Handel - La Resurrezione - Le Banquet Céleste - Beaune

Following two enjoyable performances of Handel’s La Resurrezione (HWV 47) with Le Banquet Céleste in Rennes in March this year, it was great to rejoin this ensemble to reprise this work at the Beaune International Baroque Opera Festival (Festival international d'opéra baroque de Beaune) on Friday 11 July 2025. I have performed in this festival twice before: my first appearance was Handel’s L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato (HWV 55) with the Gabrieli Consort in 2013 and the second was an outdoor performance of Lully’s Alceste, ou Le triomphe d’Alcide with Les Talens Lyriques in 2017. It was great to be back. 

I travelled to Beaune entirely by train—or rather on five trains: Bedford to London, Eurostar to Paris, RER D to Gare de Lyon, TGV to Dijon, and a regional train from there to Beaune. Before leaving, I recorded several videos about my new range of 3D printed mutes (in the morning before departing) and I edited it all together on my laptop: this made the travel time go by very quickly, and I will definitely do this again on future travel days. The day seemed to whizz by. 

 

Beaune is a very beautiful place, and after launching my mute video online on the morning of the concert, I went for a walk into town during the warmest part of the day (c. 30ºC!). Despite the heat, it was a very enjoyable place to explore; this is a very picturesque and photogenic town.