Karina Gauvin
Born in Bergamo, Italy, Anna Maria Strada del Pò was active as a singer from 1719 to 1741, and made her London debut on December 2, 1729 in Handel’s Lotario. During her career, the composer created no fewer than thirteen roles for her, including Elmira in Sosarme, Angelica in Orlando and the title role in Alcina. She also sang in eleven revivals-- often with arias reworked especially for her (such as in Flavio), as well as oratorios. Strada del Pò was one of only three singers for whom Handel wrote a high C. The soprano’s talent and style may have influenced the composer’s work as much as he contributed to the vocal and dramatic development of the prima donna in the first decades of the 18th century.

Karina Gauvin has impressed audiences and critics the world over with her luscious timbre, profound musicality and wide vocal range. The Globe and Mail calls her “one of the dream sopranos of our time.” The Sunday Times in London wrote, “Her glinting soprano, bright-edged yet deliciously rounded and sensual, is used with rare understanding for character.” Ms. Gauvin’s repertoire ranges from the music of J.S. Bach to Luciano Berio, and her discography for ATMA Classique has included more than 10 recordings featuring music by Bach, Britten, Fauré, Handel, Mahler, Mozart, Popora, Poulenc, and Purcell. Upcoming recording projects for Ms. Gauvin include a live concert recording of Handel’s Messiah with Tafelmusik scheduled for October release; a new disc of Mozart arias for ATMA Classique; and a recording of Giulio Cesare also featuring contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux on the Naïve label.

Arion Baroque Orchestra
The musicians of Arion started playing together in 1981. From the outset, their concerts were unanimously hailed for their clarity and gusto as well as their refined and expressive performances of a vast array of carefully-chosen early music works. An unrelenting attention to detail has made Arion's artistic achievements worthy of those of the greatest current chamber ensembles.

Though still a quartet when touring, Arion has grown to a fully-fledged chamber orchestra, calling upon other musicians and world-renowned guest artists to perform vocal and instrumental works in its high-profile series of concerts in Montreal. The latter include Barthold Kuijken, Monica Huggett, Daniel Taylor, Hervé Niquet or Sarah Cunningham.

A recipient of numerous awards and grants, Arion has toured extensively throughout Canada, Europe, Mexico and the United States. Recent invitations have brought the artists to the Women's Musical Club of Toronto and the renowned Frick Collection in New York, before a tour of Western Canada's major centres. Upcoming tours include the Canadian Prairies, Europe (with a performance at the prestigious South Bank Centre in London), the Canadian Maritimes and the east coast of the United States.

Alexander Weimann
In recent years Alexander Weimann has established a reputation as one of the leading harpsichordists and ensemble leaders of his generation. He has performed throughout Europe, Canada and the United States, and has appeared at prominent festivals and concerts in Berkeley, Boston, Tanglewood, Washington, Montréal, Toronto, London, Paris, Madrid, Göttingen, Halle, Karlsruhe, Ludwigsburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Graz, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Vienna, Utrecht etc... He is a regular member of Tragicomedia and also appears as frequent guest artist with Cantus Cölln, Ensemble 415, Freiburger Baroque Orchestra, Tafelmusik...

Mr. Weimann was born in Munich, Germany, where he studied musicology, theatre theory, medieval latin, organ, church music and jazz piano from 1985-90. In 1997 his group Le Nuove Musiche won first prize in the early music competition Concorso Premio Bonporti in Rovereto, Italy. From 1990-95 he taught music theory at the Münchner Musikhochschule, and since 1998, he has given classes in harpsichord, chamber music and performance practice at the Lunds University in Malmø, Sweden, the Hochschule für Musik in Bremen, Germany, and also at several American festivals and universities, including Berkeley, Boston and Dartmouth. Mr. Weimann currently lives in Berlin.