon et l’Aurore* in 2021. In that production, she already demonstrated her luminous tone, vocal mastery, and striking stage presence.
A highly sought-after performer of 17th- and 18th-century music, she has collaborated with such eminent conductors as Leonardo García Alarcón, Christophe Rousset, Diego Fasolis, Philippe Herreweghe, and Sébastien Daucé… and has performed at the world’s most prestigious venues: the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Beaune Festival, the Teatro Real in Madrid, and the Vienna Konzerthaus…
Sophie from Bardonnèche
Trained at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Sophie de Bardonnèche founded the ensemble Le Consort in 2015 with Théotime Langlois de Swarte, Justin Taylor, Louise Pierrard, and Hanna Salzenstein. The ensemble quickly gained recognition as one of the most important early music ensembles of its generation. Since 2016, Sophie has also been a member of William Christie’s ensemble Les Arts Florissants.
Her solo album *Destinées*, which brings ten French Baroque female composers back to life, has received a Diapason d’Or among other awards and will be featured at numerous festivals in 2026, including the Aix-en-Provence Easter Festival, the Folle Journée in Nantes, and the Oude Muziek Utrecht festival…
Justin Taylor
Since winning First Prize at the Musica Antiqua International Competition in Bruges in 2015, the young keyboardist has pursued a multifaceted career as a harpsichordist and pianist, both as a soloist and a chamber musician. A musician with a “joyful” style (Le Monde, Oct. 2024) whose “art of making the keyboard sing is simply astounding” (Classica, Oct. 2024), he has been nominated three times for the Victoires de la Musique (2017, 2024, 2025).Justin Taylor performs in the most prestigious venues in France and around the world: Philharmonie de Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Auditori de Barcelona, Festival de la Roque d’Anthéron, Library of Congress in Washington...