René Jacobs

René Jacobs (born October 30, 1946, Ghent) is a Belgian (Flemish) musician. He came to fame as a countertenor but in recent years has become renowned as a conductor of Baroque and early Classical opera. His recordings have won numerous awards, including the Grammy Award for "Best Opera", "Gramophone" 's "Record of the Year", and numerous European awards.

Jacobs began his musical career as a boy chorister at the Cathedral of Ghent. Later he studied classical philology at the University of Ghent while continuing to sing in Brussels and in The Hague.

The Kuijken brothers, Gustav Leonhardt and Alfred Deller encouraged him to pursue a career as a countertenor, and he quickly became known as one of the best of his time. He recorded a large amount of less-known Baroque music by such composers as Antonio Cesti, d'India, Ferrari, Marenzio, Lambert, Guédron and others. He also sang in much-acclaimed recordings of the major works of Bach (such as the St. Matthew Passion led by Leonhardt and Herreweghe).

More recently, as a conductor, Jacobs has recorded numerous operas and sacred and secular works of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. His recording of Mozart's "Le nozze di Figaro" is especially renowned, having won such awards as "Gramophone"'s Record of the Year for 2004, "Le Monde de la Musique"'s "Choc" of the Year for 2004, a Grammy Award for "Best Opera recording of2005", and two MIDEM Classical Awards in 2004. Other award-winning recordings include Handel’s "Rinaldo" (Cannes Classical Award, 2004), and Haydn’s Die "Jahreszeiten" ("Diapason d’Or" of 2005). The partial discography below lists some of the many other awards won by Jacobs' recordings.

Jacobs regularly conducts such orchestras and ensembles as the Concerto Köln, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Nederlands Kamerkoor and RIAS-Kammerchor for recordings and concert tours. In 1992, the Berlin State Opera invited Jacobs to conduct.

In 1991, Jacobs was appointed artistic director of the opera programs at Innsbruck's Festwochen der Alten Musik (Innsbruck Festival of Early Music). He also teaches the interpretation and the Baroque singing style at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.

Partial discography as a conductor

*Bach - Mass in B Minor
*Bach - Christmas Oratorio (Choc du Monde de la Musique; ClassicsToday.com)
*Bach - The Motets (award: Diapason d'or)
*Bach - Secular Cantatas
*Blow - Venus and Adonis
*Buxtehude - Membra Jesu Nostri
*Caldara - Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo (awards: Gramophone Award; Diapason d'or)
*Cavalli - La Calisto (awards: Cannes Classical Award; Diapason d'or)
*Cesti - Cantatas
*Charpentier -Leçons de Ténèbres du Jeudy Sainct
*Charpentier - Salve Regina
*Couperin - Leçons de Ténèbres
*Gluck - "Orfeo ed Euridice" (awards: Cannes Classical Awards)
*Handel - "Giulio Cesare
*Handel- "Messiah
*Handel - "Rinaldo" ((awards: Cannes Classical Award)
*Handel- "Saul" ((awards: Editor's choice "Gramophone"; Choc du Monde de la musique; "BBC Music Magazine" Disc of the Month (October 2005))
*Handel - "Xerxes" - (awards: Choc du Monde de la Musique; Diapason d'or; Un événement Télérama (ffff))
*Haydn - The Seasons (awards: Choc du Monde de la Musique; Edison Classical Music Award; Gramophone Award)
*Haydn - Symphonies 91 and 92 (awards: Choc du Monde de la Musique; Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik; Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik)
*Keiser- Kroesus (awards: Edison Classical Music Award; Diapaison d'or)
*Monteverdi - L'Orfeo (awards: Choc 2006)
*Monterverdi - Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (Diapason d'or; Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik)
*Monteverdi - L'incoronazione di Poppea
*Monteverdi - Vespro della beata Vergine
*Monteverdi - Madrigals
*Mozart - Così fan tutte (Cannes Classical Awards; Diapason d'or; Edison Classical Music Award)
*Mozart - Le nozze di Figaro (awards: 47th Grammy Award; Choc du Monde de la Musique; Edison Classical Music Award; Gramophone Record of the Year 2004; Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik
*Mozart - La clemenza di Tito (awards: Critics award at the Brits Classics 2007; 10 de Classica-Répertoire; Jahrespreis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik; Un événement Télérama (ffff)
*Mozart - Don Giovanni (awards: Gramophone Record of the Month, October 2007; Classics Today 10/10)
*Mozart - Symphonies Nos. 38 and 41 (awards: 10 de Classica-Répertoire; Diapason d'Or Arte
*Pergolesi - Stabat Mater
*Purcell - Dido and Aeneas; (awards: Editor's choice Gramophone; Un événement Télérama (ffff)
*Scarlatti, A. - Il primo omicidio (overo caïn) (awards: Diapason d'or; Editor's choice Gramophone; Gramophone Award; Le Timbre de Platine
*Scarlatti, A. - Griselda (awards: 10 de Répertoire; Diapason d'or; Le Timbre de Platine)
*Schutz - Christmas Oratorio (awards: Diapason d'or; Un événement Télérama (ffff))