Les Ombres [Shadows] project was born out of a partnership between Margaux Blanchard and Sylvain Sartre at the Schola Cantorum in Basel. Two timbres, two personalities, the same curiosity for forgotten repertoires. The dual leadership of the ensemble reflects its quest for diversity, renewal and modernity. Intergenerational and committed, Les Ombres project is developing, from chamber music to opera to theatre for young audiences, in a quest for excellence and respect for the ethical values close to its founders’ hearts.
Committed to its relationship with the public, the ensemble places emotion at the heart of its offerings. The energy of a movement, the impetus of the dialogue, the work on light, the choice of repertoires and rhythm: the poetry of the performance shapes a programme whose harmony and architecture must move the spectator.
This human, sensory and multidisciplinary approach to the ancient repertoire reveals the echoes of our present with the past. By bringing it to the stage in music and images, Les Ombres inscribe the baroque into the contemporary world and make the great issues of our time resonate in the light of past centuries. The colours, atmospheres, poetry and harmony that emerge from their creations guide spectators through the discovery of a little-known repertoire and invite them to contemplate the unsettling similarities of the times.
Among the talented and intergenerational team that has grown steadfast over the past ten years are Eléonore Pancrazi, Judith van Wanroij, Chantal Santon, Emmanuelle de Negri and Joao Fernandes, Mathias Vidal and Alain Buet, in productions given on the stages of prestigious opera houses and international festivals (Opéra Royal de Versailles, Folle Journée, Opéra National de Montpellier, Grange au Lac d’Évian, Festival d’Ambronay, Freunde Alter Musik Basel, York, Utrecht, Bergamo, Tokyo and more).
Their records are critically acclaimed: 4F (ffff ) Télérama, Choc de Classica, Quobuzissime, Coup de cœur du jardin des critiques de France musique, Supersonic Pizzicatto, etc.
Les Ombres record for the Mirare and Château de Versailles Spectacles labels (for the latter, the remarkable Sémiramis by Destouches, released in June 2021 was awarded a Diamant by Opéra Magazine).
La Caisse des Dépôts is the main sponsor of Les Ombres. The ensemble benefits from the support of the DRAC and the Occitanie/Pyrénées-méditerranée Region.
Les Ombres are in residence at the Centre culturel de rencontre d’Ambronay as part of the cross-residency scheme set up throughout France by the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles.The ensemble is an “associated artist” of the Fondation Singer-Polignac, the Maguelone Festival and is in residence at the Nuits musicales d’Uzès. The ensemble is a member of FEVIS and PROFEDIM.