La Nique à Satan

Founded in 1942 by Victor Desarzens, the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne (OCL) has become one of the most sought-after chamber orchestras in Europe. After six years under the artistic direction of American conductor Joshua Weilerstein, the OCL is now led by the celebrated French violinist Renaud Capuçon. Comprising some forty musicians, the Orchestra’s vast repertoire ranges from early Baroque to contemporary works.

The OCL was soon invited to perform abroad, in the most renowned concert halls and festivals. It took part in the second Aix-en-Provence Festival and several editions of the Enescu Festival in Bucharest. His tours of Germany and the United States have been resounding successes, as have his concerts at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, the BBC Proms in London, the Wiener Konzerthaus and the Berliner Philharmoniker. In the 2023-2024 season, the OCL will perform in Madrid, Barcelona and, for the first time, at the Philharmonie de Paris.

Throughout its existence, the OCL has performed with leading soloists. These include Clara Haskil, Alfred Cortot, Walter Gieseking, Edwin Fischer, Murray Perahia, Radu Lupu, Martha Argerich, Nikolai Lugansky, Daniel Barenboim and Frank Peter Zimmermann. The OCL has also always attracted the most interesting conductors of their time, including Paul Hindemith, Günter Wand, Christoph Eschenbach, Ton Koopman, Jeffrey Tate, Bertrand de Billy, Simone Young and Daniel Harding.

The OCL boasts an extensive discography: from the complete operas of Haydn in the 1970s-1980s conducted by Antal Dorati to the Beethoven and Mozart concertos with Christian Zacharias, not to mention recordings dedicated to Schoenberg and Webern (with Heinz Holliger) and Spohr and Weber (with Paul Meyer).

Graduating with the highest honors from the prestigious schools of Lausanne and Zurich, Hélène Walter trained under the guidance of Teresa Berganza, Helmut Deutsch, John Fiore, Luisa Castellani, Christian Immler, and has performed under the baton of Ton Koopman and Michel Corboz. After her studies, she further refined her skills with renowned interpreters such as Alessandra Rossi, Heidi Brunner, Raul Gimenez, and François Le Roux.

Hélène Walter has enjoyed a brilliant international career, performing on prestigious stages such as the Müpa in Budapest, the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, and the Musikverein in Vienna, under the direction of Martin Böckstiegel, François-Xavier Roth, Pierre Bleuse, Lucie Leguay, and Corrado Rovaris. In Mozart’s works, she has portrayed roles such as Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Sandrina (La finta giardiniera), and the Countess (Le nozze di Figaro). She has also performed as Elle (La Voix Humaine by Poulenc), Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare by Handel), and Manon by Massenet.

An eclectic artist, active both on opera stages and in concert halls, Hélène Walter has performed Bach’s Mass in B minor, the Passions, the Christmas and Easter Oratorios with the Musiciens du Louvre, Solisti Veneti, Spirito, the Pygmalion ensemble, and in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with the Basel Kammerorchester. In 2022, she sang Pierrot Lunaire by Schoenberg alongside the Ensemble Orchestral Contemporain and Bruno Mantovani, and she was a guest of the Ensemble Intercontemporain in 2018.

Hélène Walter has featured prominently in two major discographic productions, recorded at the prestigious Château de Versailles with La Chapelle Harmonique and more recently with La Chapelle Rhénane. Critic Ermes Mercuri praised her « vocal class and fascinating stage maturity » as « the highly talented Hélène Walter. »

Born in Geneva, Natacha Casagrande first studied violin before pursuing voice, choral conducting, and orchestral conducting at the Haute école de musique de Genève.

From 1990 to 2002, she was a professional member of the Ensemble Vocal de Lausanne, performing as a chorister, soloist, and assistant conductor to Michel Corboz. Since 1995, she has conducted the Cantus Laetus de Genève, with whom she explores a wide repertoire ranging from the Baroque period to the 20th century, with a particular focus on original works that are rarely performed for a general audience. In 1999, she took over the Cercle Bach de Genève, with which she performs major choral works accompanied by orchestra or organ.

She collaborates regularly with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Geneva Chamber Orchestra, the Ensemble instrumental of the EVL, the Sinfonietta de Lausanne, the Orchestre de Cannes PACA, the Ensemble Baroque du Léman, and the Capriccio of Basel.

Alongside her work as a singer and conductor, she dedicates much of her time to teaching (voice and choral conducting), both privately and at AMA Musique, as well as at the Haute école de musique de Genève, where she has taught choral conducting since September 2004. She also leads summer workshops (at the Noirlac Abbey and the Hindemith Foundation), and is regularly invited by the Vaud and Valais choral directors’ associations to give workshops in conducting and choral singing.

Benjamin Knobil is a Franco-American actor, director, and writer, born in Paris in 1967. While studying history at the Sorbonne, he trained at the Théâtre en Actes school in Paris under the direction of Lucien Marchal, and attended workshops with Peter Stein, Lev Dodin, Luca Ronconi, Yannis Kokkos, Joël Pommerat, Catherine Anne, Stanislas Nordey, Hervé Pierre, Jean-Louis Hourdin, Dan Jemmet, Marc Liebens, and Christopher Fettes.

Passionate about exploring metaphysical anxiety and dreamlike themes in theatre—often through outcast and desperate characters—Benjamin Knobil founded the company Nonante-trois in 1993. With this company, he has created over thirty productions in Switzerland and France, while also pursuing a career as a writer, actor, and educator.

His notable productions include Boulettes (SSA Prize 2008), L’Enfant et les Sortilèges by Maurice Ravel and Colette (2010), Le Chant du Crabe (2011), Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky (2013), L’Amour masqué by Messager (2014), Bouffons de l’Opéra (2016), The Whore of Ohio by Hanock Levin (2017), Les Trois Baisers du diable by Offenbach (2018), Jeanne et Hiro by Richard Dubugnon (2019), Antigone after Sophocles (2021), and Les clochards célestes du Rebetiko, presented at the TKM (2022).

The Haute école de musique de Genève (HEM) Orchestra is made up of students from the institution. It partners with renowned professional ensembles in the Lake Geneva region, and attracts the interest of acclaimed conductors. The Orchestra conducts yearly international tours and has performed in Hungary, China, Japan, France, Singapore and Finland.

An important regional cultural player, the HEM Orchestra regularly collaborates with the Grand Théâtre de Genève (GTG), the Paléo festival in Nyon and the Archipel contemporary music festival. The orchestral academy organised every two years with the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (ZHdK) under the direction of renowned conductors is a major event in the institution’s calendar. The HEM Orchestra regularly collaborates with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR), the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève (OCG), the Ensemble Symphonique Neuchâtelois (ESN) and the Orchestre des Pays de Savoie (OPS). 

A focus on contemporary repertoires, close ties with the HEM composition class, and the numerous collaborations with the Geneva contemporary music ensemble Contrechamps means the students have the opportunity to perform the music of our time and to create the works of the composers of the future.

The HEM Orchestra is conducted by renowned conductors, including Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Leonardo García Alarcón, Pierre-André Valade, Emmanuel Krivine, Pierre Bleuse, Markus Stenz, and Domingo Garcia Hindoyan. Guest conductors for the 2023-2024 academic year include Clement Power, Laurent Gay, Peter Eötvös, Gábor Takács-Nagy, Guillaume Tourniaire, Kevin Griffith, Facundo Agudin, and Victorien Vanoosten.

The orchestra is also conducted by students of the HEM orchestral conducting class (under Professor Laurent Gay) during sessions organised as part of the curriculum.

Since its creation, the HEM Orchestra has taken part in several recording projects, some of which have garnered international critical acclaim.

The Choral Workshop of the Geneva Haute école de musique (HEM) is one of the school’s permanent ensembles, designed to offer ensemble practice to around a hundred students from across all disciplines. It is composed primarily of pianists, organists, and guitarists, but also includes students from theoretical departments, the Music and Movement program, and a few vocalists.

As part of the artistic community formed by all the contributors to the school’s musical life, the Choral Workshop initiates its own artistic projects and also takes part in large-scale productions within HEM and in collaboration with external partners.

The Cantus Laetus de Genève is a mixed chamber choir composed of around thirty singers. Founded by Henri Paychère in 1966, it was conducted by Jean-Marie Curti from 1974 to 1994 and has been under the direction of Natacha Casagrande since 1995. The choir is a member of the Fédération des chœurs genevois and AGECO.

Its repertoire spans from the Baroque era to the 21st century, performed a cappella, with piano, organ, or various instrumental ensembles such as the Geneva Chamber Orchestra, Musica Poetica of Annecy, and the Ensemble Baroque du Léman.

A particular emphasis is placed on exploring lesser-known choral works, such as the Requiem by A. Campra and J.D. Zelenka, Handel’s Belshazzar, Holst’s Ode to Death and Seven Part Songs, Kodály’s Missa brevis, P. Hubert’s Messe op. 13, and Faust by Fanny Mendelssohn.
The choir also performs major choral works, including the Requiem by Mozart and Fauré, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and, for its 40th anniversary, Handel’s Messiah, which was met with great acclaim at the Victoria Hall.

The choir occasionally collaborates with other vocal ensembles, such as the Chœur Théâtral d’Avully, with whom it presented a concert in 1998 dedicated to Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, as well as Frank Martin’s musical drama La Nique à Satan that same year. With the Cercle Jean-Sébastien Bach de Genève, it performed Puccini’s Messa di Gloria in 2002 and Verdi’s Requiem in 2008.

Cantus Laetus presents two to three concerts per year, primarily in Geneva, where it has been invited by festivals and series such as the Printemps Carougeois, the Cathedral Concerts, and the Concerts Spirituels. The choir regularly participates in the St-Martin concerts in Vevey and has also performed in nearby France, including Christmas concerts at the Ferney-Voltaire Temple and the Chartreuse de Mélan in Taninges.

In April 2009, the choir took part in events marking the anniversary of John Calvin’s birth, performing the winning piece of a Psalm competition dedicated to the occasion, as part of a concert featuring works by Protestant composers from various eras.

In October 2010, Cantus Laetus was invited by the prestigious Bach Festival of Lausanne to perform works by Buxtehude, J.C. Bach, and J.S. Bach.

In March 2011, it performed Poulenc’s Stabat Mater and Franck’s Rédemption at Victoria Hall, together with the Cercle Jean-Sébastien Bach de Genève and the Geneva Chamber Orchestra.

In November 2012, the choir premiered Salve Regina by Lionel Rogg, for soprano, choir, and organ, at a concert held at the Basilica of Notre-Dame in Geneva.