Minkowski ranks among the most outstanding musical personalities of his generation. He began his musical studies as a bassoonist but soon decided to concentrate on conducting.

At the age of 19 he founded Les Musiciens du Louvre with the aim of reviving the Baroque repertory.

Soprano Ermonela Jaho, who received her first singing lessons at the age of six, later won a scholarship to study under Katia Ricciarelli in Mantua and attended the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. She has won awards in Milan, Ancona and Rovereto.

Her most emblematic roles include the leads in La traviata and Madama Butterfly, Liù in Turandot, and Suor Angelica. French, Russian and German operas are also part of her repertory.