Matthäus-Passion

The French baritone Stéphane Degout completed his studies at the Conservatoire de Lyon, where he was also a member of the opera studio. Following his debut as Papageno ("Die Zauberflöte") at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, he received invitations to the Opéra National, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and Opéra Comique in Paris, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, La Monnaie in Brussels, Theater an der Wien, Teatro alla Scala, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Metropolitan Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper and Dutch National Opera, as well as to the festivals of Salzburg, Glyndebourne, Edinburgh and Aix-en-Provence. His operatic repertoire includes roles such as Oreste ("Iphigénie en Tauride"), Wolfram ("Tannhäuser"), Albert ("Werther"), Valentin ("Faust"), Golaud ("Pelléas et Mélisande"), as well as the title roles in Ambroise Thomas’ "Hamlet", Monteverdi’s "Orfeo", "Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria" and Tchaikovsky’s "Eugene Onegin". At the Royal Opera House in London, he sang The King in the world premiere of George Benjamin’s "Lessons in Love and Violence", which was nominated for a Grammy Award. He has given song recitals with pianists such as Alain Planès, Simon Lepper, Cédric Tiberghien and Martha Argerich, and has appeared in concert with, among others, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Riccardo Muti and the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Esa-Pekka Salonen. In 2012, he was appointed "Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres", received awards at the Victoires de la Musique Classique, and in 2022 the Opera Award. His recordings include songs by Debussy, Ravel and Fauré on Harmonia Mundi, as well as the award-winning CD "Enfers" with Ensemble Pygmalion and Raphaël Pichon.

The tenor Julian Prégardien, born in Frankfurt, received his first musical training in the choirs of the Limburg Cathedral Music. After studying in Freiburg and at the academy of the Aix-en-Provence Opera Festival, he was a member of the Frankfurt Opera ensemble from 2009 to 2013. In parallel, his international concert career developed. In 2023, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Schubert’s "Die schöne Müllerin", he performed the cycle at ten venues in Vienna. He subsequently founded the festival Liedstadt, which took place for the first time in Hamburg in 2024 and will continue in Weimar, Berlin, Leipzig and Salzburg. He made his debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2018 as Narraboth ("Salome") with the Vienna Philharmonic under Franz Welser-Möst. Further highlights include Don Ottavio ("Don Giovanni") at the Mozart Week and the Salzburg Festival, the Mozart "Requiem" in Naples, as well as Tamino ("Die Zauberflöte") in Cleveland and at the state operas in Berlin and Vienna. His recent concert engagements include Bach’s "St Matthew Passion" with the Vienna Philharmonic, his Carnegie Hall debut with the Orchestra St. Luke’s, as well as appearances with the Oslo Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Klaus Mäkelä, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Riccardo Muti, and with Ensemble Pygmalion under Raphaël Pichon. Since 2017, he has been Professor of Voice at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich; he will be Artist in Residence at the Vienna Konzerthaus in 2025/26. His recordings include songs by Schubert and Schumann; in 2024, his first collaboration with harmonia mundi, Schubert’s "Die schöne Müllerin" with Kristian Bezuidenhout on the fortepiano, was released.

The German-Swiss bass-baritone Christian Immler studied with Rudolf Piernay in London and is a winner of the International Nadia et Lili Boulanger Competition in Paris. His operatic repertoire spans from Baroque to contemporary music, including Seneca ("L’incoronazione di Poppea"), Borée (Rameau’s "Les Boréades"), Komtur ("Don Giovanni"), Sprecher ("Die Zauberflöte"), Rocco ("Fidelio"), Eremit ("Der Freischütz") and Mock Turtle in Unsuk Chin’s "Alice in Wonderland". He sang Fasolt ("Das Rheingold") with the Ensemble Concerto Köln under Kent Nagano, the Music Teacher in Strauss’ "Ariadne auf Naxos" in Luxembourg, and Pilate in the "St John Passion" on tour with the Ensemble Pygmalion and Raphaël Pichon. Concert highlights include Mahler’s 8th Symphony with the Minnesota Symphony Orchestra, Zemlinsky’s "Lyric Symphony" with the Orchestre National de France, Detlev Glanert’s "Prague Symphony" with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Czech Philharmonic, as well as Requiem performances by Dvořák, Brahms, Mozart, Fauré and Verdi in collaboration with, among others, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Herbert Blomstedt, René Jacobs, Masaaki and Masato Suzuki, Ivor Bolton, Daniel Harding, Kent Nagano, Marek Janowski, Philippe Herreweghe and William Christie. He has appeared at the Wigmore Hall in London, the Philharmonie de Paris and the Mozarteum Salzburg, and has given recitals with, among others, Helmut Deutsch, Kristian Bezuidenhout and Silvia Fraser. More than 60 award-winning recordings (Grammy nomination, Echo and Opus Klassik Award, Diapason d’Or) document his work. Christian Immler holds a doctorate in musicology and teaches as a guest professor in Oslo.

The French soprano Julie Roset completed her training at the Conservatoire du Grand Avignon, the Haute École de Musique de Genève, and the Juilliard School in New York. In 2022, she won the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and in 2023 Plácido Domingo’s Operalia. At the Victoires de la Musique Classique, she was named "Révélation Lyrique" in 2025. She made her breakthrough in 2023 as Zémire ("Zémire et Azor") at the Opéra Comique and debuted the following year as Amour in Charpentier’s "Médée" in David McVicar’s production at the Opéra National de Paris. She performed Amore and Valletto ("L’incoronazione di Poppea") at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, sang Euridice and La Musica ("L’Orfeo") at the Teatro Real in Madrid, and returned as L’Ange in Claus Guth’s "Samson" production to the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and the Opéra Comique. With Romeo Castellucci’s production of Mahler’s 2nd Symphony, she debuted with the Orchestre de Paris and at the Salzburg Opera Festival, and in Salzburg also appeared in concert performances as Tamiri ("Il re pastore") and Ismene ("Mitridate, re di Ponto"). Julie Roset maintains close connections with leading Baroque ensembles such as Cappella Mediterranea, Le Concert de la Loge, Les Arts Florissants, and Twelfth Night, with the latter marking her debut at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 2024. In 2022, her recording of Handel arias with the Millenium Orchestra, titled "Salve Regina," was released on the Ricercar label. With her own vocal ensemble La Néréide, she released the debut album "Luzzaschi: Il Concerto Segreto" and most recently in autumn 2025 the recording "Le cœur et la raison."

The French soprano Maïlys de Villoutreys began her vocal training in the children’s choir Maîtrise de Bretagne and as a child performer at the Opéra de Rennes. She pursued her vocal studies at the conservatories in Rennes and Paris and later returned to the Opéra de Rennes, performing roles such as Pamina and the Queen of the Night ("Die Zauberflöte") as well as Barbarina ("Le nozze di Figaro"). Her operatic repertoire also includes roles such as Miss Ellen ("Lakmé"), Amour (Gluck’s "Orfeo ed Euridice"), and Clarine ("Platée"), which she performed at the Opéra de Rouen, Opéra Royal de Versailles, and in Saint-Étienne and Marseille. She works regularly with leading Baroque ensembles including Ensemble Pygmalion under Raphaël Pichon, Les Musiciens du Louvre under Marc Minkowski, Concerto Soave, Les Folies Françoises, and Le Banquet Céleste. She maintains a close collaboration with Ensemble Amarillis, with whom she toured as Clarice in Antoine Dauvergne and Gérard Pesson’s opera "La Double Coquette" at the Scène Nationale de Besançon, Grand Théâtre d'Angers, Croisements Festival in Beijing, French May Festival in Hong Kong, Festival de Sablé-sur-Sarthe, Théâtre de la Ville Paris, L'Arsenal in Metz, Kunstfestspiele Hannover, and in the USA. In 2019, she performed the Princess in Gérard Pesson’s "Trois Contes" at the Opéra de Lille. Her discography includes the recordings "Songs of Jean-Benjamin de Laborde" with Trio Dauphine, "Il pianto della Madonna" with Ensemble Desmarest, and the recording of Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre’s rediscovered cantatas "Judith et Sémélé."

The French mezzo-soprano Lucile Richardot initially pursued a career in journalism before studying voice at the Maîtrise de Notre-Dame de Paris and the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Paris. In 2025, she was named "Opera Singer of the Year" at the Victoires de la Musique Classique. She works regularly with renowned ensembles, including Il Seminario Musicale, Les Paladins, Ensemble intercontemporain, Collegium 1704, Il Giardino Armonico, The English Concert, Ensemble Pygmalion, Les Accents, Les Arts Florissants, and Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien. Guest engagements have taken her to the Opéra de Rouen, Opéra-Comique and Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Carnegie Hall, La Scala in Milan, the Salzburg Festival, as well as Rotterdam, London, Liverpool, Amsterdam, Prague, Hamburg, Wrocław, Madrid, Boston, and Toronto. She has sung roles such as Messaggera ("L’Orfeo"), Juno and Ino ("Semele"), Sorceress and Spirit ("Dido and Aeneas"), Cornelia ("Giulio Cesare"), Goffredo ("Rinaldo"), Geneviève ("Pelléas et Mélisande"), Gertrude in Thomas’ "Hamlet," Mescalina ("Le Grand Macabre"), and Madame de Croissy in Poulenc’s "Dialogues des Carmélites." She has collaborated with conductors such as John Eliot Gardiner, Susanna Mälkki, Philippe Jaroussky, Raphaël Pichon, and Sébastien Daucé. For the label harmonia mundi, she has recorded several award-winning albums, including the 2023 release "Les heures claires," the first complete recording of the songs by Nadia and Lili Boulanger. Her most recent solo album, "Northern Light," with Ensemble Correspondances, was released in 2025.

The French countertenor Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian studied at the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles and the Paris Conservatory and is a recipient of the HSBC Révélation award at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. His performances include Oberon ("A Midsummer Night’s Dream") at the Opéra de Rouen, the title role in "Giulio Cesare" at the Festival de Beaune, Alessandro ("Tolomeo") with Il Pomo d’Oro, Farnace ("Mitridate, re di Ponto") at the Berlin State Opera and in Valencia, "Rodelinda" with Le Concert d’Astrée under Emmanuelle Haïm, "Rinaldo" at the Opéra de Rennes, Scarlatti’s "Cain, overo Il primo omicidio" with Philippe Jaroussky at the Salzburg Whitsun Festival, as well as his debuts in "Ariodante" at the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre and in "La Nuit des rois" at the Comédie-Française. More recently, he has sung Ottone ("L’incoronazione di Poppea") in Rennes and Cologne, Porpora’s "Polifemo" at the Opéra national du Rhin under Emmanuelle Haïm, recitals with Ensemble Café Zimmermann, the title role in Scarlatti’s "Il Mitridate Eupatore" at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and Handel’s "Messiah" with the Accentus Chamber Choir in France and Spain. He gave a Bach recital in Brussels, sang in the "St Matthew Passion" at the Opéra de Rennes, performed in "Tamerlano" with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra under René Jacobs, and portrayed Endimione in Cavalli’s "La Calisto" at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. His recent projects include Handel’s "Ariodante" and "Messiah" at the Opéra Royal de Versailles. In 2022, CD recordings of Purcell’s "Royal Odes" with Le Banquet Céleste on Alpha and Handel’s "Theodora" with Joyce DiDonato, Lisette Oropesa, Michael Spyres, and Il Pomo d’Oro on Erato were released.

The American tenor Zachary Wilder studied at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester and at the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston. In 2013, he was accepted as a fellow into William Christie’s academy Le Jardin des Voix. Since then, he has regularly collaborated with ensembles such as Pygmalion, Les Arts Florissants, L’Arpeggiata, Les Talens Lyriques, Le Concert d’Astrée, the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, Bach Collegium Japan, the Handel & Haydn Society Orchestra, the Nederlandse Bachvereniging, and the Nederlands Kamerkoor, as well as with major orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. He has performed Vaughan Williams’ "On Wenlock Edge" and Britten’s "Nocturne" with the Charlottesville Symphony, as well as Frank Zappa’s "200 Motels" in Strasbourg and at the Philharmonie de Paris. Under Francesco Corti, he toured with Handel’s "Radamisto" with Il Pomo d’Oro, performed in "The Fairy Queen" and Lully’s "Armide" at Drottningholm Opera, and sang the "St Matthew Passion" on tour with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. At the Opéra de Montpellier, he portrayed Erinda in Sartorio’s "L’Orfeo" and made his debut in the title role of Mozart’s "Mitridate" with Capella Cracoviensis, both under Philippe Jaroussky. Other engagements include Agenore ("Il re pastore") at the Salzburg Mozarteum and Müpa Budapest, Basilio ("Le nozze di Figaro") with Raphaël Pichon and Pygmalion, as well as Romeo Castellucci’s "Le lacrime di Eros" at the Dutch National Opera. In 2025, he sang Linfea in Cavalli’s "La Calisto" at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. His discography includes recordings for Ricercar, Glossa, and harmonia mundi.