Ensemble Pygmalion © Fred Mortagne
Pygmalion, a choir and orchestra on period instruments founded in 2006 by Raphaël Pichon, explores the filiations linking Bach to Mendelssohn, Schütz to Brahms and Rameau to Gluck and Berlioz.
Alongside the great works of the repertoire (Bach's Passions, Rameau's tragédies lyriques, Mozart's Great Mass in C minor and his Requiem, directed by Romeo Castellucci, Mendelssohn's Elias, Monteverdi's Vespers), Pygmalion sets out to build original programmes that highlight the links between the works while rediscovering the spirit of their creation: Mozart & The Weber Sisters, Miranda with music by Purcell, Stravaganza d'Amore - evoking the birth of opera at the court of the Medici, Enfers with Stéphane Degout, the Bach cycle in seven words at the Philharmonie de Paris, and Libertà! - which traces the beginnings of Mozart's dramma giocoso. Pygmalion has created a unique identity in the international musical landscape, thanks to demanding, cross-disciplinary projects that have met with public and critical success.
For its operatic works, Pygmalion collaborates with directors such as Katie Mitchell, Romeo Castellucci, Simon McBurney, Aurélien Bory, Jetske Mijnssen, Pierre Audi, Valérie Lesort and Christian Hecq, Cyril Teste, Clément Cogitore and Michel Fau.
In residence at the Opéra National de Bordeaux, Pygmalion has for some years been developing a season of chamber music concerts and educational workshops that are free and open to all: the Kiosque Pygmalion. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, in July 2020 Pygmalion is launching a new festival for the general public, rooted in the Bordeaux region. It will be a veritable festival-laboratory, where various experiments in the transmission of classical music will be developed. Pygmalion's musicians will play a key role in this festival, offering ambitious cultural initiatives.
Pygmalion regularly performs on the major French stages (Philharmonie de Paris, Opéra royal de Versailles, Opéra-Comique, Aix-en-Provence, Beaune, Toulouse, Saint-Denis, La Chaise-Dieu, Royaumont, Nancy, Metz, Montpellier, etc.) and internationally (Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt, Essen, Salzburg, Vienna, Amsterdam, Beijing, Hong Kong, Barcelona, Brussels, etc.).
Pygmalion has been recording for harmonia mundi since 2014. Its discography has been distinguished in France and abroad: Diapason d'or de l'année, Victoire de la musique Classique, Choc de Classica, Gramophone Award, Preis der Schallplattenkritik, Edison Klassiek Award, etc.
Pygmalion is in residence at the Opéra National de Bordeaux. It receives support from the Direction régionale des affaires culturelles de Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the City of Bordeaux, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and the Centre national de la musique. An ensemble associated with the Opéra-Comique (2023-2027), Pygmalion receives support from Château Haut-Bailly, the ensemble's honorary patron, and the Société Générale corporate foundation C'est vous l'avenir. Pygmalion is in residence at the Fondation Singer-Polignac as an associate artist and is a member of the Fédération des Ensembles Vocaux et Instrumentaux Spécialisés (FEVIS).
