A Moment's Oblivion
Acclaimed tenor Nicholas Phan joins Les Délices for A Moment’s Oblivion, the first installment in Les Délices’ three-year Mythology Project. This fascinating program pairs Baroque cantatas that posit forgetting as a balm (Montéclair’s La Bergère and Le Dépit généreux) and instrumental works that take listeners on a journey seeking truth or resolution (Marais’ beguiling Labyrinth and Couperin’s famous Mysterious Barricades) with a new commission from Vietnamese-American composer Viet Cuong. Based on a Confucian myth, Cuong’s A Moment’s Oblivion explores the effects of a mysterious illness, experimental treatments, and miraculous recovery on a patient and their community.