Landi: Il Santo Alessio

Stefano Landi's opera, first performed at the Palazzo Barberini in Rome in 1632, is recognised as the earliest opera on a historical, rather than mythological subject. This production by baroque theatre expert Benjamin Lazar was staged in Caen (where this performance was filmed) and Paris in October 2007, and was subsequently presented in concert form in London and New York. William Christie follows authentic Roman precedent by casting the opera entirely with male singers, including a chorus of choirboys and no less than eight countertenors.