A dual citizen of Switzerland and Argentina, Leonardo García-Alarcón is invited to perform by the world’s leading opera and music institutions, from the Paris Opera to the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid and the Grand Théâtre de Genève, the city where he began his career.
After studying piano in Argentina, Leonardo García-Alarcón moved to Europe in 1997 and enrolled at the Geneva Conservatory in the class of harpsichordist Christiane Jaccottet. It was largely thanks to Gabriel Garrido that he subsequently embarked on a career in Baroque music and orchestral conducting.
In just a few years, Leonardo García-Alarcón has become one of the most acclaimed conductors in Baroque music, particularly thanks to his highly acclaimed concert premieres. He divides his time between Geneva, France, Belgium, and his native South America. This has created a kind of geographical eclecticism, which is reflected in his repertoire.
As a conductor and harpsichordist, he is in high demand at festivals and concert halls around the world. He is a regular guest of Les Violons du Roy in Canada, the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Gulbenkian Orchestra. He was named Best Conductor in the 2019 Forum Opéra Awards, notably following his triumphant performance of Les Indes Galantes at the Opéra Bastille.
In 2025, he was named Artist of the Year by the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA).
In 2005, he founded the Franco-Swiss ensemble Cappella Mediterranea.
In 2014, he also founded the Millenium Orchestra in Belgium to accompany the Namur Chamber Choir. He has served as the choir’s conductor since 2010, and it is recognized as one of the finest contemporary Baroque choral ensembles.
In 2021, he became the artistic director of La Cité Bleue Genève, which is set to open in 2024.
With a passion and a calling to breathe new life into little-known works by Sacrati, Draghi, Falvetti, and D’India, he is credited with the rediscovery of numerous operas by Cavalli, such as *Eliogabalo* in 2016 at the Paris Opera, *Il Giasone* in Geneva, and *Erismena* at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in 2017. At the Dijon Opera, in 2018, he rewrote the missing music for the third act of Antonio Draghi’s El Prometeo. In 2019, he recreated Francesco Sacrati’s La Finta Pazza, and in December 2020, Luigi Rossi’s Il Palazzo Incantato.
In 2022, he conducted Lully’s Atys, directed and choreographed by Angelin Preljocaj, in Geneva and then in Versailles. Shortly thereafter, he conducted Bach’s St. Matthew Passion at the Dijon Auditorium. In September 2022, Leonardo García-Alarcón premiered an oratorio composed entirely by him—La Passione di Gesù, overo Il Vangelo di Giuda—in Ambronay and Geneva.
Leonardo García-Alarcón is a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters.
Notable among these is the 2020 recording of Draghi’s *El Prometeo*, released shortly before the recording of Handel’s *Samson* with the Millennium Orchestra and the Namur Chamber Choir. In 2021, numerous albums recorded during the lockdowns were released: *Rebirth* (Sony Classical) with Sonya Yoncheva; Lamenti & Sospiri (Ricercar) with Mariana Flores and Julie Roset; Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo (Alpha Classics) with Valerio Contaldo; and Bach before Bach (Alpha Classics) with violinist Chouchane Siranossian and cellist Bálazs Máté. In 2022, Handel’s Semele was released, featuring the Millenium Orchestra and the Namur Chamber Choir (Ricercar), along with the world premiere recording of Sacrati’s La Finta Pazza (Château Versailles Spectacles) and a recital by Julie Roset featuring works by Handel.
