Bernard Foccroulle began his international career as an organist in the mid-70s, playing a wide range of repertoire from Renaissance to Contemporary Music. He has performed many world premieres of composers such as Philippe Boesmans, Brian Ferneyhough, Betsy Jolas, Xavier Darasse, Jonathan Harvey and Pascal Dusapin.
In the 1980s, he was a founder member of the Ricercar Consort, devoted mainly to German baroque music. His discography as a soloist includes about fifty CDs. He recorded the complete organ works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Dietrich Buxtehude and Matthias Weckmann for the Ricercar label. For these recordings, he carefully chose the most beautifully preserved historic instruments. His albums were awarded with numerous prizes, including the Diapason d’Or and the Grand Prix de l’Académie Charles Cros for Buxtehude’s complete organ works in 2007. His latest recording, released by Ricercar, contains the complete works of Francisco Correa de Arauxo, a Sevillian composer of the first half of the 17th century.
Bernard Foccroulle became director of the Brussels opera house La Monnaie in 1992, holding this position until 2007. He continued as director of the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence from 2007 until 2018. In 2017, he got the Leadership Award at the International Opera Awards in London.
From 1978 to 1990 he taught musical analysis at the Liège Conservatoire and from 2010 to 2019 he has been professor of Organ at the Conservatoire Royal de Musique in Brussels. He is Doctor Honoris Causa of the Montréal University and Aix-Marseille Université.
Another important aspect of Bernard Foccroulle’s work is the combination of organ music with other art forms, for example his collaboration with choreographers Jan Fabre and Salva Sanchis and video artists (Lynette Wallworth).
Bernard Foccroulle has written works for soprano and orchestra (Am Rande der Nacht after Rilke), for baritone and chamber music ensemble (Due after De Luca), for soprano, baritone and chamber music ensemble (E vidi quattro stelle after Dante’s Purgatorio), soprano and piano (Quatre mélodies d’après Verlaine). Zauberland, a cycle of melodies for soprano and piano on poems by Martin Crimp has been premiered at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in Paris in 2019, staged by Katie Mitchell.
He has also composed a cycle of pieces for historic organs (CD AEON, Diapason d’Or 2016) and Elegy for Trisha for cello and organ (CD Fuga Libera). His composition Le Journal d’Hélène Berr will be premiered in France in June 2023, and his opera Cassandra at la Monnaie in September 2023.
He is the author of La naissance de l’individu dans l’art (Grasset, 2003), which was written in collaboration with Robert Legros and Tzvetan Todorov. He also published two books made of interviews : Entre passion et résistance (Labor, 2005) and Faire vivre l’opéra, un art qui donne sens au monde (Actes Sud, 2018).

The soprano June Anderson graduated with honours from Yale University in French Literature. She began her career in 1978 with the New York City Opera as the Queen of the Night and then began her European career in Rome with Rossini’s Semiramide. She soon made her debuts at the Paris Opera (Robert le Diable), Covent Garden (Semiramide), La Scala Milan (La Sonnambula), and the Metropolitan Opera (Rigoletto). Her Lucia di Lammermoor, La Traviata, and Norma in particular were hailed in all the major opera houses of Europe and North and South America. She has collaborated with many of the world’s greatest conductors, including Leonard Bernstein, Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Daniele Gatti, and Kazushi Ono. In recent years she has expanded her repertoire to include many 20th-century and contemporary works, such as operas by Richard Strauss, Francis Poulenc, Hans Werner Henze, and John Adams. Her extensive discography encompasses a wide variety of music from Albinoni and Pergolesi to Beethoven, Wagner, and Orff, as well as many operas by Verdi and Rossini and lesser-known French operas. She received a Grammy Award for her recording of Candide, conducted by its composer, Leonard Bernstein. In France she has been made a Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres.

Peter de Caluwe studied literature and the history of the theatre at the Universities of Ghent, Brussels, and Antwerp. In 1986, Gerard Mortier invited him to join him at La Monnaie, where he worked as a dramatic adviser and was also in charge of contacts with the press, public relations, and projects for young people. In 1989, Pierre Audi and Truze Lodder asked him to join their team in Amsterdam. In 1994, he was appointed director of casting, and later artistic director. Since 2007, he has been general and artistic director of La Monnaie ; a third term in this position will prolong his stay with the company until 2025. In October 2011, under his management, La Monnaie/De Munt was named Opera House of the Year by the German specialist magazine Opernwelt. In November 2011, Radio Klara and Muziekcentrum Vlaanderen named him Musical Personality of the Year. He was the first person to be awarded an honorary master’s by the Brussels Ecole supérieure des Arts Saint-Luc. From 2011 to 2013, he was President of Opera Europa. In 2013, the Vlaamse Vereniging voor Bestuur en Beleid chose him as Manager of the Year.

Marc Clémeur studied theatre studies and musicology in Cologne, before going on to work as a stage direction assistant to Götz Friedrich in Amsterdam, Bayreuth, and Düsseldorf. He became a producer of classical music for Belgian radio and television in 1977. In 1984, he was appointed director of the Vlaams Filharmonisch Orkest ; and in 1989, director general of the Vlaamse Opera, which, under his management, built up an international reputation. In 2009, he became general director of the Opéra National du Rhin, where he oversaw an original project, with a particular focus on contemporary composers. He devoted a cycle to Janáèek, which was directed by Robert Carsen, and also staged rarely seen French works. Under his leadership, the Opéra Studio has trained a number of singers who today are invited on stages worldwide. After a long career in the musical world, Marc Clémeur is now frequently asked to be an artistic adviser to opera houses and competitions and is often invited to serve as a member of the jury of prestigious international competitions. He is the director of Génération Opéra in Paris, which notably organises the Voix Nouvelles competition, and artistic adviser to the Opera Pienza competition.

Helmut Deutsch is one of the world’s most sought-after and most renowned lieder accompanists. He was born in Vienna, where he studied at the Konservatorium, the Music Academy, and the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst. He was awarded the Vienna Composition Prize in 1965 and became a professor at the age of 24. Although he is a distinguished chamber musician, playing with eminent instrumentalists, he has concentrated primarily on lieder accompaniment. When he began his career, he first accompanied the soprano Irmgard Seefried, before going on to partner Hermann Prey for twelve years. He went on to play in the most prestigious venues, working with renowned singers such as Jonas Kaufmann, Diana Damrau, Piotr Beczala, Camilla Nylund, Michael Volle and Mauro Peter. Helmut Deutsch has recorded more than 100 CDs. In recent years, he has been particularly keen to develop young talent : after a period as a professor in Vienna, he has continued to teach, mainly at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich, where he was professor of lieder interpretation for 28 years. He is also a guest teacher in a number of other schools and gives numerous masterclasses in Europe and in the Far East.

Serge Dorny studied music at the Royal Conservatory of Ghent and history of art, archaeology, musicology, and communication sciences at Ghent University. In 1983, he joined the La Monnaie opera house as a musical dramaturge, under Gerard Mortier, before joining the Festival of Flanders, of which he became the artistic director in 1989. He was later appointed general director and artistic director of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He was the general director of the Opéra de Lyon from 2003 to 2021, and began his tenure as general director of the Bayerische Staatsoper in 2021. He is a member of the board of directors of the Bayerische Rundfunk and of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, and serves on the juries of several international competitions. Serge Dorny was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Université de Montréal, and is also a Chevalier de l’Ordre de la Légion d’Honneur, a Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and an Officier de l’Ordre de la Couronne de Belgique. His published works include L’avenir d’un passé (with Johann Thieleman) and Penser l’opéra à présent.

Bernarda Fink was born in Buenos Aires and trained at the Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colón. She has performed with the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Vienna Philharmonic, and London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the Cleveland Orchestra, under conductors such as Barenboim, Blomstedt, Bychkov, Chailly, Fischer, Gardiner, Harnoncourt, Jacobs, Jansons, Muti, Norrington, Pinnock, Rattle, and Welser-Möst. Bernarda Fink has earned critical acclaim for her performances in Argentina and at the most important opera houses in Europe. She has sung in productions including Mozart’s Lucio Silla at the Theater an der Wien, Idomeneo at the Teatro Real in Madrid, Handel’s Theodora at the Salzburg Festival, and debuted at the Wiener Staatsoper in 2017 in Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande. A number of her recordings have earned prestigious distinctions including the Diapason d’Or and a Grammy Award. Bernarda Fink has been awarded the Austrian Honorary Medal for Art and Science, the Prešeren award, along with her brother Marcos Fink, from the Prešeren Foundation, and was awarded the title of Österreichische Kammersängerin in 2014.

Jonathan Friend was born in London and trained in Kingston upon Thames in Surrey. He joined the English National Opera in 1974 and became its archivist in 1977. He later became the Company Manager at Opera North in Leeds. In 1981, he was invited by James Levine to the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where he initially held the same position, before becoming the Artistic Administrator two years later, a position that he held for 36 years, in which time he worked with two artistic directors and five managers: he was responsible for planning the season and for employing singers and conductors. Jonathan Friend became an artistic consultant to the Metropolitan Opera in 2019, and currently holds the same position at the Irish National Opera. Jonathan Friend is also currently a casting consultant for the Dutch National Opera. He regularly serves on the juries of singing competitions.

Best known today for her interpretations of the bel canto repertoire, for which she won a Grammy Award, Sumi Jo is one of the most sought-after sopranos of her generation, applauded for her exceptional musicality and the remarkable agility, precision, and warmth of her voice. She has more than 50 recordings to her name. Sumi Jo is much sought after, including as a special guest artist at gala concerts and international events. Her recent appearances have included performing at the World Cup, the opening ceremony for the 2011 Winter Olympics in Sochi, the Olympic Games in Beijing, and the Winter Paralympic Games in PyeongChang. Sumi Jo was also invited to sing for the visit of Pope Francis to South Korea in 2014. In recent years, Sumi Jo has been invited to join the juries of prestigious singing competitions, including the Glyndebourne Opera Cup in 2020, Cardiff Singer of the World in 2017, the Hong Kong International Operatic Singing Competition, and the Queen Sonja International Singing Competition in 2019.

Thanks to a grant from the British Council and the Fondation de la Vocation, Sophie Karthäuser went on to further training with Noëlle Barker at the Guildhall School in London. She has been invited to perform with prestigious ensembles such as the Vienna Philharmonic, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Les Arts Florissants, the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Les Talens Lyriques, the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, and the Belgian National Orchestra. Sophie Karthäuser had played numerous parts in Mozart productions at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Opéra de Lyon, the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, the Theater an der Wien, and the Opéra National du Rhin. Her discography, often acclaimed in the musical press, includes arias by Mozart with Kazushi Ono and the La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra, La Finta Giardiniera (with René Jacobs), and songs by Poulenc, Wolf, and Debussy. She is one of the guest teachers of Udo Reinemann’s international masterclasses and has also served on the jury of the Concours International Nadia and Lili Boulanger in Paris.

Sophie de Lint has been the director of the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam since September 2018. Previously, she was the artistic director of Opernhaus Zürich, with Andreas Homoki as director. In 2014, Opernhaus Zürich was named ‘Opera Company of the Year’ at the International Opera Awards. Sophie de Lint was born in Rotterdam and grew up in Geneva. She studied violin at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève and obtained a degree in business administration from Webster University in Geneva. She also took the Executive Master in Arts Administration course at the University of Zürich. She later worked at the Grand Théâtre de Genève as an artistic coordinator, in Vienna and Zurich as an artist manager, and all over the world as a freelance assistant director. Sophie de Lint is often invited to be a jury member at international singing and conducting competitions. She is also a guest lecturer at the University of Zürich. From 2017 to 2022, she was a member of the Board of Directors of Opera Europa, the professional association of opera companies and festivals in Europe.

For more than 25 years, the countertenor Bejun Mehta has been playing main parts in the most celebrated opera houses, sometimes in productions staged specially for him, and has given recitals in a large repertoire all over the world. His many recordings have earned him prestigious awards, including an Echo Klassik, two Diapason d’Or, a Diamant from Opéra Magazine, a Choc from Classica, and two nominations for the Grammy Awards. He was also selected for the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik and nominated for the Laurence Olivier Awards. Bejun Mehta, who has taught singing since 2015, is a regular guest teacher at the Amsterdam University of the Arts and at the Oslo Academy of Opera, and often teaches masterclasses in programmes for young artists such as the Salzburg Young Singers Project, the opera studios of the Dutch National Opera and of the State Opera Hamburg, CAMPUS at the Theater an der Wien, and his own private singing academies in Berlin and New York. This year sees Bejun Mehta also serve on the jury of the Pietro Antonio Cesti baroque opera competition.

Taught by Rachel Yakar at the Conservatoire de Paris and discovered by William Christie, today Patricia Petibon has mastered a repertoire that ranges from French baroque to modern music. Since her debut at the Opéra National de Paris in 1996, she has appeared in a wide variety of operas, ranging from Mozart to Offenbach, Donizetti, and Verdi. She has worked closely with first-rate ensembles such as the Vienna Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Berlin, the Bavarian Radio Symphonic Orchestra, the Münchner Philharmoniker, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Orchestre National de France, the Orchestre de Paris, the Orchestre National de Lyon, Les Talens Lyriques, Le Concert d’Astrée, La Cetra, Il Giardino Armonico, and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, and with conductors including Alain Altinoglu, Gustavo Gimeno, Daniele Gatti, Daniel Harding, Kristjan Järvi, Paavo Järvi, Louis Langré, François-Xavier Roth, and Christophe Rousset. Together with Héloïse Gaillard she set up an academy for singers and musicians, future professionals and emerging artists, Les Chants d’Ulysse, within the Royal Abbey of Fontevraud and in the Théâtre Le Dôme de Saumur.

Considered one of the best opera tenors of today, Christoph Prégardien regularly performs with world-class orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker and the Vienna Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. His vast discography, often praised by critics, includes collaborations with numerous famous artists such as Andreas Staier, Michael Gees, Julia Kleiter, Julius Drake, Christoph Schnackertz, and his son Julian Prégardien. His experience singing the Evangelist parts and his close relationship with conductors such as Nagano, Chailly, Herreweghe, Harnoncourt, Luisi, and Gardiner laid the perfect foundations for his passion for conducting works by Bach, which he has immersed himself in since 2012 in partnership with Le Concert Lorrain, the Netherlands Chamber Choir, the Balthasar Neumann Choir, the Dresdner Kammerchor, Collegium Vocale Gent, the RIAS Kammerchor, and others. Christoph Prégardien also devotes a great deal of his musical life to teaching; he has taught at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne since 2004 and teaches masterclasses all over the world.

The bass baritone José Van Dam is one of today’s greatest singers. Since his debut in Paris, he has been a regular guest at the world’s most prestigious opera houses and festivals (including the Paris Opera, Covent Garden, La Scala in Milan, the Vienna Staatsoper, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Metropolitan Opera, the Teatro Colón, and the festivals of Salzburg, Aix-en-Provence, and Orange). His roles have included Falstaff, Simon Boccanegra, Philippe II (in Don Carlos), Don Giovanni, Boris Godunov, Amfortas (in Parsifal), the Flying Dutchman, and Wozzeck, to name but a few. His performance in the title role of Messiaen’s Saint François d’Assise was warmly received in Paris and Salzburg, at its premiere. His operatic career has not prevented him from branching into oratorio and lieder. He has also sung under Herbert von Karajan, Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, Georg Solti, and Seiji Ozawa, among others. He has appeared in films, most notably in the famous Le Maître de Musique. José Van Dam has received the titles of Kammersänger of the city of Berlin and Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur. In 1998, he was ennobled by King Albert II.

Reinoud Van Mechelen studied singing under Dina Grossberger at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel. He won the Caecilia award for young musicians, in 2017. He was first discovered in 2007 by the Ambronay European Baroque Academy, directed by Hervé Niquet, and was later selected for Le Jardin des Voix by Les Arts Florissants (Director: William Christie). He has since performed in opera houses such as Opernhaus Zürich, the Opéra de Dijon, La Monnaie, the Opéra de Toulon, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, and the Opéra de Paris. Reinoud Van Mechelen also performs as a guest with such notable baroque ensembles as Collegium Vocale Gent, Le Concert Spirituel, Pygmalion, the Ricercar Consort, Insula Orchestra, and Scherzi Musicali. His first solo album, Erbarme dich, came out in 2016. He has recorded five other CDs with his ensemble A Nocte Temporis and, more recently, released a recording of music by Edouard Lassen with the pianist Anthony Romaniuk. He also assumes the title role as well as the musical direction of the opera Céphale et Procris by Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, of which a CD will be released this year, in collaboration with a nocte temporis and the Chœur de Chambre de Namur.

After having passed her baccalaureate in piano and singing and received a master’s degree in Italian interpreting from the University of Vienna, Evamaria Wieser began her professional career at the Holender Theatre Agency in Vienna, before joining the artistic management of the Bayerische Staatsoper. She worked alongside Gerard Mortier at the Salzburg Festival and later at the Opéra National de Paris. In 1992, she became the head of artistic management at the Salzburg Festival, before holding the same position at the Ruhrtriennale. She then returned to the Salzburg Festival as artistic director, under the direction of Peter Ruzicka, Jürgen Flimm, and Markus Hinterhäuser and also took over the Young Singers Project. Evamaria Wieser was a consultant for the Salzburg Easter Festival and a European casting consultant for Lyric Opera of Chicago. She has served on the juries of a number of renowned singing competitions. Since 2018, Evamaria Wieser has taken up the role of director of casting at the Salzburg Festival, where she continues to lead the Young Singers Project.