EXISTENTIAL

CHŒUR ET ORCHESTRE LES MUSICIENS DU LOUVRE

They have now been around for over 40 years: the Musiciens du Louvre, founded by Marc Minkowski and, as the name suggests, originally based in Paris. Within a short space of time, the ensemble established itself at the forefront of historical performance practice. In 1993, the new opera house in Lyon was inaugurated with Lully’s ‘Phaëton’, and the ensemble also received a Gramophone Award for its recording of a Stradella oratorio. During this period, alongside the move to Grenoble – where the orchestra is still based today – the repertoire was expanded to include early Baroque as well as 19th-century works, ranging from Schubert and Offenbach to even Wagner. Les Musiciens du Louvre were the first Baroque ensemble to receive an invitation from the Vienna State Opera, and they also attracted attention outside Europe, for example on tours to the Far East.

MARC MINKOWSKI

At the age of just 20, Marc Minkowski founded his own ensemble, Les Musiciens du Louvre. A trained bassoonist, he had already gained some experience in the field of Baroque music, working with experts such as William Christie and Philippe Herreweghe. As a conductor, he initially focused on works from the French Baroque period, before expanding his repertoire in subsequent years to include Mozart operas and 19th-century music. Minkowski has worked at numerous European opera houses, including in Paris, Brussels, Munich, Zurich and Vienna. For four years he was artistic director of the Mozart Week in Salzburg and, from 2016 to 2021, general director of the Opéra National de Bordeaux. He fulfilled a long-held personal dream in 2011 by founding the Ré majeure festival on the Atlantic island of Île de Ré.

LYDIA HOEN TJORE

The Norwegian soprano Lydia Hoen Tjore showed her vocal talent from an early age and was accepted into the Grieg Academy’s youth programme in Bergen at the age of thirteen. She continued her training in Copenhagen and was one of the youngest graduates of the Royal Danish Opera Academy. From 2018 to 2020, she was part of the Norwegian National Opera’s ‘Young Artists’ programme. Lydia Hoen Tjore is now pursuing an international career that allows her to perform both on opera stages and in the concert repertoire. In particular, she is involved in numerous projects with leading Scandinavian orchestras. Her repertoire includes Mozart roles as well as works from the Baroque and 19th centuries: in all these areas, she captivates audiences with her stage presence and the clarity of her timbre.

SUN-LY PIERCE

The Chinese-American mezzo-soprano Sun-Ly Pierce trained at the Eastman School of Music and subsequently at the Bard College Conservatory. She subsequently perfected her training at the ‘Butler Studio’ for young artists at the Houston Grand Opera and distinguished herself in several competitions, notably winning first prize in the Marilyn Horne Competition in 2019. She can now look back on a successful career on the major opera stages, which has taken her to the Metropolitan Opera in New York, LA Opera and the Semperoper Dresden, among others. Sun-Ly Pierce is dedicated to both the Baroque and Classical repertoire as well as contemporary works. In September 2025, she took part in the world premiere of the opera “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay” by Mason Bates. She also performs with renowned orchestras in the symphonic field.

LUNGA ERIC HALLAM

The South African tenor Lunga Eric Hallam, originally from Cape Town, began his training in South Africa before moving to the United States, where he studied at the renowned Ryan Opera Center of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, devoting himself to both classical and contemporary repertoire. His international career now takes him to the major opera stages, where he has made a name for himself with a broad Italian and Germanic repertoire. He is also in great demand on the concert stage, where he collaborates in particular with Nathalie Stutzmann. As a versatile artist, he also presents recitals in which he combines art songs, melodies and traditional African chants, thereby building a bridge between cultures. He has also distinguished himself through his civic engagement by founding the organisation ‘Phenomenal Opera Voices’ to promote opera in his home community.

ALEX ROSEN

The American bass Alex Rosen, who trained at the Juilliard School in New York, made his international debut with the ensemble Les Arts Florissants under the baton of William Christie. This encounter marked the beginning of a fruitful collaboration with the leading Baroque ensembles. As a specialist in the repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries, Alex Rosen regularly performs in concerts with ensembles such as Pygmalion, Il Pomo d’Oro and the Jupiter Ensemble, with whom he interprets masterpieces of the oratorio repertoire. In opera, he devotes himself to both major Baroque roles and contemporary works. As a lover of the art song, the singer gives recitals with the Polish pianist Michał Biel, with whom he distinguished himself at the Hugo Wolf Competition in 2018.

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: REQUIEM IN D MINOR, K. 626

Hardly any other piece of Viennese Classical music is so steeped in legend and conjecture as Mozart’s Requiem. The fact that the composer died whilst working on the piece – effectively writing his own Requiem – soon took on mythical proportions: did Mozart sense that this would be his last, unfinished work? Well, at least at the outset, he is likely to have associated hopes for the future with the commission delivered to him by Count Walsegg’s messengers, as he was speculating on the post of Kapellmeister at St Paul’s Cathedral in Vienna. Moreover, amidst all the legends, the spectacular quality of this work is in danger of being pushed into the background. With the Requiem, Mozart succeeded in bridging the gap between Handel’s oratorios and the expressiveness of the 19th century, in a musical language that is both highly dramatic and deeply introspective.

WILHELM FRIEDEMANN BACH: ADAGIO AND FUGUE (SINFONIA IN D MINOR FK 65)

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: MOTET "AVE VERUM CORPUS" FOR CHOIR, STRINGS AND ORGAN K. 618

Mozart’s Requiem is framed by two works that underscore his outstanding position within music history. First, the two-movement string symphony by Bach’s eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann, whose highly expressive style served as a model for Mozart’s own fugue compositions. And then there is the ‘Ave verum corpus’, composed in June 1791, presumably for a Corpus Christi performance, which ties in with the heartfelt moments of the Requiem. With its contrasts of light and dark and its almost romantic-sounding harmonies, this small yet substantial work looks far into the future.