pygmalion

Alongside the canonical works explored by Pygmalion (Bach’s Passions, Rameau’s lyrical tragedies, Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor, Mendelssohn’s Elias, Monteverdi’s Vespers), the ensemble creates original programs that highlight the links between works while incorporating the spirit of their creation: Mozart & the Weber Sisters, Miranda (music by Purcell), Stravaganza d’Amore! (evoking the birth of opera at the Medici court), Enfers (with Stéphane Degout), the cycle Bach en 7 paroles (at the Philharmonie de Paris), and Libertà! (retracing the beginnings of Mozart’s dramma giocoso).

Pygmalion has created for itself a singular identity within the international musical landscape, thanks to its critical and popular success with challenging projects that often blend the old and the new. 

When performing operas, Pygmalion has collaborated with such directors as Katie Mitchell, Romeo Castellucci, Simon McBurney, Aurélien Bory, Jetske Mijnssen, Pierre Audi, Valérie Lesort and Christian Hecq, Cyril Teste, Clément Cogitore, and Michel Fau.

As the artist-in-residence at the Opéra National de Bordeaux, Pygmalion has for several years offered Kiosque Pygmalion, a season of chamber music concerts and free educational workshops open to all. In 2020, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, Pygmalion launched the Pulsations festival in Bordeaux.

Pygmalion performs regularly on the biggest stages in France (Philharmonie de Paris, Opéra royal de Versailles, Opéra-Comique, Opéra de Paris, Aix-en-Provence, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Toulouse, among others) and internationally (Vienne, Salzbourg, Amsterdam, Bruxelles, Londres, Hambourg, Dortmund, Berlin, Francfort, Essen, Madrid, Barcelone, Valence, Milan, Naples, Pékin, Hong-Kong, and other cities).

Pygmalion has been recording for harmonia mundi since 2014.

Among the awards the ensemble has received: Gramophone Classical Music Awards (United Kingdom), OPER! Awards 2025 and Preis der Schallplattenkritik (Germany), Edison Klassiek Award (Netherlands), Diapason d’Or of the Year, Choc de Classica and Victoire de la Musique Classique (France).

Pygmalion is artist-in-residence at the Opéra National de Bordeaux. It enjoys the support of the Direction régionale des affaires culturelles de Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Ville de Bordeaux, Département de la Gironde, région Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Centre national de la musique. Ensemble associated with the Opéra-Comique (2023–2027), Pygmalion receives support from Château Haut-Bailly, the ensemble’s honorary patron. Pygmalion is artist-in-residence at Fondation Singer-Polignac as an associate artist and is a member of the Fédération des Ensembles Vocaux et Instrumentaux Spécialisés (FEVIS), Scène Ensemble, and Rézo MUSA. Fondation d’entreprise Société Générale and Eren Groupe are patrons of Pygmalion.

Since its creation, Pygmalion has been driven by a collective passion for daring, risk-taking, dedication to the past, belief in the future, friendship, music, tenacity, dreams, pushing boundaries, legacy, curiosity, innovation, independence, and openness to the world! Thanks to increasingly diverse audiences and outstanding partners, everyone at Pygmalion looks to the stars, listens to the sounds of the world, and strives to ensure that music continues to change our lives.

Pulsations Festival

In 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pygmalion launched the Pulsations festival in Bordeaux, an eclectic and ever-changing celebration featuring exceptional concerts and operas in unexpected venues: disused industrial factory, a submarine base, theatres, shopping centres, and more. A true festival-laboratory, Pulsations allows for different experiments exploring the transmission of classical music, placing audacity, emotion, and surprise at the heart of its projects.

‘With Pygmalion, Raphaël Pichon constantly strives to bring the great scores into resonance with our times. The search for new sensations is at the heart of the project of a conductor determined not to confine classical music to its niche.’ (Le Figaro, Christian Merlin, 2023)

‘A leading light of his generation, Pichon’s music-making is original and highly personal, yet builds impeccably on the rich tradition that underpins it.’  (Gramophone, Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, 2023)

‘The freshness and bubbling passion that emanate from Pygmalion’s concerts are those of their conductor.’ (Libération, Eric Dahan, 2014)