As a singer, conductor, teacher and scientist, René Jacobs is no doubt one of the most impressive personalities of today’s early music world. With countless opera performances and concerts, but also with an extensive discography of more than 250 recordings, he has thrilled a large audience. At the beginning of his career, in the 1970’s and 80’s, Jacobs caused sensation mainly as a singer: he belonged to the first generation of male altos in Europe, at a time when countertenors were still considered exotic in many places. On the occasion of Jacobs’ 70th birthday, Accent now issues a 5-CD box with the recordings made for the Belgian label at this early stage of his career, with repertoire ranging from early Baroque to Romanticism, from Purcell and Telemann to Gluck and Rossini.
