Based in Ravenna, the Accademia Bizantina ensemble was founded in 1989 and has
been directed since 1996 by harpsichordist and conductor Ottavio Dantone (b.
1960). The ensemble specializes in Baroque music on period instruments, and has
recorded a large number of works for the Arts Music, Decca and Naïve labels. The
first recording of Giuseppe Sarti's opera Giulio Sabino (1999) was followed by
interpretations of compositions by Bach, Scarlatti, Vivaldi, Handel, Haydn and
Corelli. In 2005, the ensemble performed Handel's opera Rinaldo at La Scala in
Milan, then at the Glyndebourne ...