With his very first recording American countertenor Bejun Mehta provoked an uproar. His “precocious musical maturity” won for him at the age of fifteen the title Debut Artist of the Year. At this same age Mozart, upon commission from the Teatro Ducale in Milan, composed the opera Ascanio in Alba. Although he never achieved his dream of a permanent engagement in Italy, his music of that period sparkles with a joy-filled intoxication. And with this same intoxication, Collegium 1704 too will immerse itself in the splendour of the Italian sun alongside charismatic star Bejun Mehta, who among contemporary countertenors has no peer.