Emmanuelle Haïm

Although formal training in conducting never figured in her background, Emmanuelle Haïm has nevertheless established herself among the foremost interpreters of Baroque opera and choral repertoire, both on the podium and at the harpsichord. She leads her own period-instrument group, Le Concert d'Astrée.

Born in Paris on May 11, 1962, she descends from a line of Breton organ builders; her stepfather counted András Schiff and Zoltán Kocsis among his circle. These connections sparked her interest in the piano, and she joined her siblings in performing chamber music at the gatherings they frequented. A professional path in music soon followed. Haïm spent thirteen years at the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSMDP), beginning with piano before turning to harpsichord in her mid-twenties in order to join a performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion. Her instructors there included Kenneth Gilbert and Christophe Rousset, with whom she recorded Handel's Riccardo Primo as harpsichordist in 1996, and she collected the institution's highest awards. Conductor William Christie noticed her keyboard work and engaged her with Les Arts Florissants for a decade, during which she absorbed his approach to direction. She also collaborated in Baroque and Classical programs under such figures as Simon Rattle, who later supported her own conducting projects, and she served as accompanist to Cecilia Bartoli and other vocalists.

Her first experience leading an orchestra arose spontaneously when instrumentalist colleagues sought rehearsal time with singers and she consented to direct an ad-hoc group. Baroque opera opportunities soon followed, and in 2000 she founded Le Concert d'Astrée. The new ensemble placed her at the center of attention, prompting the Independent to liken her rehearsal manner to "a ballerina on speed," and invitations multiplied. Her initial recording with the ensemble appeared in 2002 on the Erato/Virgin label: Handel's Arcadian Duets, featuring Natalie Dessay among its distinguished soloists. That same year she led Monteverdi's Orfeo at London's Barbican Centre in six sold-out performances starring tenor Ian Bostridge. While she accepted numerous guest engagements, she has largely resisted offers outside Baroque territory. During the 2005-2006 season she conducted Orfeo twenty times throughout France. In 2007 she became the first woman to conduct at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, directing Handel's Giulio Cesare. Concerto Köln invited her to lead its 2010 album Caldara in Vienna, one of many similar projects. She remains artistic director of Le Concert d'Astrée while continuing an active calendar of appearances, occasionally with modern symphony orchestras. By 2022 her discography exceeded eighty-five releases, among them that year's Une nouvelle fête Baroque!