René Jacobs

René Jacobs (Gent, 30 October 1946) is a Belgian musician who enjoys international recognition as an opera singer (countertenor) and conductor.

He took his first steps in music at Sint-Lievenscollege in Gent, where he was part of the "gregorianen", a select group of the Schola Cantorum of the Sint-Baafskathedraal under the direction of priest Noël Van Wambeke.
After studying classical philology at the university of Gent and singing at the conservatory of this city, he taught for some time at Sint-Lievenscollege. He also took singing lessons with Louis Devos and Alfred Deller, who allowed him to develop his exceptional alto voice.
In 1977 he became a full-time musician. He founded his own ensemble, the 'Concerto Vocale' and also performed internationally as a countertenor. He became a lecturer at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and from 1988 onwards he was also affiliated with the Centre de Musique baroque de Versailles.
In 1991 he became artistic director of the Festival van Innsbruck. This was the beginning of his successful opera career, first as a countertenor with roles such as Orfeus in Gluck's opera of the same name or Admeto in the opera by Händel. Subsequently he became a conductor and provided innovative interpretations of some great 18th-century operas. He carried out, among other things, considerable work through the rewriting of manuscripts concerning the instrumentation and ornamentation of the sung parts.