Ensemble Baroque de Nice Readies for New Season

RIVIERA BUZZ30 September, 20264 Mins read88

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Founded in 1982, the Ensemble Baroque de Nice has established itself as one of France’s leading ensembles specialising in Baroque music.

Over those four decades, the ensemble has brought together a core group of musicians performing on period instruments.

Under the direction of Gilbert Bezzina (pictured below), a pioneer in the revival of the Baroque violin, the Ensemble has developed an approach firmly rooted in historical authenticity.

Drawing on extensive research into 17th- and 18th-century performance practices, its musicians seek to recreate the character, expression and musicality originally intended for these works.

^{Gilbert Bezzina – photo © Lionel Bouffier}

Rediscovering forgotten masterpieces

Research and rediscovery have always played an important role in the Ensemble’s work. Alongside the great masterpieces of the Baroque repertoire, it has helped bring a number of forgotten or rarely performed compositions back to the stage.

With a particular passion for vocal music, the Ensemble Baroque de Nice has been behind modern revivals of several operas and lyrical works, including Vivaldi’s Dorilla in Tempe, L’incoronazione di Dario and Rosmira fedele, as well as Alessandro Scarlatti’s Il Telemaco and his oratorio La Giuditta, the latter presented in a production by Gilbert Blin.

These projects have also resulted in recordings and appearances at prestigious French festivals, including Musique à la Chabotterie, Les Heures Musicales de l’Abbaye de Lessay and the Festival de La Chaise-Dieu.

In June 2012, the Ensemble continued its exploration of Scarlatti with the revival of Il Tigrane at Opéra de Nice. Directed by Gilbert Blin, the production was warmly received by audiences and the specialist press.

^{Video via Ensemble Baroque de Nice on YouTube}

From chamber music to grand vocal works

Collaborations with internationally renowned soloists and leading vocal ensembles have enabled the Ensemble Baroque de Nice to explore the full breadth of the Baroque repertoire, from intimate chamber music to large-scale secular and sacred vocal works.

Its work has also been extensively documented on record. Since its creation, the Ensemble has made around twenty recordings, many devoted to previously unrecorded or little-known works, earning widespread recognition from the music press.

A regular presence at international festivals, the Ensemble continues to perform throughout France and abroad while remaining firmly rooted in Nice and the Côte d’Azur.

Supported since its creation by the Département des Alpes-Maritimes, the Ensemble also receives support from the City of Nice and the Région Sud – Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur.

A rich and varied programme for 2026/’27

The Ensemble Baroque de Nice continues its mission with a varied programme that celebrates both the familiar and the unexpected. Each concert offers audiences an opportunity to journey through the music, styles and emotions of the Baroque era, combining landmark works with rare compositions waiting to be rediscovered.

ALESSANDRO SCARLATTI – CONCERTI GROSSI, OP. 4
Église Saint-François-de-Paul, Vieux Nice | 9 October, 2026 at 8 pm

Concerti grossi have played a central role in the Ensemble Baroque de Nice’s repertoire since its earliest days. Fittingly, the 2026/2027 season will open with a return to these musical roots, presenting the complete Concerti Grossi, Op. 4 by Alessandro Scarlatti.

TICKETS

J.S. BACH – CONCERTOS POUR DEUX CLAVECINS
Église Saint-François-de-Paul, Vieux Nice | 13 November, 2026 at 8 pm

Featuring Arnaud de Pasquale and Mathilde Mugot on harpischord, Gilbert Bezzina conducting and on violin, Federica Basilico, Laura Corolla and Myriam Mahnane, all on violin, Hélène Cooigner on alto, Daniele Bovo on cello and Sergio Basilico on theorbo.

TICKETS

G.F. HANDEL – SONATES EN TRIO OP. 2 (INTEGRALE)
Église Saint-Martin – Saint-Augustin | 11 December, 2026 at 8 pm

Published around 1731, by which time Handel was already enjoying considerable success in London, the Trio Sonatas, Op. 2 were written for “two violins, two oboes or two transverse flutes, and basso continuo.”