Conductor, Countertenor, Music researcher, teacher – René Jacobs, born in Ghent in 1946, is one of the leading figures for the vocal repertoire of the Baroque and Classical eras. He sang at the cathedral in his home town as a boy chorister and later studied classical philology while continuing to pursue singing. He eventually decided to devote himself entirely to music and founded the ensemble Concerto Vocale Gent in 1977. Through his longstanding successful collaborations with the Berlin State Opera Unter den Linden, The Theater an der Wien, the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, the Salzburg Festival, the Aix-en-Provence Festival, the Paris Opera and other leading international houses in Europe, the USA and Asia, he has conducted works ranging from the early Baroque to Rossini and from the least known to the most famous. A pioneering spirit and a thorough study of historical sources characterise his work. One example of this is René Jacobs' recordings of Mozart operas, which impress with their unique combination of scholarship and musical instinct. His recording of Mozart's »Le nozze di Figaro« won him a Grammy Award (2005), to name just one of many major international prizes his work has been honoured with over the decades. His most recent recording of Beethoven's »Missa Solemnis«, released in January 2021, was also highly acclaimed.