Jobe 2024

JOBE 2024

Venus and Adonis

John Blow

VENUS AND ADONIS

Composer and organist at the Royal Chapel of Wesminster in London (17th century), John Blow was famous for his sacred music, which accompanied the religious life of the King of England for almost 40 years.

John Blow ventured into the dramatic genre once with the first English opera, Venus and Adonis, in 1683. Based on a libretto by Anne Kingsmill Finch taken from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, this masque or semi-opera in three acts and a prologue features dense, tightly-packed action that transforms a pastoral subject into a dramatic masterpiece. Blow uses his genius to accompany this drama right up to the famous final scene in a magnificent chiaroscuro score.

“The goddess Venus loves the young hunter Adonis. They are savouring the pleasure of their union when the sound of hunting resounds. Venus encourages her lover to join the hunters in pursuit of a dangerous boar, for “absence sharpens desire”. Adonis, mortally wounded, eventually dies in the arms of the goddess.

PROMOTION 2023

Chanteurs /

Heleen BONGENAAR (soprano) • Koninklijk Conservatorium La Haye
Eunice AGUIAR (soprano) • Schola Cantorum Basiliensis
Gaël LEFEVRE (alto) • CRR de Paris
Paul BELMONTE (ténor) • HEM Genève
Jorge MARTINEZ ESCUTIA (baryton) • Schola Cantorum Basiliensis
Lucien MOISSONNIER-BENERT (basse) • CRR Paris

Violons /
Lorenzo ROSATO • Schola cantorum Basiliensis
Ugo GIANOTTI • CNSM Lyon

Flûte à bec /
Emma CRUMPTON • CNSM Lyon

Violoncelle /
Clément STAUFFENEGGER • HEM Genève

Viole de gambe /
Iris TOCABENS • CNSM Lyon

Contrebasse /
Lukas CARILLO ELGUETA • CNSM Paris

Clavecin & orgue /
Leonor GONCALVES • Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles

Claire MEUSNIER • CNSM Lyon

Archiluth et guitare /
Christian VELASCO VAZQUEZ • Schola Cantorum Basiliensis

Basson /
Francisco Javier SANCHEZ CASTILLO • Koninklijk Conservatorium La Haye

RECRUITMENT 2024

The Young baroque european orchestra 2024 is recruiting instrumentalists (on ancient or modern instruments) and singers (see conditions of registration here).
Auditions will be held in Barcelona (Spain), Paris (France), Lyon (France), Brussels (Belgium) and Basel (Switzerland).

Voices involved /
Soprano – Venus
Soprano – A shepherdess, choirs, little cupid
Tenor – A shepherd, choirs
High countertenor /OR/ mezzo-soprano /OR/ soprano – Cupid
Alto (male) – A shepherd, a hunter, choirs
Baritone – Adonis
Bass – Choirs

Instruments involved /
2 violins, 1 viola, 1 viola da gamba, 1 violone, 2 recorders, 1 harpsichord playing organ, 1 archlute.

Pitch / 415 Hz

Audition dates /
Esmuc (Barcelona, Spain) : 14/12/2023
CRR de Paris (Paris, France) : 08/01/2024
Chapelle de la trinité (with the partnership of the CNSM Lyon) (Lyon, France) : 10/01/2024
Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles (Brussels, Belgium) : 12/01/2024
Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (Basel, Switzerland) : 20/01/2024

See the registrations rules on Registration page

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