(Credit: Courtesy of Les Talens Lyriques)

The Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras has announced that Christophe Rousset will lead the ensemble MCO for its upcoming Baroque Christmas tour.

Rousset will make his MCO conducting debut this December before leading concerts at the Teatro alla Scala and the ensembles’ home at St Martin-in-the-Fields.

Rousset’s appointment follows the announcement that conductor and MCO founder Sir John Eliot Gardiner would step down from the organization following an assault on bass singer Will Thomas at the Berlioz Festival at La Côte-Saint-André in France in August of 2023.

“I’m very proud to have sung in the choir for the last 23 years and we are really excited that this December the Monteverdi Choir will collaborate with Christophe Rousset,” Choir member Sam Evans said in an official statement. “It is going to be a thrill for the Monteverdi Choir to bring Christophe’s vision for these Christmas masterpieces to life in what is a new chapter for us going forward.”

Rousset added, “I felt very honored to receive the invitation to conduct a Christmas programme with the MCO. From an early age, I have been a great fan of this ensemble and its founder. Having the chance to work with this wonderful ‘instrument’ at my fingertips is a great privilege.”

Rousset specializes in the performance of Baroque music on period instruments and is the founder of the French music ensemble Les Talens Lyriques. He has guest conducted at the Gran Theatre del Liceu, Teatro San Carlo Naples, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House, and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.