Antiqua Escena is dedicated to the recovery of the historical memory of the arts and techniques of Spanish Golden Age theatre. It was created by stage designers and theatre researchers Juan Sanz and Miguel Ángel Coso. Together they have worked for more than 25 years on investigating, restoring and and promoting the Antiguo Teatro Cervantes in Alcalá de Henares (the 'Corral de Comedias') which dates from 1601. They have also designed and carried out museum projects such as the Museo Casa de Dulcinea de el Toboso, the Centro de Interpretación del Palacio de Nuevo Baztán and birthplace museum of Miguel Cervantes in Alcalá de Henares. In 2007 they designed the reception space and café-theatre for the Naves de Matadero del Teatro Español de Madrid. The first project that they set up under the Antiqua Escena name was El escenario de la ilusión, a scientific but playful look at the history of stage machinery in Baroque theatre. With this project they toured more than 30 theatres of the Spanish National Network of Theatres and Auditoriums.

Throughout their long career as stage designers we can highlight the following plays: Del Rey abajo ninguno, El rey que rabió, Romances del Cid, Adiós a la Bohemia y Black el payaso, Barcelona mapa de sombras, El viaje del Parnaso (Joseph Caudí Prize from the Asociación de Directores de Escena), Ay, Carmela, Help, Help, The Globolins!, Trilogía de la Juventud: Las manos (the Radio Nacional de España Ojo Crítico Prize for the best show of 1999, La Celestina Prize, best show of 1999 from the Feria de Teatro de Huesca, the 1999 Josep Caudí Prize for stage design from the Asociación de Directores de Escena), Retablo de la lujuria, la avaricia y la muerte o Didone, among others.

They have given conferences and classes in the following centres: Escuela de Tecnología del Espectáculo, Cursos Aforo Sala Cuarta Pared, Escuela Navarra de Teatro, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático y Danza and the Departament of Spanish and Portuguese of Trinity College, Dublin, the International Shakespeare Globe Centre in London, the Association of Hispanists of Britain and Ireland, the Cervantes Institute in Paris and they have also undertaken two conference tours of 14 North American universities.

They published El teatro Cervantes de Alcalá de Henares: 1602-1866. Estudio y documentos, fuentes para la historia del teatro de España, XVII (London, Tamesis Books, 1989) in collaboration with Mercedes Higuera Sánchez-Pardo: this study, along with all the 'C' series Tamesis books, has been declared as being of Scientific and Cultural Interest by the British Academy and the Union Academique Internacionale. They have been awarded the British Academy Humanities Research Board Research Grant for research into the 'Corrales de Comedias' theatres of 'la Cruz' and 'el Principe' under the direction of J.E. Varey and Charles Davis.

Ana Yepes created her Dance Company in the year 2000 with the aim of presenting different dance styles with great freedom of expression. The Company is made up of both contemporary and baroque dancers depending on the different productions in which they are taking part. The Company has participated in the premiere of Eclats Baroques, a show for six dancers made up of three court pieces from the Company's baroque repertoire. The tryptich Eclats de Donaíres is completed by Danses du Roi and Fiesta. Eclats Contemporains is another of their works, a contemporary dance piece comprising Fantasie pour trois danseurs y un table and Résonances which are combined with the Eclats Baroques.

Outstanding among their productions was the recital of old Spanish music and dance in the Corral de Comedias in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) in 2005 with the Narciso Yepes Trío. In October 2005 the Company presented Fiesta with South American baroque dances for six dancers in the Festival d'Ambronay (France), with the Elmya Group under the musical direction of Gabriel Garrido. The Company also participated in the new production of the contemporary opera Sampiero Corso by Henri Tomasi in the Marseille Municipal Opera as designed by Renée Auphan and Jean-Michel Criqui under Patrick Davin's direction. In May 2004 the Company presented Donaires, a Spanish baroque show from the age of Cervantes for six dancers and six musicians.

The Company has participated in various festivals and on various stages throughout Europe. In October 2003 the Company undertook a Japanese tour with Les Danses du Roi a piece comprising baroque dances for four dancers, seven musicians and a singer. The work consisted of court dances and theatre from the time of Louis XIV. In July 2005 the Company visited Croatia. In February 2002 the Company presented a new contemporary dance production Fantasie pour trois danseurs et une table, which combines solo, duo and trio scenes with music by Pärt, Rautaavara, Britten, McMillan and Bach.

In September 2000 the Company participated in the premiere of a new contemporary opera Beatrix Cenci by Alberto Ginastera in the Grand Théâtre in Geneva with stage design by Francisco Negrín and direction by Gisela Ben Dor. In homage to Narciso Yepes the Company has incorporated Résonances into its repertoire, a piece for four dancers based on some of Yepes's recordings which was premiered in 1999.

The Grande Chapelle, a result of the natural growth of the Capilla Príncipe de Viana, has, in a short time, become an essential reference on the early Spanish music scene, thanks to the balance of its versions -with emphasis on the voices- and its musicological meticulousness. It is offering, with surprising success, a new perspective of the great Spanish vocal repertory, and always with experienced international soloists. Through its painstaking work in recovering the Spanish musical heritage, in both concerts and recordings, it has earned the respect of institutions and critics.

La Grande Chapelle is an early music vocal and instrumental group with a European vocation. It takes its name from the celebrated musical chapelle of the House of Burgundy and, subsequently, of the House of Hapsburg, which served the Spanish branch until the 17^th century. It was also known as the capilla flamenca and was under the direction of such maestros as N. Gombert, F. Rogier and M. Romero . During the period of the emperor Charles V, it was "the most respected and excellent choir in Christianity", according to a declaration in 1551 by the Venetian ambassador, Cavalli . As in its time, La Grande Chapelle is made up of seasoned performers from different European countries . The heterogeneity of the group is a distinctive trademark that shies away from the uniformity of pitch and gives priority to sonorous reliefs. In addition to encouraging the amalgam of different techniques and musical schools, the aim is to create a platform for meeting and an exchange of ideas to enrich our knowledge of the past.

La Grande Chapelle, founded by maestro Ángel Recasens, begins its venture in 2005, based on the success obtained with the former Capilla Príncipe de Viana. This transformation was motivated by the need to employ a wide range of artistes, in the light of the in-house musicological research undertaken in recent years.

The Grande Chapelle's interests are principally focused on the field of sacred music, as befits a musical capilla. Its main objective is to apply a new reading to the grand vocal works of the 16^th, 17^th and 18^th centuries, with special emphasis on the polychoral productions of the Baroque, particularly those of Spain. At the same time it aims to contribute to the urgent task of recovering the Spanish musical repertoire. That is why, from its heart, it stimulates research (the gathering of material, inventory, study, and transcription), premieres previously unknown repertoires, records CDs, and even publishes works following the most exacting scientific methodology.

Each performance is backed up by rigorous musicological research of the musical sources and the historical-productive context, without, however, falling prey to the temptations of a sterile fundamentalism that distances the musician from his or her main task.

La Grande Chapelle has performed in the most important music festivals and seasons in Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Seville, Granada, Peralada, Cuenca, Salamanca, Pamplona, etc.) and has been invited to tour in Belgium, France, Germany, Mexico, Japan and China. For many years Ángel Recasens was opposed to studio recordings, as he considered them a denaturation of the authentic sense of the music, and for a long time only allowed live broadcasts on radio and TV. However, in 2005, he began an ambitious project for a series of recordings with Lauda, the label of La Grande Chapelle. In the first year alone the following discs were released: Among Adventures and Enchantments. Music for Don Quijote (LAU001), Requiem for Cervantes. Mateo Romero: Missa pro Defunctis (LAU002), The Flight of Icarus. Music for the Baroque Eros (LAU003), that have been critically acclaimed in the specialised press. In 2006, the group's attention focused on two of the most important Spanish composers of the 18^th century: José de Nebra (Vísperas, LAU004) and Antonio Rodríguez de Hita (Canciones instrumentales, LAU005). That year Lauda signed an agreement with the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) to jointly publish recordings of Spanish music. The ambitious work, Airs of Seduction. Music for the Legend of Don Juan (LAU006) commissioned by the Sociedad Estatal de Conmemoraciones Culturales (State society for cultural commemorations), the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and CSIC (Spanish National Research Center), was the outstanding new release of 2007.

The group cooperates with other public and private institutions, mainly performing commissioned programmes.

Following the death of Àngel Recasens, a victim of cancer, in August 2007, Albert Recasens has taken over the artistic direction of the ensemble.

For more information visit the official site of La Grande Chapelle