Les Musiciens du Louvre (literally The Musicians of the Louvre ) is a French period instrument ensemble, formed in 1982. Originally based in Paris, since 1996 it has been based in the Couvent des Minimes in Grenoble. The Guardian considers it one of the best orchestras in the world. [1]
Founded by Marc Minkowski in 1982, the ensemble was originally based in Paris. From 1987 it gained an international reputation as one of the best Baroque and classical ensembles. It has also made successful forays into the works of Offenbach, Berlioz and Bizet. In 1992, it inaugurated the Baroque music festival at the Palace of Versailles with Armide by Gluck, then in 1993 took part in the inauguration of the Opéra Nouvel in Lyon with Phaëton by Lully. 1993 also saw it win a Gramophone Award for Best Baroque Vocal Recording for its recording of San Giovanni Battista by Stradella. On its move to Grenoble in 1996 it merged with the Ensemble instrumental de Grenoble.
In 1999, the ensemble collaborated with photographer William Klein on Messiah , a film performance of Handel's celebrated oratorio with accompanying photographs and filmed images shot or assembled by director.
In 2004, on the reopening of the Maison de la Culture de Grenoble (renamed MC2) Les Musiciens du Louvre set up an 'atelier de création'. In 2005, they were the first French ensemble invited to play at the Salzburg Festival ( Mitridate, re di Ponto , reprised in the Mozart complete works festival in 2006).
In 2005, Marc Minkowski decided to set up the Atelier des musiciens du Louvre, a workshop aiming to increase partnership with regional artists and cultural figures and to increase public access to the orchestra's concerts via teaching and education projects, especially to the young.
Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble supports the renewal of Baroque music in France and more generally the use of period instruments and period style. The projet des Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble proposes a progressive and lyrical re-evaluation, from baroque music to modern music, and programming certain works which have been neglected for unjustifiable or obscure reasons. This project makes the ensemble one of the most evolved, inventive and original music groups in the world.
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 Danse des Sauvages from Les Indes galantes by Jean-Philippe Rameau on YouTube |
It is also well known for its rediscovery of works by Handel (its contribution to the Handelian repertoire is recognised as one of the most important in the world), Henry Purcell and Jean-Philippe Rameau, as well as by Haydn and Mozart, to mention the most important. This path has naturally led to later and later repertoire, favouring 19th century French music. It has participated in projects around Berlioz (Symphonie Fantastique, Nuit d'été, Harold en Italie) and Jacques Offenbach in particular (La Belle Hélène, La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein), but also around Georges Bizet ( Carmen and the music from L'Arlésienne ) and Gabriel Fauré (Musique de Théâtre). The 2008–2009 season also saw even later composers such as Wagner, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Stravinski.
Opera quickly took a major role in the orchestra's repertoire right from its foundation – they have won critical acclaim for their productions of Monteverdi ( The Coronation of Poppaea in 2000 at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence), Gluck (Armide in 1992), Mozart ( The Magic Flute at the Ruhr Triennale, The Abduction from the Seraglio at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, Mitridate in 2005 for their first Salzburg Festival appearance) but above all their productions of Iphigénie en Tauride by Gluck at the Opéra de Paris, Carmen by Bizet (May 2007), Die Feen by Wagner (March 2009) at the Théâtre du Châtelet and The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées. It has also toured in Eastern Europe, Asia, North America, South America and (in 2009) to Japan.
Vesselina Kasarova is a Bulgarian operatic mezzo-soprano.
Mireille Delunsch is a French soprano. She was born in Mulhouse, and studied musicology and voice at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg. Her debut was at the Opéra national du Rhin in Mulhouse, in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov.
Véronique Gens is a French operatic soprano. She has spent much of her career recording and performing Baroque music.
Lynne Dawson is an English soprano. She came to great prominence through her performance as a soloist in Libera me from Verdi's Requiem with the BBC Singers at Princess Diana's funeral in September 1997. Lynne Dawson has recorded over seventy-five CDs and has a varied concert and operatic repertoire.
Jean-Joseph de Mondonville, also known as Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville, was a French violinist and composer. He was a younger contemporary of Jean-Philippe Rameau and enjoyed great success in his day. Pierre-Louis Daquin claimed, "If I couldn't be Rameau, there's no one I would rather be than Mondonville".
Brett Polegato is an operatic baritone.
Marc Minkowski is a French conductor of classical music, especially known for his interpretations of French Baroque works. Minkowski was musical director of Mozartwoche in Salzburg, Austria, from 2013 to 2017 and was general director of the Opéra national de Bordeaux from 2016 to 2021. Minkowski is a Chevalier du Mérite.
Christophe Rousset is a French harpsichordist and conductor, who specializes in the performance of Baroque music on period instruments. He is also a musicologist, particularly of opera and European music of the 17th and 18th centuries and is the founder of the French music ensemble Les Talens Lyriques.
Jean-Paul Fouchécourt is a French tenor, mostly as an opera singer. He was born on 30 August 1958 at Blanzy in the Burgundy region. He is best known for singing French Baroque music, especially the parts called in French haute-contre, written for a very high tenor voice with no falsetto singing.
Sandrine Piau is a French soprano. She is particularly renowned in Baroque music although also excels in Romantic and modernist art songs. She has the versatility to perform works from Vivaldi, Handel, Mozart to Schumann, Debussy, and Poulenc. In addition to an active career in concerts and operas, she is prolific in studio recordings, primarily with Harmonia Mundi, Naïve, and Alpha since 2018.
The French musical ensemble Les Talens Lyriques was created in 1991 in Paris, France, by the harpsichordist and orchestral conductor Christophe Rousset. This instrumental and vocal formation derives its name from the subtitle of Les fêtes d'Hébé (1739) an opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau.
Bejun Mehta is an American countertenor. He has been awarded the Echo Klassik, the Gramophone Award, Le Diamant d’Opera Magazine, the Choc de Classica, the Traetta Prize, and been nominated for the Grammy Award, the Laurence Olivier Award, and the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik. Writing in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Michael Stallknecht called him "arguably the best counter tenor in the world today."
Marie-Nicole Lemieux, C.M., C.Q. is a Canadian contralto. In 2000, she became the first Canadian to win first prize at the Queen Elizabeth International Music Competition in Belgium.
Annick Massis is a French operatic soprano whose career is primarily based in Europe. She performed roles from various classical music eras, spanning from baroque, operas by Mozart, to 19th-century Italian and French repertoire.
Thierry Grégoire (Charleville-Mézières) is a French countertenor.
Jean-Christophe Keck is a French musicologist and conductor, born in Briançon, in 1964. He is particularly noted as a specialist in the works of Jacques Offenbach, and is the director of the complete critical edition in progress, named after both, Offenbach Edition Keck (OEK).
Les nuits d'été, Op. 7, is a song cycle by the French composer Hector Berlioz, setting six poems by Théophile Gautier. The cycle, completed in 1841, was originally for soloist and piano accompaniment. Berlioz orchestrated one of the songs in 1843 and did the same for the other five in 1856. The cycle was neglected for many years, but during the 20th century it became, and has remained, one of the composer's most popular works. Of the many recordings made in the 20th and 21st centuries, most are of the orchestrated version and are sung by a soprano or mezzo-soprano.
Bernard Deletré is a French operatic bass-baritone.
Gaëlle Arquez is a French operatic mezzo-soprano.
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