Articles

Julio Caballero and the Endless Resources of the Grand Siècle

At the helm of El Gran Teatro del Mundo, Julio Caballero has, for the past ten years, shaped a distinctive aesthetic centred on the French repertoire of the seventeenth century—born of an original return to the sources, meticulous work on declamation, and a pronounced taste for theatricality. From Bern to Madrid, from the Lullists to Rameau: this is the story of an ensemble that makes each project an informed yet free reinterpretation of the codes of the Grand Siècle and beyond.

by Aaron Vincent 30 April 2026

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Pictures of the Week

Hanoi, Vienna, Tallinn, Paris, Hamburg

‘French masterpieces’, Bach father and son, not to mention Scarlatti and Spain’s ‘Siglo de Oro’: this week’s images take you from Paris to Hanoi, from Tallinn to Hamburg, via Vienna and Ávila, through works that, whilst contrasting, move us all in unison.

by Total Baroque 30 April 2026

“The Coronation of Poppea” with Yoncheva, Cenčić and Haïm

Video of the week

“The Coronation of Poppea” with Yoncheva, Cenčić and Haïm

Sonya Yoncheva, Max Emanuel Cenčić and Emmanuelle Haïm come together in The Coronation of Poppea in Lille, France: a top-tier cast for one of Monteverdi’s most unsettling political dramas, where power and desire are inextricably entwined.

by Total Baroque 30 April 2026

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Portrait

Young Talents

Inside the Kapsber’girls’ Workshop

For over a decade, the French quartet Kapsber’girls have been reclaiming overlooked pages of the Baroque repertoire. Driven by in-depth research and creative work, the ensemble develops original programmes conceived for the stage and shaped by a strong taste for experimentation. Their journey also sheds light on the practical realities of production and touring today, balancing artistic ambition, collective organisation and a changing sector.

by Jeanne Agrapart 29 April 2026

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Record of the month

Ensemble Théodora

“Tranquilles cœurs”

On this debut album, the Théodora ensemble takes listeners on a journey through France and the German-speaking world, from Lully and Campra to the Krieger brothers, where styles intersect and transform. Carried by a distinctive vocal palette and a finely articulated continuo, the recording highlights the variety of compositional approaches and characters.

by Rashid-S. Pegah 28 April 2026

Festival

Gluck Festival 2026

Gluck, at the dawn of Romanticism

In Bayreuth and across Franconia, the 2026 edition of the Gluck Festival explores a body of work at the crossroads of styles, between the last embers of the Baroque and the birth of Romanticism. At its helm, conductor Michael Hofstetter sketches the portrait of a forward-looking musician whose legacy—claimed alike by Berlioz and Wagner—has left a lasting mark on the musical world.

by Roland H. Dippel 28 April 2026

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History

Landini and Schoonjans

A Viennese Duel of Baroque Divas

At the imperial court of Vienna, Maria Landini-Conti and Regina Schoonjans were the two most celebrated sopranos of the early eighteenth century. Rivals on stage and in the affections of composers and audiences alike, they embodied two distinct styles that soon became locked in competition. It was a matter of glory, rivalry, and power.

by Pedro Octavio Diaz 27 April 2026

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Investigation

In Europe, “historically informed” performance in the age of hybridization

Between harpsichord and piano, sources and reinvention, Baroque music has never been so limber. From the reinterpretations of French pianist Alexandre Tharaud to the hybridizations of works by Bach and Lully with hip-hop or electronic music, practices are multiplying across Europe. What, then, remains of the notion of the “historically informed”?

by Flore Caron 23 April 2026

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Pictures of the Week

Madrid, Greenwich, Arnstadt, Carona, Strasbourg

A brief, non-exhaustive snapshot of this week’s musical highlights across Europe: Scarlatti with Los Elementos in Madrid, a forthcoming Dido and Aeneas beneath the hull of the Cutty Sark in Greenwich, Bach cantatas in Thuringia, and in Strasbourg, Doulce Mémoire’s Cri du tournebout.

by Total Baroque 23 April 2026

Video of the week

Vivaldi in the hands of Fabio Biondi

In Utrecht, Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante place Vivaldi in dialogue with Galuppi and Reutter in a programme that sheds light on the final decades of the Italian Baroque. Between theatre, the emergence of the symphony and violinistic virtuosity, this Vivaldi Day reveals a repertoire in transition.

by Total Baroque 23 April 2026

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Portrait

Jeremy West: Fifty Years in the Service of the Cornett

In 2026, pioneering cornettist Jeremy West celebrates fifty years of a career marked by more than one hundred recordings and concerts in thirty-eight countries across five continents. In a conversation with Mark Seow, he looks back on the defining stages of his journey, from his beginnings in Durham to his major collaborations, and on his pursuit of an elusive sound, as close as possible to the human voice.

by Mark Seow 22 April 2026

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Paul Van Nevel: the importance of silence (2/2)

Interview

Baroque Masters

Paul Van Nevel: the importance of silence (2/2)

From silence as a prerequisite for music to a questioning of authenticity, Paul Van Nevel, at the age of 80, continues his rigorous exploration of early music, while his leading tenor, Achim Schulz, is gradually taking the helm of the Huelgas Ensemble, in a process of succession that is still unfolding.

by Andrea Braun 21 April 2026

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Julio Caballero and the Endless Resources of the Grand Siècle

Hanoi, Vienna, Tallinn, Paris, Hamburg

“The Coronation of Poppea” with Yoncheva, Cenčić and Haïm

Inside the Kapsber’girls’ Workshop

“Tranquilles cœurs”

Gluck, at the dawn of Romanticism

A Viennese Duel of Baroque Divas

In Europe, “historically informed” performance in the age of hybridization

Madrid, Greenwich, Arnstadt, Carona, Strasbourg

Vivaldi in the hands of Fabio Biondi

Jeremy West: Fifty Years in the Service of the Cornett

Paul Van Nevel: the importance of silence (2/2)