René Jacobs was born on October 30, 1946. He is a musician from Belgium. He first became famous as a countertenor, which is a type of male singer with a high voice. Later in his career, he became well-known for conducting performances of baroque and classical operas.

Biography

Jacobs was born in Ghent and began his musical journey as a young singer in the choir at the Cathedral. Later, he studied classical philology at the University of Ghent while continuing to perform in Brussels and The Hague.

The Kuijken brothers, Gustav Leonhardt, and Alfred Deller supported Jacobs in pursuing a career as a countertenor. He soon became recognized as one of the most skilled singers of his time. He recorded many lesser-known Baroque compositions by composers such as Antonio Cesti, d'India, Ferrari, Marenzio, Lambert, Guédron, and William Lawes. He also performed in highly praised recordings of major works by Bach, including the St Matthew Passion, conducted by Gustav Leonhardt and Philippe Herreweghe.

In 1977, Jacobs founded the ensemble Concerto Vocale.

As a conductor, Jacobs recorded operas and sacred and secular works from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. His recording of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro is especially famous, having received awards such 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 of 2005," and two Midem Classical Awards in 2004. Other award-winning recordings include George Frideric Handel’s Rinaldo (Cannes Classical Award, 2004) and Joseph Haydn’s The Seasons (Diapason d’Or of 2005). The partial discography below lists some of the many awards won by Jacobs’ recordings.

His recordings and work have earned numerous awards, including the Grammy Award for "Best Opera," Gramophone’s "Record of the Year," the "III Premio Traetta 2011," and many European honors. His recording of Mozart’s The Magic Flute was named Record of the Year at the inaugural International Classical Music Awards in April 2011.

Jacobs is especially known for conducting singers and for his skill in performing recitative.

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

From 1991 to 2009, Jacobs served as the artistic director of opera programs at Innsbruck’s Festwochen der Alten Musik (Innsbruck Festival of Early Music). He also taught interpretation and Baroque singing style at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.

Partial discography

• Marc-Antoine Charpentier: 3 Leçons de Ténèbres du Mercredy Sainct (H.96, H.97, H.98), 3 Répons du Mercrediy Sainct (H.111, H.112, H.113), 3 Leçons de Ténèbres du Jeudy Sainct (H.102, H.103, H.109). Judith Nelson and Concerto Vocale (recorded in August 1977 and January 1978) on 3 LPs from Harmonia Mundi, HM 1005/6/7
• Marc-Antoine Charpentier: 3 Leçons de Ténèbres du Vendredy Sainct (H.105, H.106, H.110), 6 Répons du Mercredy Sainct (H.114, H.115, H.116, H.117, H.118, H.119). Judith Nelson and Concerto Vocale (Volume 2, recorded in January 1978 and January 1979) on 2 LPs from Harmonia Mundi, HM 1008/09
• Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Motets à voix seule et à 2 voix. Judith Nelson and Concerto Vocale. CD from Harmonia Mundi, 1984, HMC 901149
• François Couperin: 3 Leçons de Ténèbres. Concerto Vocale. CD from Harmonia Mundi, 1984
• Marc-Antoine Charpentier: David et Jonathas (H.490, La Pythonisse). English Bach Festival Orchestra, conducted by Michel Corboz – 2 CDs from Erato, 1982, report 2010
• Christoph Willibald Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice with Marianne Kweksilber, Magdalena Falewicz, and La Petite Bande conducted by Sigiswald Kuijken, Collegium vocale – 2 LPs from Accent, 1982
• Georg Friedrich Händel: Tamerlano with John Elwes, Henri Ledroit, Mieke van der Sluis, Isabelle Poulenard, Gregory Reinhart, and La Grande Ecurie et La Chambre Du Roy conducted by Jean-Claude Malgoire – 3 LPs from CBS Masterworks, 1984
• Georg Friedrich Händel: Alessandro with Sophie Boulin, Isabelle Poulenard, Jean Nirouët, Stephen Varcoe, Guy de Mey, Ria Bollen, and La Petite Bande conducted by Sigiswald Kuijken – 4 LPs from Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, 1985
• Georg Friedrich Händel: Admeto with Jill Gomez, Rachel Yakar, James Bowman, Max van Egmond, Ulrik Cold, and Il Complesso Barocco conducted by Alan Curtis – 5 LPs from EMI, 197

Literature

• Jozef Robijns and Miep Zijlstra, Algemene Muziek Encyclopedie deel 5, Unieboek, 1981, page 36
• Kennedy, Michael (2006), The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 985 pages long, ISBN 0-19-861459-4
• Nicolas Blanmont and René Jacobs, Prima la musica, prime le parole, published by Versant Sud (2009)
• René Jacobs in conversation with Silke Leopold: "Ich will Musik neu erzählen," Bärenreiter Henschel, Kassel 2013, ISBN 978-3-89487-910-5