La Lira di Orfeo
Biography La Lira di Orfeo
Raffaele Pe
Described as "A baroque star" by Hugh Canning in The Times, Raffaele Pe is today's most sought-after countertenor, contended by conductors, orchestras and ensembles, not only in the baroque field. His repertoire ranges from the masterpieces of Recitar Cantando to eighteenth-century opera, and even further up to the twentieth century of Britten and Pärt.
He collaborates with renowned musicians such as Jordi Savall, William Christie, John Eliot Gardiner to name just a few who acknowledged the exceptional talent and potential of this artist, constantly inviting him in taking part in important music projects internationally.
But Raffaele is - to all intents and purposes - much more than a refined performer: in order to escape the frenzies of the showbiz market, Raffaele Pe founded his own ensemble, La Lira di Orfeo, a collective of musicians, artists and researchers brought together by the common ethos of studying a repertoire in continuous rediscovery.
At the head of La Lira di Orfeo (LdO), Raffaele is introducing a real revolution in the world of baroque music by proposing innovative programmes and new theatre productions curated in a modern aesthetic key of great charm alongside artists of the highest profile.
From the care of new editions of unpublished repertoire, to the design of the performances, Raffaele and the collective move with ease between the arts to create immersive, unique and involving performances that look back to the past with a new sensibility.
The ability to narrate the repertoire, the charismatic personality and the public figure that emerges from Raffaele's numerous presences in the media, have helped him to bring this extraordinary music to the attention of the general public with a diversification of record products of great cultural importance and original initiatives in the publishing and audiovisual field (TV & Cinema).
Following the brilliant debut for Deutschland Radio Kultur at the Philharmonie in Berlin and the invitation at the Wigmore Hall, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Theater an der Wien, the Halle Festival, among many others, La Lira di Orfeo is now acknowledged as an authoritative young Italian voice in the domain of the interpretation of vocal music between the XVII and XVIII centuries.
Since December 2015 Raffaele Pe and La Lira di Orfeo have been ensemble in residence at the Music Room of the Maria Cosway Foundation in Lodi, with the aim of enhancing and passing on the cultural and musical heritage of Maria Hadfield Cosway in a broad and international perspective.
A very active discographic activity includes “The Medici Castrato” (Glossa), “Alessandro Scarlatti. Concerti Sacri” (Amadeus) and “Giulio Cesare. A baroque Hero” (Glossa) which has been enthusiastically received by all the main specialized magazines internationally, as well as being awarded the prestigious “Abbiati Prize”. In September 2021 a new album is released by Glossa of Handel’s “Aci, Galatea e Polifemo”, the new critic edition La Lira d’Orfeo made of the version for Senesino.
