About this Artist
EUROPA GALANTE was founded in 1990 by its musical director, Fabio Biondi, who wanted to form an Italian period instrument ensemble to perform both baroque and classical repertoire. The ensemble has a varying structure and often performs chamber music such as the string sonatas of Italian composers of the seventeenth century.
The ensemble’s repertoire includes the operas of Handel, such as Agrippina and Imeneo, as well as Vivaldi, including Bazajet, Ercole sul Termodonte, and Oracolo in Messenia, and many pre-eighteenth century instrumental works. The group is also widely known for its performances of the works of Alessandro Scarlatti, such as the oratorios (Maddalena, La Santissima Trinità), serenatas (Clori, Dorino, e Amore), and operas, including Massimo Puppieno, Il Trionfo dell'Onore, La Principessa Fedele, and Carlo Re d’Allemagna.
Europa Galante collaborates regularly with the Fondazione Santa Cecilia in Rome to rediscover and restore 18th-century Italian operas such as Antonio Caldara’s La Passione di Gesù Cristo, Leonardo Leo’s Sant’ Elena al Calvario, or Gesu sotto il peso della Croce by F. di Mayo. In 2016 Europa Galante will perform Boccherini quintets for the Santa Cecilia concert season.
Europa Galante has performed in many of the world's major concert halls and theatres including La Scala in Milan, Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Royal Albert Hall in London, Musikverein in Vienna, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, and the Sydney Opera House. The ensemble has toured throughout Australia, Japan, Europe, Canada, Israel, the USA, and South America.
Ever since the release of its first record dedicated to Vivaldi concertos, the ensemble has received worldwide recognition, gaining an impressive list of awards. After working with the French record company Opus 111, Europa Galante has collaborated exclusively with Virgin Classics, a partnership which has lasted 15 years. The ensemble has been nominated twice for a Grammy, first in 2004 with its record of Vivaldi's Concerti con molti strumenti and then in 2006 for its recording of Vivaldi’s Bajazet.
After their recent releases “Chiara’s Diary,” Vivaldi’s “Farewell Concertos” (awarded with the Diapason d’Or), and their acclaimed recording of Bellini’s Capuleti e Montecchi (with Vivica Genaux and Valentina Farcas), Europa Galante’s next recording project is Handel’s serenade Hymen recorded live at the Halle Handel Festival.
This season, Europa Galante will tour Europe (including Switzerland, France, Italy, and Spain) and the U.S. (Carnegie Hall, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Los Angeles) with instrumental and vocal repertoire including Hasse’s Piramo e Tisbe and Neapolitan composer Michele Falco’s oratorio Santo Antonio and the opera Capuleti e Montecchi at the Warsaw Chopin and Bremen Festivals. Next season the ensemble will present Handel’s Silla at the Konzerthaus in Vienna and Rossini’s Barbiere di Siviglia in Rieti and Rome, and again Capuleti e Montecchi in Japan (Tokyo and Osaka).
Europa Galante is the resident orchestra of Fondazione Teatro Due in Parma.