Valiquette, Blondeel, Vidal, Brooymans, De Hys, Fau, Choir and Orchestra de l'Opéra Royal & Gaétan Jarry
Biography Valiquette, Blondeel, Vidal, Brooymans, De Hys, Fau, Choir and Orchestra de l'Opéra Royal & Gaétan Jarry
Gaétan Jarry
French conductor and organist Gaétan Jarry is the founder of the Marguerite Louise ensemble, a Baroque choir and orchestra. An alum of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, Jarry also won numerous first prizes at the conservatories of Versailles and Saint-Maur-des-Fossés.
Jarry is also one of the principal guest conductors of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera of Versailles, for which he has conducted numerous productions, such as Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and Die Entführung aus dem Serail. With around fifteen recordings celebrated by international critics, his discography is largely devoted to French Baroque music in which he infuses the aesthetics of Marguerite Louise into the repertoire for large choirs and orchestras, operas and grand royal motets by Lully, Charpentier, Lalande, Rameau, and Mondonville.
As a soloist, Jarry released the album Noëls Baroques à Versailles, recorded at the Grandes Orgues de la Chapelle Royale de Versailles in collaboration with the Pages du Centre de musique baroque de Versailles. He followed this with recordings of French Baroque organ repertoire, the organ concertos of G.F. Handel, and the opera David et Jonathas by M.A. Charpentier.
Orchestre de l'Opera Royal
The Royal Opera of the Château de Versailles presents one hundred performances each season, graced by great names and international performers on its prestigious stage. The Orchestre de l’Opéra Royal was founded in 2019 for The Ghosts of Versailles by John Corigliano. Comprising musicians who regularly work with leading conductors, the Orchestra champions a wide repertoire ranging from baroque to classical to romantic. Due to the history of the place whose name it bears, the core repertoire consist of music from the 17th and 18th centuries.
Several conductors lead the Orchestra throughout the seasons, each bringing their own musical vision depending on the programme, including Gaétan Jarry, Stefan Plewniak, Victor Jacob, Théotime Langlois de Swart, as well as Andrés Gambetta and Justin Taylor.
The Orchestra, with its varying formations, adapts to the requirements of the different projects of the Royal Opera and Château de Versailles Spectacles. From chamber music to opera and symphonic concerts, the Orchestra adapts its various formations to deliver the best musical cohesion for each genre. Its repertoire notably includes Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, works by Porpora, Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s violin concertos and St John Passion, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Zingarelli’s Romeo and Juliet, Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio, Don Giovanni and Requiem, Donizetti’s La Fille du régiment, and Bizet’s Carmen…
For the 2025-26 season, the Orchestre de l’Opéra Royal takes centre stage at its home venue, with over twenty-five productions and more than fifty performances, not including tours in France and abroad.
The Orchestra’s repertoire this season features Ariodante, Handel’s Messiah and Royal Fireworks Music, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio, Bach’s St John Passion, and Boismortier’s Les Saisons.
The Orchestra will continue exploring Romantic and 19th-century music with Offenbach’s La Vie parisienne, Rossini’s Cinderella, Gounod’s Faust, as well as a New Year’s concert celebrating the bicentenary of Johann Strauss. Additionally, the Orchestra will accompany the Malandain Ballet Biarritz in Les Saisons and Marie-Antoinette, as well as renowned artists Théo Imart, Alex Rosen, Juliette Mey, and Franco Fagioli in exceptional recitals.
Highly active on tour, the Royal Opera Orchestra showcases its virtuosity on France’s most prestigious stages as well as internationally. It regularly performs at Salle Gaveau (Paris), Théâtre de Poissy, Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, the New Year Festival in Gstaad, on tour in South Korea, and at major summer festivals including Festival Valloire Baroque, the Abbey of Le Thoronet, Cahors, Prades, Bauges, Uzès, Festival de Sablé, La Rochelle, Guéthary, Flâneries Musicales de Reims, Menton, Teatros del Canal in Madrid, Castellón, Peralada Festival, the National Auditorium of Music in Madrid, Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse, and the Handel Festival in Karlsruhe.
In 2024, the Orchestra completed a fifteen-date tour across China, Mongolia, and Vietnam, returning there for the 2024-25 season. This series of concerts helped export the expertise of the Orchestra’s musicians to Asia. Notably, the Orchestra performed at the inauguration of Hanoi’s Ho Guom Opera House in 2023, establishing a partnership between the two opera houses. This collaboration was further strengthened through the co-production of Thierry Malandain’s ballet Les Saisons in December 2023, which toured Hanoi in 2024, and with performances of Bizet’s Carmen in April 2025.
In July 2025, the Orchestra will embark on a North American tour, performing in New York, at the Napa Valley Festival, and in Canada. This season also marks the Orchestra’s debut at the Enesco Festival in Bucharest (Romania) and the Bayreuth Baroque Festival, alongside a new Asian tour featuring the ballets Les Saisons and Marie-Antoinette.
A key contributor to the Château de Versailles Spectacles label—winner of the 2022 Label of the Year award from the International Classical Music Awards—the Orchestre de l’Opéra Royal actively participates in its recordings. Among the most notable are Pergolesi and Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater under Marie Van Rhijn’s direction (awarded the Diamant by Opéra Magazine), Couperin’s Leçons de Ténèbres conducted by Stéphane Fuget, Guido and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with Andrés Gabetta (Choc by Classica), Zingarelli’s Romeo and Juliet under Stefan Plewniak (Choc by Classica), Purcell and Handel’s Coronation Anthems compiled by Gaétan Jarry in The Crown, the Plácido Domingo Gala in Versailles, Handel’s Messiah under Franco Fagioli, Mozart’s Don Giovanni and The Abduction from the Seraglio on DVD, Dis-moi Vénus… with Marie Perbost and Gaétan Jarry (France Musique’s Choice), and Franco Fagioli’s recital Arias for Velluti, the Last Castrato.
