Educational program

V&B Baroque 2026:

“L’Orchestre du Roi: Lully and French Baroque Music”

Lucca, 18-26 July 2026

in collaboration with
Istituto Giovanni Battista Lulli
Institut français de Florence

The L’Orchestre du Roi course is dedicated to the study and performance of the opera Ballet Royal de la naissance de Vénus by Jean-Baptiste Lully and the 17th-century French Baroque music and the musical tradition of the court of Versailles. The final concert will take place on Sunday, July 26th in Palazzo Pfanner – Lucca.

The course offers an in-depth immersion in the French orchestral and vocal style of the age of Louis XIV, addressing its historical, rhetorical, and performance foundations: orchestral layout, balance of parts, the relationship between music and declamation, and the articulation of instrumental and vocal gesture.

The collaboration between the Virtuoso & Belcanto Festival, the Istituto Giovanni Battista Lulli, and the Institut Français de Florence launches a shared path of advanced training and artistic research, aimed at rediscovering Lullian practice and poetics through philological criteria and contemporary sensitivity. Baroque V&B will be the first step in a possible theater production, in collaboration with a network of Italian theaters.

Set within the framework of the Virtuoso & Belcanto Festival, the masterclass is intended for young instrumentalists and singers interested in deepening their knowledge of 17th-century French performance practice, through a program that combines historical rigor with collective musical practice.

STEP 1

The masterclass is divided into two complementary sections:

Instrumental section
Ensemble music course and orchestral workshop devoted to Lullian repertoire and the French orchestral tradition.

Vocal section
Course in declamation, style, and ornamentation of French Baroque singing, with particular focus on the relationship between text and music.

Activities will take place in parallel in the morning, with ensemble sessions in the afternoon.

Dates: 18–26 July 2026
Main venue: Lucca – Real Collegio
Language: English and Italian

Phase 1 – Study and training (18–21 July)

Morning (9:30–13:00)

• Instrumentalists: orchestral workshop and ensemble music
• Singers:
  • 9:30–10:30 – collective theory class (declamation, pronunciation, ornamentation, text rhetoric)
  • 10:30–11:00 – break
  • 11:00–13:00 – individual lessons (30 minutes each)

Each active singer will receive two individual 30-minute lessons over the four days (maximum 8–10 singers).

Afternoon (15:00–18:00)
Collective ensemble sessions with orchestra and voices.

Phase 2 – Rehearsals and program building (22–25 July)

Morning (9:30–13:00)
Orchestral rehearsals with the progressive integration of vocal parts.

Afternoon (15:00–18:30)
Full ensemble rehearsals in concert formation.

Phase 3 – Final concert (26 July)

Morning: general rehearsal
Evening: public final concert as part of the Festival

STEP 2

The ensemble will be formed in accordance with the historical tradition of the Orchestre des Vingt-Quatre Violons du Roy, with a variable number of participants (12–30 instrumentalists).

• Dessus de violon – Baroque violins
• Haute-contre, taille and quinte de violon – Baroque violas of different sizes
• Basse de violon
• Continuo (theorbo, harpsichord, viola da gamba, bassoon)

Reference pitch: A = 392 Hz
Active voices: maximum 8–10 singers

• To create a new opera production dedicated to the work of Jean-Baptiste Lully.
• To offer an in-depth educational experience in 17th-century French performance practice
• To encourage dialogue between instrumentalists and singers in the study of Lullian repertoire
• To foster the artistic development of young performers in an international context
• To strengthen the cultural link between Lucca and the French musical tradition, in the name of Jean-Baptiste Lully.