The company was founded in 1994 by
Christian Curnyn.
Handel's operas feature prominently in its repertoire, and the Company has given notable performances of
Acis and Galatea,
Dido and Aeneas,
Agrippina in New York,
Orlando at the
South Bank Centre Early Music Festival and
Partenope at the
Linbury Studio Theatre. They have also recorded
Partenope and
Semele for the Chaconne label on
Chandos Records. The recording of
Semele was awarded the Handel Prize in 2008. Soloists who have performed with the company include
Joshua Bell,
Sam Haywood and
Jonathan Biss. They performed at the Lufthansa Baroque Music Festival, in May 2009, with
John Eccles's
The Judgment of Paris in one of its first performances. The ensemble also made the premiere recording of the work for
Chandos Records. ==References==