THE ARTISTS
When Patrizia di Paolo staged La Traviata at the Barbarigo-Minotto in Venice in 2005, she fully became an “interpretive instrument of masterpieces”. The artist, who is committed to tradition, finds the Hotel Dosne-Thiers a unique source of inspiration for bringing Verdi’s heroes to life.
To express the feelings of Violetta, Alfredo and Germont, Patrizia di Paolo can count on the sensitivity of superb young French artists who will alternate in the roles. Admirable sopranos, Emilie Rose Bry, Armelle Khourdoïan or Aurélie Loilier will play Violetta alongside, among others, tenors Matthieu Justine, Thomas Ricart, Mathieu Septier, Christophe Poncet de Solages as well as baritones Benoît Gadel, Jiwon Song or Timothée Varon. These remarkable artists, who are already well known, are undoubtedly the future stars of the opera.
DISTRIBUTIONS
Emilie Rose Bry
Role : Violetta Valéry
Winner of numerous competitions, the Franco-American soprano Emilie Rose Bry is a harpsichordist and flutist by training. After studying singing at the CRR in Paris and the Manhattan School of Music in New York, she joined the CNIPAL in 2013. As a soloist, she has already sung on several continents, performing in particular at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, at the Cairo Opera in Egypt, in Russia, and France (Opéra Royal de Versailles, Opéra de Lyon…). On stage, she interprets a vast repertoire; from Monteverdi (L’Incoro-nazione di Poppea) to Bizet (Carmen), including Vivaldi, Handel (Rinaldo), Haydn and Rossini (L’Italiana in Algeri). Emilie performs regularly in concert with the Ensemble Matheus and its conductor Jean-Christophe Spinosi. In the coming seasons, she will sing Mozart at the Toulon Opera and at the Enescu Festival in Bucharest and Bach at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées.
Armelle Khourdoïan
Role : Violetta Valéry
She recorded the disc “Rameau chez Madame de Pompadour” with the ensemble Les Folies françoises. Armelle is a guest at many festivals and France 3 viewers have seen her several times at the Chorégies d’Orange in “Musiques en fête”, presented by Alain Duault. In opera or in concert, she sings at the Philharmonie de Paris, at the Auditorium de Radio France with the NFB, at the Théâtre du Châtelet, at the Opéra de Lille, and at the Opéra-Comique… alongside Laurent Korcia, Emmanuelle Haïm, Michel Portal, Ruggero Raimondi or even Charles Aznavour.
Aurélie Loilier
Role : Violetta Valéry
A trained pianist, the soprano Aurélie Loilier is especially passionate about opera. After graduating with honours in singing, she decided to devote herself fully to opera and quickly began her career. Her repertoire includes the heroines of Mozart (Susanna, Donna Anna, Despina), Verdi (La Traviata), Puccini (Musetta, La Bohème), Donizetti (Adina, L’Elisir d’amore), Bizet (Micaëla and Frasquita, Carmen) and many other roles, also in the operetta repertoire (Offenbach, Benatzky, Planquette) In concert, Aurélie devotes herself to sacred music and melodies. For the Maguelone label, she recently recorded a CD of unpublished pieces by Augusta Holmès, which was well-received by critics. She gives numerous recitals in France, the Middle East, Russia, China, and South America. She has lent her voice to Jean Paul Gaultier’s perfume advertisement “le Mâle”, singing “Casta Diva” from Bellini’s Norma.
Matthieu
Justine
Role : Alfredo Germont
His repertoire also includes religious music such as Bach’s Passions, Mozart’s and Verdi’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah and Monteverdi’s Vespro. Jérémie Rhorer invited him to sing Porcus in Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher by Honegger in Aix, alongside Marion Cotillard. At the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, he will soon be Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore.
Christophe
Poncet de Solages
Role : Alfredo Germont
The tenor Christophe Poncet de Solages began his musical career by studying the piano. With his diploma from the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris in his pocket, and with a passion for singing, he left to perfect his skills abroad. With a pronounced talent for languages, he explored a vast repertoire ranging from baroque to contemporary music, both in opera and in concert. His solid musical training enables him to perform Bach’s Evangelists as well as roles by Wagner and Richard Strauss. Fluent in English, Spanish, Italian, German and Russian, he has sung on stage works by Britten, Dvořák, Janáček, Moussorgsky, Mozart, Stravinsky, Verdi as well as works by French composers such as Offenbach, Poulenc or Bizet. Christophe has not only performed at the Opéra national de Lorraine, Lyon, and Toulon, but also at the Grange Festival (Carmen) and at the Szeged Festival where he played the title role in Oedipus Rex.
Thomas Ricart
Role : Alfredo Germont
There he received valuable advice from Alain Altinoglu, Anne Le Bozec, Bruno Mantovani, Hervé Niquet and Sabine Vatin. His repertoire includes roles as diverse as Gernando in Haydn’s L’isola disabitata and the Prologue in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw. He will soon take on the solo tenor part in Bach’s Matthäus-Passion under the direction of Xavier Ricour. Thomas is also happy to devote himself to the melody repertoire, which he explores with his partner, the pianist Katia Weimann. Thomas Ricart is supported by the Porosus Foundation.
Mathieu Septier
Role : Alfredo Germont
Mathieu Septier began his musical career with the Sotto Voce Children’s Choir at the age of nine. After studying opera singing and piano, he joined the prestigious French Army Choir and won the “Guido d’Arezzo International Polyphony Grand Prix” in 2007. On stage, he sings the solo part in various oratorios, notably under the direction of Aurore Tillac and Lionel Sow. He began singing opera with the “Voix Concertantes” company with Sesto Quatrini, making a name for himself in the works of Verdi. His operatic repertoire also includes the heroes of Mozart (Tamino) and Rossini (Almaviva), but also Operetta with various pieces by Offenbach. Matthieu regularly performs at the Elysée Palace with the prestigious Orchestre de la Garde Républicaine. In parallel to his career as a tenor, he continues his career as a choirmaster and composes. He has written an opera for children, choral pieces and film music.
Laurent Arcaro
Role : Giorgio Germont
After studying singing at the CNSM in Paris and winning several prizes, Laurent Arcaro joined the Studio-Opera in Mannheim, Germany. The baritone went to the United States to perfect his skills in the “Young Artist Program” of the Los Angeles Opera directed by Plácido Domingo. He participated in masterclasses with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Gabriel Bacquier and Thomas Hampson. He has performed the great roles of the Baritono Lirico repertoire (Barbiere di Siviglia, Faust, Falstaff, La Bohème, Le nozze Di Figaro, Carmen) under the direction of Michel Plasson at the Capitole de Toulouse, the Opéra Comique, the Oper Frankfurt and the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin. He also performs in concerts and recitals of melodies with Tristan Pfaff (around Duparc, Strauss and Mahler), a genre he is particularly fond of. His acting talents have also led him to appear in several films and short films.
Benoît Gadel
Role : Giorgio Germont
A graduate of the CRD in Pantin and the Schola Cantorum, where he was taught by Nadine Denize, Benoît Gadel began his career with bass roles such as Colline (La Bohème, Puccini), Zuniga (Carmen, Bizet) or Ramfis (Aida, Verdi). His ease in the upper register enabled him to gradually move towards the baritone repertoire. He sang Escamillo in Carmen, Don Giovanni, Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) and Guglielmo (Così fan tutte). With the characters of Rossini, Verdi and Ravel, Benoît also illustrates himself in the baroque repertoire of Purcell, Monteverdi and John Blow and makes some forays into operetta. In concert, he is regularly invited to perform the sacred works of Bach and Mozart, but also Charpentier, Fauré, Saint-Saëns, Dvořák and Brahms. Upcoming roles for the baritone include Giorgio Germont in Verdi’s La Traviata, Zurga in Bizet’s Les pêcheurs de perles and Silvio in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci.
Marc Souchet
Role : Giorgio Germont
With his powerful and warm voice adapted to the Italian repertoire, the baritone Marc Souchet has already played many Verdian roles (Rigoletto, Germont, Il conte di Luna, Amonasro, Nabucco, Iago) and has also widely explored Puccini’s operas (Marcello, Scarpia and Ping in Zhang Yimou’s production at the stade de France). In the French repertoire, he easily tackles the operas of Saint-Saëns, Bizet or Gounod (Samson et Dalila, Carmen, Mireille, Faust) and also oratorios such as Massenet’s Eve, where his performance as Adam has been immortalised on record (recording released by Malibran). Marc Souchet is regularly invited by Opéra en plein air (Barbiere di Siviglia and Die Zauberflöte). In concert, where he has sung under the direction of Goeffrey Styles and Charles Dutoit, his repertoire extends to contemporary works.
Yuko Osawa
Vocal leader
Yuko Osawa began playing the piano at the age of two. Fond of philosophy and literature, she studied aesthetics at the University of Tokyo, then obtained a master’s degree in piano solo at the Musashino Academia Musicae. After 5 years of musical activity in Japan, her passion for the vocal repertoire, especially French, led her to France to pursue her career. After a period at the International Summer Academy in Nice, she moved to Paris to pursue an accompanist course at the École Normale de Musique. With her diploma in hand, she participated in numerous artistic projects and devoted herself fully to accompanying singers. In 2019, she was an assistant singing conductor with Didier Henry. She was also invited by the Royaumont Rossini Foundation for training sessions on Rossini in 2019 and Massenet in 2020. In addition, Yuko is a member of the Stein-lein-chen company where she contributes to the creation and touring of lyrical performances.
Philip Richardson
Vocal leader
British-born pianist Philip Richardson grew up in the Netherlands. He graduated in musicology from Cambridge University. He began his studies as a pianist and conductor at the Royal Academy of Music in London (where he won the Evelyn German Prize), then at the Hochschule für Musik in Hanover. He returned as a trainee artist to the Opera Studio of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan and then to Strasbourg, at the Opéra National du Rhin. From 2011 to 2014, he was a member of the Atelier Lyrique of the Opéra national de Paris where he accompanied numerous concerts. He then worked with the artists of the Chapelle Musicale Reine Elizabeth in Brussels where he also accompanied the masterclasses of José van Dam and Sophie Koch. Since then, he has been regularly invited to perform at prestigious venues such as the Opéra national de Paris, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Philharmonie de Paris, the opera houses in Rouen and Dijon and the Opera Ballet Vlaanderen in Antwerp.
Katia Weimann
Vocal leader
A prize winner of the Royaumont Foundation, Katia then worked with directors Benjamin Lazar, Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser on productions of operas by Gluck and Rossini. She regularly collaborates with young opera companies (Compagnie du JAB, Le Souffle d’Orphée…) for whom she is the musical director of musical theatre pieces and operas (Le Nozze di Figaro, Carmen or Maria Golovin by Menotti). In addition, as pianist and vocal director of the Maîtrise Populaire de l’Opéra Comique, Katia took part in the latest production at the Salle Favart by Laurent Pelly.
Anne Balu
Originally from the Val-de-Marne, violinist Anne Balu has been trained in Paris, Geneva and Vienna. She graduated from the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève with a master’s degree in interpretation, a master’s degree in music pedagogy and is also a conservatory teacher. Passionate about ensemble music, she has benefited from the advice of Menahem Pressler and has played under the direction of prestigious conductors such as Leon Fleisher and Emmanuel Krivine. Regularly called upon to perform with several orchestras including the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestre National d’Avignon-Provence, Anne is a member of the Caravaggio Ensemble.
Estelle Diep
Born in Rueil-Malmaison, Estelle Diep started playing the violin at the age of 4. In 2007, she was admitted to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, where she benefited from the precious advice of Constantin Bogdanas, Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabédian, Régis Pasquier and Vladimir Nemtanu. Estelle regularly performs in various ensembles such as the Orchestre National de Bordeaux Aquitaine (2nd soloist), the Orchestre de Cannes (tutti) or the London Symphony Orchestra (tutti) to interpret a vast repertoire such as film music (tours with Hans Zimmer). Member of the orchestra Les Métamorphoses, she participates in numerous opera productions.
Roxana Rastegar
Roxana Rastegar has a master’s degree in violin and a State Diploma in violin teaching. She grew up in Nantes, a city with an exceptionally open cultural outlook.
She was taught by Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabédian, Gérard Poulet and Ivry Gitlis. She devotes herself above all to chamber music and performs alongside Emmanuel Pahud, Paul Meyer and Abdel Rahman El Bacha. A versatile artist, fascinated by early music, she made her debut with Les Arts Florissants but also plays at jazz festivals.
Since 2019, the French Instrumental Fund has lent her a 1741 violin by François Vaillant, which she uses for the baroque repertoire.
Annie Gropman
Annie Gropman started playing the violin at the age of 8. In 1996 she was awarded an honorary medal by the city of Bordeaux in chamber music. She joined the Hogeschool Voor Muziek en Dans in Rotterdam in the class of Andrade Czifra where she obtained her Certificate of Higher Professional Education in 2001. In parallel to her studies she plays in the Rotterdam Philarmonik Orkest. In 2002, she joined the Orquestra Do Algarve. Back in France in 2009, Annie performs in different ensembles: the Orchestre Lamoureux, the Orchestre national de Metz, Paris Chamber Orchestra. Currently a member of the orchestra Les Métarmorphoses, Annie also participates in numerous chamber music and music and dance projects in France and abroad.
Cecilia Careno
Born to a violinist father and a double bassist mother, Cecilia Carreno attended her very first opera behind the scenes! Classical music has always been a part of her life and it is no surprise that she entered the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève in 2008, with a diploma from the CRR in Paris. Holder of a Master of Arts at the HEM, she performs as a soloist with the AP-HP orchestra and in duo with the pianist Christian Prizzi. Regularly called upon by the orchestras of the Opéra national de Paris and the Suisse Romande, Cecilia has already performed at the Musikverein, Philharmonie de Paris, Opéra Bastille… in a repertoire ranging from Haydn to contemporary music.
Carlotta Persico
Born in Paris, Carlotta Persico began playing the cello at the age of four and entered the CNR in Paris in 1998. She studied with Jérôme Pernoo and François Salque and attended masterclasses with Gary Hoffman, Roland Pidoux, Marc Coppey and prestigious quartets. Between Chamber Music and Orchestra, Carlotta performs in various Parisian concert halls but also abroad, notably in Prague, Italy and Colombia. Her solo repertoire includes the Schumann Concerto and the Brahms Double Concerto. She has recorded a CD and a DVD with the pianist Olivier Cangelosi with whom she frequently plays.
Suzanne Wolff
Suzanne Wolff studied the harpsichord and the cello in parallel until she entered Raphaël Pidoux’s cello class at the CRR in Paris in 2013. She nevertheless continues to play the harpsichord and basso continuo. After a diversion to the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she perfected her skills, she began playing the baroque cello and the viola da gamba, which opened up a wide repertoire for her in both chamber music and larger ensembles. Suzanne has developed her experience in student orchestras in partnership with the Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, the Orchestre d’Auvergne and the Orchestre de Radio France.
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