La Rêveuse

Performing the music of the 17th and 18th centuries, the chamber group La Rêveuse has teamed with theater artists in innovative presentations. The group has recorded for the major labels Mirare and Harmonia Mundi. La Rêveuse was formed in 2004 by lutenist and theorbist Benjamin Perrot and viola da gamba player Florence Bolton, both dedicated early music freelancers who had performed with Le Poème Harmonique and other French historical instrument groups. As of the early 2020s, both retained leadership positions in the group, which has six core members but expands and contracts according to the requirements of the music being performed. The group specializes in music of the 17th and 18th centuries, mostly from France and England. Its name, meaning "The Dreaming Woman," comes from that of a dramatic work by 17th century composer Marin Marais. La Rêveuse released its debut album, featuring violin sonatas by Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, in 2010 on the Mirare label. La Rêveuse has appeared at leading French venues, including the Auditorium de Radio France, Les Concerts Parisiens, and the Théâtre de l’Athénée. The group has been a reliable draw at summer events such as the Chambord and Radio France Montpellier festivals and Les Folles Journées de Nantes. La Rêveuse has also toured abroad, performing around western Europe, Britain, and the U.S., and as far afield as Russia and Japan. The ensemble has also teamed with figures from the worlds of theater and literature to develop stage presentations covering material from various periods; these include L'Autre Monde ou les États et Empires de la Lune by Cyrano de Bergerac and Les Caractères de La Bruyère with the actor and director Benjamin Lazar, Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme by Molière and Lully with Catherine Hiegel and François Morel, and L'Heure verte, a show focusing on the poets of the Cabaret du Chat Noir, with the composer Vincent Bouchot. The group has also presented concert-lectures in museums that are designed to explore relationships between music and painting in the 17th and 18th centuries. La Rêveuse made several more albums for Mirare but moved to Harmonia Mundi in 2021 for the album Louis de Caix d'Hervelois: Dans le Sillage de Marin Marais. In 2023, La Rêveuse released the album Le Concert des Oiseaux on Harmonia Mundi. ~ James Manheim, Rovi