Le Concert d'Astrée

Le Concert d’Astrée, a baroque music instrumental and vocal ensemble led by Emmanuelle Haïm, is currently one of the finest exponents of this repertoire in the world. It was founded in 2000 by Emmanuelle Haïm, who has surrounded herself with seasoned instrumentalists who share an outlook and artistic vision which is both expressive and authentic. Le Concert d’Astrée has been in residence at the Opéra de Lille since 2004 and has rapidly made a name for itself in France and internationally.

Major tours regularly find Le Concert d’Astrée performing on world-class stages alongside prestigious soloists in programmes devoted to 17^th and 18^th century music. In recent years, these include: Monstres, Sorcières et Magiciens (Anne Sofie von Otter, Laurent Naouri, Patricia Petibon, Christopher Purves and Nahuel Di Pierro, 2015 and 2016); Médée trahie and Héroïnes baroques (Magdalena Kožená, 2015, 2016, 2017); Mozart’s Gran Partita (2016); Bach’s Magnificat; Handel’s Dixit Dominus (2017), Italian Cantatas (Sabine Devieilhe and Lea Desandre, 2018) and Desperate Lovers (Sandrine Piau, Patricia Petibon and Tim Mead, 2019).

Working with renowned directors such as, recently, Krzysztof Warlikowski, Mariame Clément, Christof Loy, Robyn Orlin, Jean Bellorini, Barrie Kosky and Guy Cassiers, Le Concert d’Astrée has performed in numerous staged opera productions at the Opéra de Lille, at the Opéra de Dijon, where it is also an Associate Artist, in Paris (Palais Garnier, Théâtre du Châtelet, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées), at the Théâtre de Caen, and the Festival International d’Art Lyrique d’Aix-en-Provence: Monteverdi (Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria, 2017), Cavalli and Lully (Xerse, 2016), Rameau (Pygmalion, 2018 and 2019 – Les Boréades, 2019), Bach (Magnificat, 2017), Händel (Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno, 2016 and 2017 – Dixit Dominus, 2017 – Alcina, 2018), Mondonville (L’Amour et Psyché, 2018) and Mozart (Mitridate, re di Ponto, 2016 – Così fan tutte, 2017).

Le Concert d’Astrée, which was voted “Best Ensemble of the Year” at the Victoires de la Musique Classique 2003 awards and won the “Alte Musik Ensemble” category at the Echo Deutscher Musikpreis awards in 2008, boasts an extensive catalogue of recordings ranging from Monteverdi to Mozart. These recordings on the Erato Warner Classics label have been enthusiastically received by critics and the listening public. Recent CD and DVD releases include Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno by Handel, recorded at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence; Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria by Monteverdi; and Mozart’s Mitridate, re di Ponto recorded at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris (winner of the Grand Prix du DVD awarded by the Académie Charles Cros, and a nominee at the International Classical Music Awards), Cantates italiennes devoted to Handel and performed by Sabine Devieilhe and Lea Desandre (Gramophone Gramophone Record of the Month, album Choc Classica, Classic d’Or RTL…). Autumn 2019 welcomes the release of the DVD Rodelinda by Händel recorded at the Lille Opera.

For the 2019/2020 Season, Le Concert d’Astrée, led by Emmanuelle Haïm, will present two operas productions: The Indian Queen by Handel (directed by Guy Cassiers – Opéra de Lille) and Pygmalion by Rameau and L’Amour et Psyché by Mondonville (directed by Robyn Orlin – Théâtres de Caen and Luxembourg)). Audiences will also be able to enjoy the ensemble at a series of concerts devoted to Campra, Rameau and Mondonville in Lille (Opera), Luxembourg (Philharmonie), Versailles (Chapelle Royale), Dijon (Opera), Cologne (Philharmonie), Essen (Philharmonie) and Berlin (Philharmonie) and a series of concerts at Wigmore Hall in London.

In tandem with performing, the musicians are involved in educational outreach in the Hauts-de-France region via chamber music and cultural facilitation activities. The orchestra has a residency at the Collège Miriam Makeba high school in Lille and tours the area meeting diverse audiences who share the rich and formative experience of interacting with the artists of Le Concert d’Astrée.
 

COMPULSORY STATEMENTS
Le Concert d’Astrée

Crédit Mutuel Nord Europe is Principal Sponsor of Le Concert d’Astrée.
The Concert d’Astrée ensemble receives funding from the French Ministry of Culture / Hauts-de-France Region Department of Cultural Affairs in the form of a subsidy as an accredited company with national and international reach.

The Département du Nord is a partner of Le Concert d’Astrée.
Le Concert d’Astrée receives funding from Lille City Council during its residency at the Opéra de Lille.

Le Concert d’Astrée receives funding from the Région Hauts-de-France.

The Campra’s Requiem tour receives support from Institut français in Paris and Métropole Européenne de Lille