A quick tour around Europe — from a reinterpretation of Monteverdi’s three operas in Brussels, to Bach’s six Brandenburg Concertos across three Italian cities, a revival of Alcina in Versailles, and a tribute to the 300th anniversary of Domenico Scarlatti’s death in Pavia! 
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I Grotteschi by Cappella Mediterranea in Brussels
Leonardo García Alarcón and Cappella Mediterranea made a striking debut at La Monnaie in Brussels with I Grotteschi, a new diptych drawing on three of Monteverdi’s operas: L’Orfeo, Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, and L’incoronazione di Poppea. Director Rafael R. Villalobos distilled the original fifty characters into a handful of “grotesques” — composite figures with allegorical names, some of them with two faces.
With Giulia Semenzato, Matthew Newlin, Raffaella Lupinacci, Stéphanie d’Oustrac, Jeremy Ovenden, Mark Milhofer, Arianna Vendittelli, Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani, Jessica Niles, Federico Fiorio, Jérôme Varnier, Xavier Sabata, the Cappella Mediterranea and Leonardo García Alarcón.
A journey through Italy with the Freiburger Barockorchester
Three days, three cities — Varese, Milan, Cremona — and six Brandenburg Concertos. That was the programme for the Italian tour of the Freiburger Barockorchester, conducted by Gottfried von der Goltz.
With Sebastian Wienand, Éva Borhi, Hannah Visser, the Freiburger Barockorchester and Gottfried von der Goltz.
A Scarlatti Day in Pavia
At the Basilica of San Michele Maggiore in Pavia, a concert titled Pacem Sine Vespera brought together the Ghislieri Choir and the Collegio Ghislieri University Choir to conclude Scarlatti Day. A charming detail: all the choristers — and conductor Giulio Prandi — wore t-shirts printed with “Scarlatti 300” to mark the 300th anniversary of the composer’s death in 1725.
With the Ghislieri Choir, the Collegio Ghislieri University Choir et Giulio Prandi.
Revival of Alcina in Versailles
Great success at the Opéra Royal de Versailles for the revival of Handel’s Alcina, with Les Épopées conducted by Stéphane Fuget. In a venue with acoustics perfectly suited to this repertoire, the emotional palette unfolded with intensity, carried by an interpretation both vivid and poetic, finely sculpted throughout.
With Lisette Oropesa, Gaëlle Arquez, Gwendoline Blondeel, Teresa Iervolino, Philippe Talbot, Guilhem Worms, Samuel Mariño, Les Épopées and Stéphane Fuget.
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