René Jacobs
René Jacobs (born 30 October 1946) is a Belgian musician. He came to fame as a countertenor, recording both the standard repertoire as well as rarely performed sacred music and operas in historically informed performances. He taught interpretation and Baroque singing style at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. From 1988 he also taught at the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles.
In 1977 he founded the Concerto Vocale and conducted them first in sacred music, later also in early operas. He became principal guest conductor and artistic adviser for Baroque repertoire at the Berlin State Opera, and collaborated with La Monnaie in Brussels and Theater an der Wien, among others. He focused on less-known Baroque operas, also exploring works by Mozart and Rossini. A recording of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro earned him a Grammy Award, among many others. He was awarded the Handel Prize for his work for Handel's operas, and the Telemann Prize for his contributions to performing Telemann's music internationally.
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