COMBATTIMENTO

The Seville Baroque Orchestra (OBS), with its 30 years of experience, is undoubtedly among the leading Spanish ensembles dedicated to the performance of early music with historicist criteria. Its artistic activity takes place on the most important stages in Spain and Europe, with a prominent presence in Andalusia and, especially, in Seville, where it maintains a regular concert season.

Since its foundation in 1995, it has worked with top international figures such as Gustav Leonhardt, Christophe Coin, Sigiswald Kuijken, Jordi Savall, Andrea Marcon, Giovanni Antonini, Monica Huggett, Diego Fasolis and Enrico Onofri, among others.

The OBS has recorded an extensive collection of pieces from the Andalusian heritage repertoire under its own label, OBS-Prometeo, in addition to collaborating with record labels such as Harmonia Mundi, Lindoro, Almaviva and, more recently, the Belgian label Passacaille. It has received numerous honours, such as the Editor's Choice from Gramophone magazine, Exceptional from Scherzo and Ritmo Parade, Recommended from CD Compact and AudioClásica, 5 stars from Goldberg, Melómano de Oro, among others.

In 2011, it was awarded the National Music Award. It has also received the Manuel de Falla Award 2010, the FestClásica Award 2011 and an Honorary Distinction from Seville City Council. The OBS has the support of the Ministry of Culture and Seville City Council and collaborates with other institutions, such as the Regional Government of Andalusia and the University of Seville.

Born in Florence, Fausto Nardi studied piano, composition and conducting at the conservatory in his hometown and at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin. His international career began as assistant to Claudio Abbado at the Lucerne Festival (2005/06), where he participated in notable projects such as tours with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and recordings of Mozart's The Magic Flute with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.

Between 2005 and 2013, he worked regularly as an assistant director at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, collaborating on productions such as The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Linda di Chamounix, La clemenza di Tito, Idomeneo and Lohengrin. He was also an assistant at the Korean National Opera in Seoul for Falstaff.

He made his debut as an opera director in Germany in 2005 with Piccinni's La Cecchina in Rheinsberg. Since then, he has conducted baroque and classical operas in festivals and theatres across Europe, such as Handel's Rinaldo (Karlsruhe Handel Festival, 2010), a production that earned him an invitation from the Dortmund Opera to conduct Cavalli's L'Eliogabalo (2011) and Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea (2012).

Subsequently, he has been invited on several occasions by the Castell de Peralada Festival, where he has conducted, among others, Wagner's Das Liebesverbot (2013), broadcast by Radio Nacional de España, and a highly acclaimed production of Monteverdi's madrigals (2016), also presented at the Arriaga Theatre in Bilbao with the group Vespres d'Arnadí (2017) and in Seville with the Seville Baroque Orchestra (2025). At the Youth Opera in Weikersheim, he conducted the JONC Youth Orchestra of Catalonia, performing La Bohème (2019), and the Orchestra dei Filarmonici Friulani in L'elisir d'amore (2023).

He has conducted orchestras like the Dortmund Philharmoniker, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the soloists of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Berliner Symphoniker, the Filharmonia Kameralna Sopot and the Oviedo Filarmonía.

Since 2015, he has been a professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg and at the Laboratory of Excellence // Opera® of Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland.

Born in Badajoz, Víctor Sordo began his piano and choral music studies with Guadalupe Rey and Alonso Gómez, respectively. He later moved to Seville, where he studied for the Higher Degree in Choir Conducting with Ricardo Rodríguez.

He completed his choral education with Peter Philips, Owen Rees, Fernando Eldoro, Graham O'Reilly, Marcel Pérès, Tamara Brooks, Marco Berrini and Javier Busto, among others. Vocally, he is self-taught, though he has received advice from artists such as Isabel Álvarez, Miguel Bernal, Bart Vandewege, Lambert Climent, María Coronada, Jan Van Elsacker, Lluís Vilamajó and Kevin Smith.

Specialising in historical singing (pre-19th century), he regularly collaborates as a soloist with some of the best formations on the international scene, such as Le Concert des Nations, Hespèrion XXI, Capella Reial de Catalunya, La Ritirata, Ricercar Consort, The Harp Consort, Les Saqueboutiers de Toulouse, Seville Baroque Orchestra, Vespres d'Arnadí, Trondheim Barokk, Al Ayre Español, Sollazzo Ensemble, Tasto Solo, Barrocade Israeli and Forma Antiqva, directed by Jordi Savall, Kenneth Weiss, Eduardo López Banzo, Enrico Onofri, Aarón Zapico, Andrew Lawrence-King, Philippe Pierlot, Josetxu Obregón, Martin Wahlberg, Anna Danilevskaia, Guillermo Pérez and Daniel Espasa.

He also sings as a soloist with modern orchestras such as the Balearic Islands Symphony Orchestra, the Cadaqués Orchestra, the Madrid Community Orchestra, the ADDA Orchestra, the Extremadura Symphony Orchestra, the Verum Orchestra and the Seville Symphony Orchestra, with conductors including Víctor Pablo Pérez, Pablo Mielgo, Michael Thomas, Fausto Nardi, Amaya Añúa, Manuel Coves and Pedro Halffter, mainly performing opera and oratorio from before the 19th century.

He has also collaborated with prestigious groups such as Collegium Vocale Gent, La Colombina, Arsys Bourgogne, Música Ficta, Barcelona Ars Nova, La Galanía and Ghislieri Consort, working with conductors and ensembles such as Philippe Herreweghe, Jordi Savall, Frans Brüggen, Lluís Vilamajó, Alfredo Bernardini, Jean Tubéry, Giulio Prandi, Pierre Cao, Mireia Barrera, Raúl Mallavibarrena, La Caravaggia, Les Talens Lyriques, La Fenice, Akademie für Alte Musik, Ensemble Zefiro and Le Concert Lorraine, among others. He has performed in the most prestigious festivals and venues in Spain, France, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Colombia, Canada and India, among many other countries.

His activity in terms of making albums and appearing on radio and television is consistently intense, with recordings for labels such as Deutsche Grammophon, Sony–Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Alia Vox, Flora, Pentatone, K617, Ánima e Corpo, Glossa, Vanitas, Enchiriadis, IBS Classical, Brilliant Classics and OBS-Prometeo, as well as collaborations with media such as France Musique, MEZZO, ARTE, NDR, RTVE, RNE, Radio Klara, Polskie Radio and Catalunya Ràdio.

Among his most personal projects is the vocal quartet Vandalia, alongside contralto Sonia Gancedo, which functions both as a recording studio and musical ensemble and carries out a great deal of musical education work through a YouTube channel and social media.

He is also part of the teaching staff of the Andalusia Youth Choir and regularly gives talks and workshops at institutions including UNAM (Mexico City), UAM (Madrid), INDICEX (Extremadura), Antigua Xixón (Asturias), Mare Nostrum (Almería) and Mirabilia (Cuenca).