This week, it’s Carnival in Venice… and in Rennes! Concerts in Herrenhausen… and in Helsinki! Not to mention opera, as always, in Karlsruhe! 
Tour of Le Carnaval de Venise by the co[opéra]tive
A great success for André Campra’s opera-ballet, staged by visual artists Yvan Clédat and Coco Petitpierre, with music by Il Caravaggio Ensemble under Camille Delaforge. The production —co-produced by the Versailles Center for Baroque Music and the associated opera houses of the co[opéra]tive— is currently on tour in France in March and April (Brest, Rennes, Quimper, Nantes).
With Yvan Clédat and Coco Petitpierre, Il Caravaggio Ensemble, Camille Delaforge, the co[opéra]tive, and the Versailles Centre for Baroque Music.
Carnival at the Palazzo Labia (Venice)
On February 21, the American foundation Save Venice Inc. held its grand costumed Carnival gala at the Palazzo Labia, attended by actor Jeremy Irons. The evening’s proceeds were dedicated to the future restoration of Tiepolo’s frescoes at the Palazzo Labia. Save Venice Inc. is the leading American nonprofit organization devoted to preserving Venice’s artistic heritage. Since 1971, it has funded the conservation of nearly 2,000 artworks. For the occasion, singers Liesl Odenweller and Caterina Chiarcos, along with the Venice Music Project Ensemble, performed arias and concertos by Vivaldi, Handel, and Monteverdi.
With Liesl Odenweller, Caterina Chiarcos, Venice Music Project Ensemble.
La Nuova Musica in Herrenhausen (Germany)
The English ensemble La Nuova Musica has been particularly active lately. After performing at the Herrenhausen Gallery near Hanover, Germany, with a program featuring Steffani, Carissimi, and Charpentier, they are now guests of the London Handel Festival, where they will premiere their new production, Tales of Apollo and Hercules, from March 27 to 29 in collaboration with the New English Ballet Theatre. The work tells the dramatic stories of two half-brothers, exploring their quests for love, their struggles, and their acceptance of fate.
With Voktett Hannover, Anna Dennis, Nick Pritchard, La Nuova Musica, Dan D’Souza, Lauren Lodge-Campbell, James Hall, David Bates, Thomas Guthrie, Valentino Zucchetti.
Les Fantômes d’Hamlet in Helsinki and on an American tour
Les Fantômes d’Hamlet, the latest program by Le Concert de l’Hostel Dieu, is currently on an international tour. After performances in Namur (Belgium) and Helsinki (Finland), the ensemble embarks on a five-date American tour (Montreal, New York, Washington, Burlington). The legend of Prince Hamlet was not only the basis for Shakespeare’s tragedy but also inspired numerous 18th-century Italian operas. What these operas all have in common? They are lost! Thanks to the meticulous research and reconstruction work of musicologist Paolo Vittorio Montanari, this entirely original project was imagined from fragments rediscovered in various Italian libraries.
With Roberta Mameli, Franck-Emmanuel Comte and Le Concert de l’Hostel Dieu.
Rinaldo at the Händel-Festspiele (Karlsruhe)
Naturally, Rinaldo takes center stage at the aptly named Händel-Festspiele in Karlsruhe for 2025. The production was performed five times at the Staatstheater Karlsruhe, selling out each time, as it does every year! This 2025 edition marked the debut of the festival’s new artistic director, Christoph von Bernuth, who also initiated the first International Farinelli Competition for countertenors, which concluded on Sunday, March 2.
With Lawrence Zazzo, Valeria Girardello, Suzanne Jerosme, Francesca Ascioti, Jorge Navarro Colorado, Lisandro Abadie, Martha Eason, Rinaldo Alessandrini, and the Deutsche Händelsolisten Orchestra.
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