Fresh from his triumphant onstage success in Paris, Berlin and Brussels singing leading roles in the operas of Rameau and Mozart, tenor Reinoud Van Mechelen presents his long-awaited first Mozart recording. Together with his ensemble A Nocte Temporis, he has devised a highly imaginative programme.

From the eleven single opera and concert arias for tenor and orchestra that are ascribed to Mozart, the Belgian tenor has selected those that are entirely in the composer’s hand – leaving out the ones completed or reconstructed by others, and adding an exquisite aria from Mitridate, re di Ponto. Mozart was only nine years old when in 1765, during his stay in London, he launched into his first opera aria for tenor and orchestra, to verses from a libretto by Metastasio. At the end of 1766, on his return to Salzburg, the child prodigy composed Or che il dover – Tali e cotanti sono KV 36 for a festive celebration, making the court aware of his enormous talent. Throughout his career, alongside his own operas Mozart also wrote arias intended for insertion into the operas of other composers, hidden masterpieces that now receive revelatory performances.

Reinoud Van Mechelen – tenor & conductor
A Nocte Temporis

Anna Besson, Sien Huybrechts – transverse flute
Marcel Ponseele, Nele Vertommen – oboe
Niels Copalle, Josep Casadellà – bassoon
Jeroen Billiet, Georg Koehler – horn
Angelina Meza, Luigi Giannini – clarinet

Rodolfo Richter (concertmaster), Izana Soria, Marrie Mooij, Ellie Nimeroski, Marieke Vos – violin I
Elise Dupont (section leader), Ortwin Lowyck, Isabelle Verachtert, Maia Silberstein – violin II
Manuela Bucher, Ingrid Bourgeois – viola
Ronan Kernoa, Mathilde Wolfs – cello
Elise Christiaens, Sanne Deprettere – double bass

Julian Zimmermann, Olivier Mourault – trumpet
Koen Plaetinck – timpani