William Christie, by Hiroyuki Ito/The New York Times

Les Arts Florissants at Alice Tully Hall, October 19, 2012
The New York Times, Oct. 22, 2012

Like the lede says, there are few things in life or art more reliable than the excellence of a concert by the eminent conductor William Christie and Les Arts Florissants. This one, an all-Charpentier affair presented as part of Lincoln Center's White Light Festival, was no exception. It also served to whet the appetite for the ensemble's performances of Charpentier's opera David et Jonathas at BAM next March, which my colleague Zachary Woolfe reviewed at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in July.

While you're poking around the Times site, here are two more tangentally related articles you won't want to miss: Steven Erlanger's vivid Saturday feature about Mr. Christie opening his opulent French garden to the public; and George Loomis's International Herald Tribune review of Charpentier's opera Médée, newly staged at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm, one of Mr. Christie's illustrious protégés.