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American soprano Angela Meade made her professional operatic debut on the Met stage in 2008, stepping in for an ill colleague to sing Elvira in Verdi’s Ernani. Since then she has become known for excelling in the most demanding heroines of the 19th-century bel canto repertoire, and the operas of Verdi and Mozart, receiving such accolades as Washington National Opera’s 2013 Artist of the Year. Returns to the Met have included the title roles in Norma and Sir David McVicar’s new Anna Bolena, and as the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro. Highlights of recent seasons include Semiramide and Mefistofele at the MET, Norma and Ermione at San Carlo in Naples, Aida at the Liceu in Barcelona and at the Arena di Verona, Die Walküre at the Seattle Opera, Simon Boccanegra at the Festival Verdi in Parma, Il trovatore at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo and at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville.
Egyptian soprano Fatma Saïd’s list of accolades for El Nour, her 2020 debut album with Warner Classics, included BBC Music Magazine’s Newcomer of the Year and Vocal Award, Opus Klassik’s 2021 Young Artist of the Year, and the Gramophone Award for Song. Her 2021/22 season began with a gala concert in Istanbul with Rolando Villazón, to be followed by recitals at Concertgebouw Amsterdam, deSingel Antwerp and DeutschlandFunk Cologne. Her season also includes concerts with the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, DSO Berlin and Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, and a debut at the Opéra de Rouen as Pamina. Previously a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist, Saïd also regularly represents her home country as an ambassador for culture and education, and in 2016 became the first opera singer ever to be awarded Egypt’s Creativity Award.
Originaire du sud de l’Italie et née en 1978, Maria Agresta sort diplômée du conservatoire Guiseppe Martucci de Salerne puis rejoint l’institut de musique Vecchi-Tonelli de Modène. Ce n’est qu’en 2006 que cette jeune soprano obtient ses premiers rôles, avec Rosina dans Le Barbier de Séville de Rossini, au Teatro Lirico Sperimentale de Spoleto. En 2007, elle y interprète Leonora dans Le Trouvère de Verdi. Elle obtient également le rôle de Desdémone dans Otello de Verdi, dans les théâtres italiens de Teramo, Papeterie, Ortona et Pescara.
En 2011, elle interprète la Duchesse Hélène des Vêpres Siciliennes de Verdi au Teatro Regio de Turin, dirigée par Gianandrea Noseda. Elle se voit rapidement offrir de grands rôles, comme le rôle-titre de Norma de Bellini à Tel-Aviv, puis Mimi dans La Bohême aux Arènes de Vérone, La Traviata à Cagliari ou encore Amelia dans Simon Boccanegra à l’Opéra de Rome. La Scala lui ouvre ses portes en 2012 avec le rôle de Donna Elvira dans Don Giovanni. Vérone l’accueille alors de nouveau pour sa prise du rôle de Liu dans Turandot. En 2013, elle interprète Elvira dans I Puritani de Bellini pour ses débuts à Paris-Bastilleen remplacement de Natalie Dessay, puis prend le rôle de Leonora dans Oberto, Comte de Saint-Boniface de Verdi à La Scala. Elle débute également à La Fenice de Venise en Amalia dans Les Brigands.
En 2014, elle fait ses débuts à Covent Garden dans le rôle de Lucrezia Contarini de I due Foscari sous la direction d’Antonio Pappano. En 2015, elle débute au Théâtre des Champs-Elysées et à Zürich dans Norma et à l’Opéra d’Etat de Vienne avec La Bohème, qui lui offre également ses débuts au Met en 2016. Cette année-là, elle débute à l’Opéra d’Etat de Bavière dans La Traviata (qu’elle reprend à l’Opéra allemand de Berlin l’année suivante). Toujours en 2016, elle prête sa voix à Marguerite dans Faust (Gounod) au Festival de Salzbourg, puis reprend le rôle-titre de Norma pour ses débuts au Teatro Real de Madrid. Elle retourne au Met en 2017 en Micaëla dans Carmen et débute à l’Opéra de Monte-Carlo avec Le Trouvère. En 2018, Zürich lui offre sa prise du rôle-titre de Luisa Miller, tandis qu’elle débute à l’Opéra d’Etat de Berlin avec celle d’Alice Ford dans Falstaff et à l’Opéra de Chicago avec Le Trouvère. En 2019, elle prend le rôle-titre d’Anna Bolena à Rome et celui d’Elisabeth de Valois dans Don Carlo à Madrid.
She is the recipient of the First Prize, the Audience Prize, the Orchestra and Technicians’ Prize of the Concours International de Chant de Mâcon, the First Prize and Special Prize of the Jury of Léopold Bellan International Competition, of a Golden Medal from Manhattan International Music Competition, and is a winner of Armel Opera Competition, as well as a finalist of Concorso Liricio Internazionale Ottavio Ziino and Concours International George Enescu. This season, Jeanne will be making her debut at the Opéra National de Paris for a Beethoven concert (Amphithéâtre Bastille), at the Chorégies d’Orange for the 10th anniversary of Musiques en fête, at the Festival de Pâques d’Aix-en-Provence where she will give a recital with Renaud Capuçon and Tanguy de Williencourt, and at the Festival de Fénétrange under the baton of Mathieu Herzog with the Ensemble Appassionato. Upcoming roles include Sophie (Werther) at the Opéra de Nice, Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) at the Grand Théâtre, Scène Nationale de Mâcon under the baton of Eric Geneste directed by Sébastien Lemoine, Dorinda (The Tempest) and The Second Woman (Dido and Aeneas) conducted by Leonardo García Alarcón with the Cappella Mediterranea, staged by Pascal Neyron at the Rencontres Musicales d’Evian – La Grange au Lac. Her next recording projects are the song cycles of Karol Beffa’s next album under French label Klarthe as well as the role of Tessa (Die Afrikareise) with the Sofia Philharmonic and conductor Dario Salvi for Naxos Records.
Most recent operatic engagements include Der Hüter des Tempels (Die Frau ohne Schatten) under the baton of Valery Gergiev during the Verbier Festival, Le Feu/ Rossignol (cover) in Richard Jones’s production of L’Enfant et les sortilèges at the Opéra National de Paris and Amore (Orfeo ed Euridice) at Opera North in Sweden and Budapest Palace of Arts. As a chamber musician, Jeanne has performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space, Danny Kaye Playhouse, Bargemusic, Dimenna Center, the Bohemian Hall in New-York, Grand Théâtre de Provence, Salle Cortot…
Jeanne Gérard has earned a Master’s of classical voice from Manhattan School of Music, where she studied under the tutelage of Patricia Misslin. She took part in the masterclasses of Thomas Hampson, Thomas Quasthoff, Barbara Frittoli, Mariella Devia, Graham Johnson, Dalton Baldwin, Martin Katz, Jake Heggie, Giulio Zappa… Jeanne has been a member of the Martina Arroyo Foundation, Songfest and the Atelier Lyrique of the Verbier Festival. Jeanne studied humanities at Henri IV (classe préparatoire littéraire) and holds a bachelor degree in philosophy from la Sorbonne. A versatile artist, she studied acting with Jean-Laurent Cochet, Scott Williams and Matt Newton, and played the roles of Mrs Wire in The Lady of Larkspur Lotion (T. Williams), Girl in Mr Paradise (T. Williams) and Yelena in Uncle Vanya (A. Chekhov) at the Producers’ Club in New-York. She trained in dance at the Centre de Danse du Marais and at the Broadway Dance Center. She has performed in famous jazz clubs in Paris and New York such as Le Petit Journal Montparnasse, The Manderley Bar, The Bitter End and The Lounge.
Jeanne’s performances have been broadcasted on Medici TV, Arte Concert, France Musique and France 3.
Soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan, renowned for her dramatic sensibility and innovative artistry, has spent over 30 years at the forefront of contemporary music. She has developed close collaborations with luminaries such as John Zorn, Simon Rattle, Kent Nagano, and Krzysztof Warlikowski. A tireless advocate for modern music, Hannigan has premiered nearly 100 new works and collaborated with composers like Boulez, Ligeti, and Abrahamsen.
Beginning her career as a soprano, she gained recognition for tackling challenging roles before transitioning to conducting at age 40. Now, she regularly leads major orchestras including the Concertgebouw, Cleveland Orchestra, and Montreal Symphony, while maintaining relationships with festivals like Aix-en-Provence and Spoleto. Recent highlights include her acclaimed dual role in Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine, where she sings and conducts, and world premieres such as Golfam Khayam’s I am not a tale to be told.
In the 2024/25 season, she will return to lead orchestras including the London Symphony, Munich Philharmonic, and Iceland Symphony, while also embarking on a vocal recital tour with Bertrand Chamayou. In 2026, she will assume the role of Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.
Hannigan’s recordings have garnered international acclaim. Her album Crazy Girl Crazy won the 2018 Grammy for Best Classical Solo Vocal album, alongside an Edison and Juno Award. Her recent works include Hannigan Sings Zorn and collaborations with Juilliard and the Royal Academy of Music. A passionate mentor, she founded Equilibrium Young Artists and Momentum: Our Future Now to support emerging musicians.
Her numerous accolades include the Order of Canada, Gramophone Magazine’s Artist of the Year (2022), and Denmark’s Léonie Sonning Music Prize. Hannigan resides in Finistère, France, connecting her Atlantic coast home to her roots in Nova Scotia.
Hungarian soprano Emőke Baráth began her musical education studying the piano and the harp. She began singing at the age of 18 following the teaching of József Hormai and Katalin Szőke and then Professor Júlia Pászthy at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. During the 2011/2012 school year, she also studied at the Luigi Cherubini Conservatory in Florence, Italy. In 2009, she received the third prize at the 44th Anton Dvorak International Competition (Czech Republic). In 2011, she won the First Prize and the award of the Public at the Second International Singing Competition for Baroque Opera in Innsbruck (Austria). The same year, she won the Grand Prix of Verbier Festival Academy (Switzerland). She took part in several master classes with, among others, Barbara Bonney, Kiri Te Kanawa, Stephen Stubbs, Deborah York. Early on, as a student she was already invited to perform as a soloist at many festivals and venues as famous as the Müpa (Budapest, Hungary) and the Hungarian State Opera, the Theater an der Wien, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Opéra Royal de Versailles in France and the Verbier Festival in Switzerland; the Nikolaisaal in Potsdam, the Braunschweig Staatstheater, and the Brandenburger Theater in Germany; the Concert Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, Russia.
Sophie Ellen Frank is the creator of the educational concept and artistic director of the Opera Academy. Born in 1963 in Osaka, Japan, Sophie Ellen Frank made her debut at the age of four in the role of the child in Madame Butterfly at the Grand Théâtre de Genève in the arms of Dame Gwyneth Jones. She went on to sing as a member and soloist of the children’s choir in Turandot, Carmen, Wozzeck, Les Troyens and Der Wildschütz in Geneva and Darmstadt. From backstage, she observed her mother, Nicole Buloze, then a world-renowned dancer, choreographer and singer. Sophie studied violin and cello, classical dance and theatre at the conservatories in Darmstadt and Basel.
After her commercial and aviation safety training in Geneva, she continued her singing studies at the Conservatoire and the Ecole d’Opéra from 1987 to 1992. She worked with Gabriel Bacquier, José van Dam, Régine Crespin, Gloria Davy, Nancy Long, Kammersängerin Christa Ludwig, Sena Jurinac, Gert Krämer. Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro was her first major role, and she has since performed, among others, Cherubino, Dorabella, Donna Elvira, Rosalinde, Sesto, Rosina, Haensel and Orlovsky in Geneva, Frankfurt, Lyon and Zurich.
She has produced and directed numerous events in Geneva such as the Italian Opera Week, the Russian Music Week, and Rossini’s Inganno Felice with Sonja Yoncheva.
Italian singer Barbara Frittoli is considered today as one of the greatest lyrico-spinto sopranos of her generation. Born in Milan, Frittoli graduated with the highest honour from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan, where she studied with Giovanna Canetti. She later was the winner of several international competitions. Among her career’s most remarkable performances have been Le Nozze di Figaro (Contessa d’Almaviva) in Ferrara, Otello (Desdemona) at the Salzburg Festival and at Teatro Regio in Turin with Claudio Abbado, Così Fan Tutte (Fiordiligi) at the Wiener Staatsoper and at Ravenna Festival with Riccardo Muti. In addition to Abbado and Muti, she has worked with a long list of distinguished conductors: Lorin Maazel, Georges Priêtre, Daniele Gatti, Antonio Pappano and Riccardo Chailly.
Established as one of the finest sopranos of her generation, Anna Caterina won prestigious prizes at the Voci Verdiane, Callas and Pavarotti competitions.
She has been honoured with the ‘Chevalier de l’Ordre National de la Légion d’honneur’ by the French Republic, which is the highest national distinction one can receive. Her first recording Era la Notte for the Naive label received great acclaim and she has also recorded L’Alba separa dalla luce l’ombra for Wigmore Live, with her pianist Donald Sulzen, featuring songs by Tosti, Cilea, and Hahn.
After shining over the baroque stage for over a decade, Véronique Gens has achieved a strong international reputation and is now considered one of the best Mozart singers. One of her most prominent roles, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni staged by Peter Brook and conducted by Claudio Abbado at the Aix-en-Provence Festival earned her worldwide recognition.
In 1999, she was chosen Lyrical Performer of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique Classique.
Her repertoire includes the greatest Mozart parts (Donna Elvira, Contessa Almaviva, Vitellia, Fiordiligi…), famous roles from lyrical tragedies (Iphigénie en Tauride, Iphigénie en Aulide, Alceste…) as well as later ones such as Alice Ford (Falstaff), Eva (Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Madame Lidoine (Dialogues des Carmélites), Hélène (La Belle Hélène), Missia Palmeri (Die Lustige Witwe).
In addition to her wide-ranging classical repertoire, Véronique Gens gives numerous concerts and French melodies recitals all over the world, notably in Paris, Amsterdam, Dresden, Berlin, Vienna, Prague, London, Tanglewood, Beijing, Stockholm, Moscow, Geneva or Edimburgh.
She has performed on the most prestigious stages in the world: Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper, Paris National Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, La Monnaie in Brussels, Gran Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona, Teatro Real in Madrid, La Scala in Milan, the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam as well as at the Festivals of Aix-en-Provence, Salzburg and Glyndebourne.
Véronique Gens thus had the opportunity to sing under the baton of conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Alain Altinoglu, Bertrand de Billy, Ivor Bolton, Jonathan Cohen, William Christie, Myung-Whun Chung, Charles Dutoit, Daniel Harding, Thomas Hengelbrock, Marek Janowski, Philippe Jordan, Louis Langrée, Jean-Claude Malgoire, Sir Neville Marriner, Marc Minkowski, Jérémie Rhorer, Christophe Rousset, Daniele Rustioni, Michel Plasson… and to collaborate with renowned stage directors like Pierre Audi, Calixto Bieito, Peter Brook, Willy Decker, Jurgen Flimm, Claus Guth, Michael Haneke, Christof Loy, Olivier Py, Graham Vick, Krzysztof Warlikowski, Dmitri Tcherniakov…
More recently, she sang in Alceste at the Wiener Staatsoper, La Belle Hélène at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Don Giovanni in Amsterdam, at the Wiener Staatsoper, at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich and at the Liceu in Barcelona, La Clemenza di Tito in Dresden and at the Wiener Staatsoper, Falstaff at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Les Indes Galantes in Budapest, Alceste, Iphigénie en Tauride, Die lustige Witwe, Les Troyens and Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Giulietta) at the Paris National Opera, Dialogues des Carmélites in Paris, Caen and at La Monnaie in Brussels, Faust in an original concert version of 1859 revisited by Christophe Rousset, La Fille de Madame Angot and Maître Péronilla (Leona) by Offenbach at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, La Calisto at la Scala… In concert, she sang melodies by Henri Duparc with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Le Poème de l’Amour et de la Mer by Ernest Chausson with the Orchestre National de Lille and with the Mitteldeutscher Sinfonieorchester, the Orchestre national de Lyon and the Orchestre de Cannes. Les Nuits d’été with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra,the Orchestre national des Pays de Loire and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, La Voix humaine by Francis Poulenc at the Atelier Lyrique in Tourcoing, Shéhérazade by Maurice Ravel under the baton of Daniele Rustioni in Lyon, at the Festival Estoril in Lisbon, in Oslo with Vassily Petrenko and Berlin with the Wiener Symphoniker, the Wesendonck Lieder with the Orchestre des Champs-Elysées under the baton of Philippe Herreweghe, La Nonne sanglante by Berlioz at the Festival de la Côte-Saint-André, La Mort de Cléopâtre with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo and the Orchestre national de Metz, melodies by Berlioz with the Orchestre de Picardie, Armide in Brussels, Metz and at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Mahler Rückert-Lieder in Nancy and Brussels, Shéhérazade at the Musikverein in Vienna, Saint-Saëns Requiem with the Orchestre National de France, Circé by Desmarets Ariane et Bacchus by Marin Marais with Concert Spirituel, Scylla et Glaucus (Circé) by Leclair in Budapest and Rivales with the Concert de la loge in Metz, Massy and at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Zoroastre (Erinice) on tour with Les Ambassadeurs and Hulda by César Franck with the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège.
Her noteworthy projects in the upcoming seasons Armide by Gluck at the Opéra Comique, Dialogues des Carmélites (Madame Lidoine) in Munich, La Fille de Madame Angot at the Opéra Comique and Iphigénie en Aulide at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence… In concert, she will sing Iphigénie en Tauride (Clytemnestre) by Campra with the Concert Spirituel, Castor et Pollux (Phébée) and Werther (Charlotte) in Budapest, Les Nuits d’été with the Orquesta Sinfónica by Galicia, Faust et Hélène by Lili Boulanger at the Edinburgh Festival as well as La Mort de Cléopâtre at the Cologne Philharmonic with Les Siècles, La Voix humaine with the National Orchestra de Lille, the title role of Médée by Charpentier with the Spiritual Concert. We will also hear her in recital with piano and with the ensemble Les Surprises or with I Giardini in Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Reims, London…
Very involved in the work lead by the Palazzetto Bru Zane Foundation – French Romantic Music Center, Véronique Gens participated to a lot of recordings belonging to the collection “Opéra français” as Herculanum by David, Cinq-Mars by Gounod, La Jacquerie by Lalo and Coquard, Proserpine by Saint-Saëns, Dante by Godard, La Reine de Chypre by Halévy and Faust by Gounod, Passionnément by Messager, Ô mon bel inconnu by Hahn, Maître Péronilla by Offenbach, La Fille de Madame Angot by Charles Lecocq…
Her many recordings (over 80 CDs and DVDs) have received several international awards. Néère, her recording devoted to French melodies, has won a Gramophone Award in 2016. Visions received an International Classic Music Awards as well as an International Opera Awards in 2018.
Véronique Gens has been promoted to the rank of Chevalier in the French order of Légion d’Honneur as well as Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres.