Cappella Mediterranea was founded in 2005 by the Swiss-Argentinian conductor Leonardo García-Alarcón, originally to serve Latin Baroque music. Ten years on, its repertoire has diversified: with over fifty concerts a year, the ensemble explores madrigal, polyphonic motet and opera. In just a few years, the ensemble has made a name for itself with the rediscovery of previously unpublished works such as Michelangelo Falvetti's Il Diluvio universale and Nabucco, as well as with new versions of works from the repertoire such as Monteverdi's L'Orfeo and Bach's Mass in B minor.
In residence at the Opéra de Dijon between 2018 and 2020, the ensemble has produced a series of rediscoveries of works such as Draghi's El Prometeo, Sacrati's La Finta pazza in 2019 and Rossi's Il Palazzo incantato in 2020. The ensemble takes part in the triumph of Rameau's Indes Galantes at the Opéra Bastille, recognized as the best production of 2019 by Forumopéra and the New York Times. In 2022, Cappella Mediterranea makes a name for itself with two successful opera productions: Lully's Atys in Geneva and Versailles, staged by Angelin Preljocaj, and Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea staged by Ted Huffman at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, and subsequently revived in Versailles, Valence and Toulon. In 2024, the ensemble takes part in its first Mozart opera, Idomeneo, at Grand Théâtre de Genève, before an audacious rereading of Bach's St John Passion, choreographed by Sasha Waltz, in Salzburg, Dijon and in the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris.
