103
Performances and concerts
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“With Leonardo García-Alarcón and Cappella Mediterranea, there is a phenomenal energy, a momentum that keeps us captivated right until the end.”
“In the pit, Cappella Mediterranea displays a magnetic sensuality. In this sumptuous setting, strings croon and woodwinds intertwine.“
2005
Ensemble formed by Leonardo García-Alarcón
2009
First recording breakthrough with the release of ‘Barbara Strozzi, virtuosissima compositrice’, which was lauded by critics.
2010
First major triumph with the unearthing of Michelangelo Falvetti’s oratorio, Il Diluvio Universale, at the Ambronay Festival.
2013
Francesco Cavalli’s Elena at Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.
2016
Ensemble’s debut at Paris Opera with Cavalli’s Eliogabalo.
2017
Cavalli’s Il Giasone at the Grand Théâtre de Genève – South American tour.
2018
Residency at the Opéra de Dijon with a production of Antonio Draghi’s El Prometeo.
2019
Triumphant production of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Indes Galantes at Opéra Bastille, staged by Clément Cogitore and choreographed by Bintou Dembélé.
2020
With the COVID-19 crisis, the ensemble increases its virtual performances, including Luigi Rossi’s Il Palazzo incantato at the Opéra de Dijon.
2022
Creation of La Passione di Gesù, Leonardo García Alarcón’s first major composition.
2023
Creation of Draghi’s “The Gift of Eternal Life” and a tour of “The Seven Deadly Sins” at the Berlin Philharmonie and the Teatro Colón. A Monteverdi tour in Canada.
2024
Opening of La Cité Bleue in Geneva. “St. John Passion,” choreographed by Sasha Waltz, at the Salzburg Festival, the Opéra de Dijon, and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. Monteverdi’s “Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria” at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.
2025
Major international tour of “L’Incoronazione di Poppea” and “Monteverdi’s Trilogy” at La Monnaie in Brussels; creation of the choreographed concert and international tour of “Les Indes Galantes – De la Voix des âmes”; premiere at the Bayreuth Festival and concert tour of Cavalli’s “Pompeo Magno.”
103
Performances and concerts
3
CD releases & recordings
6
Opera productions
18
Concert programmes
12
Countries
250
Artists
Cappella Mediterranea’s regular soloists
Like all independent ensembles, Cappella Mediterranea’s musicians are recruited on a project-by-project basis. Nevertheless, there are several musicians who form the heart and backbone of our orchestra, many of whom have been there from the start.
Théorbe – Archiluth – Baroque guitar – Arrangements
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Quito Gato studied piano and guitar, as well as conducting, composition, the recorder and percussion, first in his home country, then in Santiago de Chile, Brasilia, Curitiba and Boston. From 1992 onwards, he studied early music under the guidance of Hopkinson Smith and Eduardo Egüez. Since then, he has performed as a director, soloist, and member of various ensembles He is one of the founding members of Cappella Mediterranea.
Archiluth – Baroque guitar
After studying guitar and piano in Argentina, Mónica Pustilnik took up the lute and early music at the Schola Cantorum in Basel with Hopkinson Smith. She performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician, and in opera and oratorio productions. She performs and records regularly with renowned ensembles such as Le Concert d’Astrée, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Les Talens Lyriques, Les Arts Florissants and many others. Trained as a conductor, she has served as assistant musical director for numerous operas and has herself conducted Cavalli’s Elena at the Opéra de Nantes et Angers.
She is a key figure in the continuo of Cappella Mediterranea.
Viola da gamba
Viola da gamba artist Margaux Blanchard has been awarded several distinctions and is one of the youngest graduates of the Schola Cantorum in Basel, where she studied under Paolo Pandolf. She founded the Les Ombres ensemble in 2008. The year before, she met maestro al cembalo Leonardo García Alarcón. Since then, she has performed with him regularly as a duo and as part of Cappella Mediterranea.
Violin
Amandine Solano studied baroque violin and early music with Florence Malgoire at Geneva’s Haute Ecole de Musique. She has worked with ensembles such as Cappella Mediterranea, Genève Baroque, Elyma, La Sinfonie Bohémienne, Os Musicos de Capella, Clematis and Le Palais Royal, and regularly performs in chamber music concerts with Patrick Bismuth, Serge Saitta, Florence Malgoire, Gilles Thomé and Maria Cristina Kiehr, just to name a few. She is also a founding member of the Le Petit Trianon ensemble, specializing in 18th and 19th century music.
Amandine plays on a 1777 violin by Aegidius Klotz.
Harpsichord – Organ
After graduating from Buenos Aires’ Conservatorio Superiór de Música, Ariel Rychter went on to study early music in France and Switzerland at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève, where he studied harpsichord and conducting in the ‘Maestro al Cembalo’ class. He collaborates with Cappella Mediterranea, Clematis and Dolce Fortuna and founded the Chromos ensemble. He teaches at Geneva’s Conservatoire de Musique, training young students to assimilate the aesthetic features of early music.
Harpsichord – Organ
Born in Bari (Southern Italy) in 1988, Jacopo Raffaele is a composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist. After graduating in piano and harpsichord at the conservatory in his home town, he joined Leonardo García Alarcón’s Maestro al Cembalo class at the Haute École de Musique in Geneva, where he obtained his Master’s degree in 2015. Since 2016, he has played the harpsichord with Cappella Mediterranea in a number of opera productions (Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Opéra de Paris, Opéra de Dijon, tours of Europe and South America). As Leonardo García Alarcón’s assistant conductor, he sometimes conducts the ensemble.
Violin
Bassoon
Cornett – flute
Harpsichord
From Calais, Marie van Rhijn went on to study in Paris with Ilton Wjuniski, Olivier Baumont, Blandine Rannou, Kenneth Weiss, Noëlle Spieth, and Stéphane Fuget. After completing her master’s degrees at the Paris Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse and at the Sorbonne, she was selected by Handel House in London to be one of the young soloists of 2014. Marie van Rhijn was artist-in-residence from 2019 to 2021 at the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles. In Ambronay, Marie has already performed with various ensembles and served as a coach for the 2017 Academy. As an assistant conductor, she was hired by Cappella Mediterranea for Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes in Geneva and subsequently for the 2025 tour of the choreographed concert.
Managing director
Head of development and cultural activities
Production manager
Artistic coordinator
Administrative and financial manager
Production officer
Communications manager
Music assistant
Librarian
Sponsorship and public relations officer
Opéra National de Lorraine
Long-standing partners, the Opéra National de Lorraine has invited Cappella Mediterranea to perform Handel’s Alcina in 2020, Luigi Rossi’s Il Palazzo incantato in 2021, and numerous concerts and operas in concert version.
Maison de la Radio – Radio France
Depuis quelques années, Leonardo García Alarcón a noué des liens particuliers avec la Maison de la Radio et surtout son orchestre, le Philharmonique de Radio France. Invité à plusieurs reprises à le diriger dans des programmes variés, cela a souvent été l’occasion de partenariat avec le continuo de Cappella Mediterranea, comme en 2023 avec le programme L’Art de la fugue. En plus de ces fructueux échanges, Cappella Mediterranea est souvent invitée à se produire à l’Auditorium de Radio-France, comme en 2021 pour de somptueuses Vêpres de Monteverdi.
Opéra national de Paris
En 2016, l’ensemble Cappella Mediterranea fait ses débuts à l’Opéra de Paris avec Eliogabalo de Francesco Cavalli, mis en scène par Thomas Jolly, Salle Garnier. En 2019, l’ensemble y retourne, mais cette fois à Bastille, avec le triomphe des Indes Galantes de Jean-Philippe Rameau, mis en scène de Clément Cogitore et chorégraphie de Bintou Dembélé.
Festival d’Aix-en-Provence
Cappella Mediterranea est un ensemble habitué du Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, invité une première fois en 2013 avec Elena de Cavalli, il y jouera également Erismena en 2017 (du même compositeur), et en 2022 Le Couronnement de Poppée de Monteverdi, en plus des nombreux concerts et opéras en versions de concert.
Château de Versailles Spectacles
As a production company and programmer, Château de Versailles Spectacles has been a long-standing partner of Cappella Mediterranea, which has become a regular performer at the Roi Soleil’s residence, whether at the Royal Opera for Sacrati’s La Finta Pazza in 2019 or Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea in 2022, or at the Royal Chapel for Draghi’s The Gift of Eternal Life in 2023.
Centre Culturel de Rencontre d’Ambronay
As the birthplace of the ensemble, Ambronay occupies a special place among Cappella Mediterranea’s partners. Leonardo García Alarcón and his ensemble are regulars at the Festival d’Ambronay and put on a concert at the Abbey every year. It was here that Leonardo García Alarcón’s first major composition, the oratorio La Passione di Gesù premiered.
Grand Théâtre de Genève
The Grand Théâtre de Genève is a privileged partner of Cappella Mediterranea, thanks to Leonardo García Alarcón’s desire to form ties with the local community. The ensemble has been invited to perform there on numerous occasions, including productions of Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes in 2019, and Lully’s Atys in 2022.
Opéra de Dijon
From 2018 to 2020, Cappella Mediterranea is in residence at the Dijon Opera, where it is creating ambitious opera productions, notably La Finta Pazza in 2019 and Il Palazzo incantato in 2020.
Alpha classics
Cappella Mediterranea has partnered with Alpha Classics to continue expanding its recording catalog.
La Cité Bleue
La Cité Bleue, a new concert hall in Geneva directed by Leonardo García Alarcón, is as a residence and key distribution partner of the Cappella Mediterranea ensemble.
CAV&MA
Le CAV&MA, Centre d’Art Vocal & de Musique Ancienne de Namur, est une résidence et un partenaire de diffusion crucial de l’ensemble Cappella Mediterranea.