Gérard Lesne, eminent director of the ensemble Il Seminario Musicale, is an institution in the world of Baroque music. The man for whom nothing predestined a career as a countertenor acquired his letters of nobility with the Clemencic Consort, then with William Christie (1984-1990) and Philippe Herreweghe (1988-1992). Founded in 1985, Gérard Lesne's ensemble is a veritable hotbed of talent, reviving lesser-known works by Couperin and Charpentier(Leçons de Ténèbres), Vivaldi(Salve Regina in 1992), Pergolesi(Stabat Mater in 1997), Caldara and Stradella. At the same time, he has recorded with such renowned conductors as René Jacobs, Gustav Leonhardt, Jordi Savall, Sigiswald Kuijken and Michel Plasson, notably Carl Orff's Carmina Burana in 2001. Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in 2004, this atypical artist has also given song recitals.
