Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique

Leader - Peter Hanson

Since its inception the ORR has won plaudits for its interpretations of major early Romantic composers, from Berlioz to Beethoven, as well as later works by composers ranging from Verdi to Debussy.

Major projects have included Beethoven symphony cycles, Schumann Revealed and Brahms: Root and Memories, in which the ensemble recorded the complete symphonies of each respective composer.

The 2019/20 season marked 30 years since the founding of the ORR by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, as well as the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven. In celebration of these twin milestones, the orchestra embarked on another momentous project, performing a cycle of all nine of the composer’s symphonies in residencies across Europe and the United States.

The London performances were postponed by the pandemic, but in May 2024 the ORR, conducted by Dinis Sousa, will perform Beethoven’s complete symphonies at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, and a selection of his symphonies at the Philharmonie de Paris. In its 60th-anniversary year, the Monteverdi Choir will join the ORR for performances of Beethoven’s Mass in C major and Symphony No. 9 alongside soloists Lucy Crowe (soprano), Alice Coote (mezzo soprano), Allan Clayton (tenor) and William Thomas (bass). The ORR’s recordings of Beethoven’s symphonies have been described as a “tour de force… played at white heat”, “glorious” and “magnificent” by Gramophone magazine.

In 2015 the ORR turned to the music of Berlioz for a five-year exploration of the composer’s large-scale works, performing Roméo et Juliette, La damnation de Faust, Symphonie fantastique, Harold en Italie and Lélio across Europe and the United Sates. The project featured five consecutive appearances at London’s BBC Proms, a highlight of which was performing excerpts of Les Troyens alongside star mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. The celebrations culminated in 2019, marking the 150th anniversary of the composer’s death with the first contemporary performances of his opera Benvenuto Cellini on period instruments. The orchestra was joined by the Monteverdi Choir and a cast of international soloists for a series of critically acclaimed staged concerts of the opera at the BBC Proms, Berliner Festspiele, Festival Berlioz and Château de Versailles.

The ORR has performed operas by composers including Weber (Oberon and Le Freyschütz), Bizet (Carmen), Chabrier (L’Etoile), Verdi (Falstaff) and Debussy (Pelléas et Mélisande) in new productions in France, Italy and London, and gave the first complete staged performances in Paris of Berlioz’s Les Troyens in 2003.

In the summer of 2023 the ORR, with the Monteverdi Choir and outstanding soloists conducted by Dinis Sousa, performed Berlioz’s Les Troyens on a critically acclaimed European tour. Their performance at the BBC Proms received five-star reviews from the Financial Times, The Times, The Observer, Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard, The Arts Desk and Bachtrack.

The ORR is under the patronage of HM King Charles III.