CONCERTO DI GALA DI NATALIE DESSAY A PIETROBURGO
ГАЛА-КОНЦЕРТ НАТАЛИ ДЕССЕЙ В ПЕТЕРБУРГЕ
Il 18 giugno 2010 alla Sala da Concerti del Teatro Mariinskij di San Pietroburgo si svolge il Concerto di Gala dalle celebre cantante francese Natalie Dessay.
IN PROGRAMMA:
Moris Ravel: «Vocalizzo»
Frédéric Chaslin: «Vocalizzo»
Reinhold Glière: «Vocalizzo»
Jules Massenet: Scena del I e III atti dell’Opera «MANON»
Giuseppe Verdi: Aria di Violetta «E’ strano» dal I atto dell’Opera «LA TRAVIATA»
Orchestra Sinfonica del Teatro Mariìnskij
Симфонический Оркестр Мариинского театра
Direttore: Valerij Ghèrghiev (Валерий Гергиев)
From her early childhood, opera diva of the future Natalie Dessay and her parents knew that whatever path their wunderkind daughter took it would lead her to the theatre. However, she dreamed of cinema as well, dropping the «h» from Nathalie to spell her name like Natalie Wood whom she adored. Her well-made figure gave her a good chance of becoming a ballerina, her passion for speech and declamation opened up dramatic opportunities, while her third talent – her voice – defined the main direction of the young Dessay’s serious studies. At the age of twenty (instead of twenty-three or twenty-four as is normally the case) she was already a graduate of the Bordeaux Conservatoire with a first-class degree. For several years, she sang with the chorus of the Opéra de Toulouse, then she entered the New Names competition where she took second place and received a grant to train at the Atelier Lyrique of the Opéra de Paris, and in 1992 she made her debut as Olympia in «Les Contes d’Hoffmann». The appearance of this new star in Paris had a widespread resonance. One year later Dessay sang as the coquette Blondchen in «Die Entführung aus dem Serail» at the Wiener Staatsoper, after which she received myriad offers from the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Covent Garden, the Opéra de Lyon, the Theater an der Wien, the Liceu, the Grand Théâtre de Génève and the Aix-en-Provence Festival among others.
Her numerous performances of the extremely complex coloratura soprano role of the Queen of the Night in «Die Zauberflöte» proved to be a landmark. Theatres have waged war to sign Dessay for as many performances as possible. Virgin Classics has concluded an exclusive deal with her, and in addition to theatre performances the singer is now recording a great deal. By the start of 2000, Dessay’s repertoire included such roles as Ofelia, Olympia, Aminta (Richard Strauss’ «Die Schweigsame Frau»), Lulu and Zerbinetta. At this time Dessay began to restructure her voice for other heroines – she had a fervent desire to perform in bel canto operas, which she has done and continues to do. She has been an amazing Lucia in «Lucia di Lammermoor», Amina in «La sonnambula» and Marie in «La Fille du régiment». Many of her performances have been recorded on DVD.
The singer’s latest interest is the operas of Massenet and her favourite heroine «Manon Lescaut», the Verdian repertoire, the verists (she made a successful debut as Musetta at the Opéra de Paris in November 2009) and the impressionists (she received tremendous acclaim in «Pelléas et Mélisande»).
Paying tribute to her enthusiasm for theatre, Dessay never turns down the chance to perform in operettas by Offenbach, and when she performs this repertoire in Paris it is all but impossible to obtain a ticket – they are all sold half a year in advance.
After an enforced absence from the stage for medical treatment, Dessay has returned and is once again immersed in the world of bel canto. The series of her performances in La sonnambula this spring was hailed as a triumphant return. Dessay normally stages her recital programmes as short performances – changing her dresses, hairstyles and shoes, though sometimes she is very serious and appears in severe black suits with an equally severe hairstyle. In April Dessay celebrated two anniversaries – her forty-fifth anniversary and her twenty-five years on stage.
Oggetto: CONCERTO DI GALA DI NATALIE DESSAY A PIETROBURGO
| Natalie Dessay A SAN PIETROBURGO 1.jpg | |
| Descrizione: | CONCERTO DI GALA DI NATALIE DESSAY A PIETROBURGO Il 18 giugno 2010 alla Sala da Concerti del Teatro Mariinskij di San Pietroburgo |
| Dimensione: | 117.19 KB |
| Visualizzato: | 9153 volta(e) |
 |
|
Oggetto: Re: CONCERTO DI GALA DI NATALIE DESSAY A PIETROBURGO
NATALIE DESSAY. HAVING A CHAT
INTERVISTA
Why did you choose the stage?
I came to the theatre because I wanted to be heard. In life, as soon as I open my mouth, people interrupt and, in the literal sense of the phrase, don’t let me speak. That’s how it was when I was a child, and that’s the way it still is today. At first that made me depressed, but I gradually got used to it. I don’t know what the snag is here, but I can only keep the audience’s attention and force myself to listen if I singing as opposed to speaking. Moreover, now I am very well paid to do so. In that senses, fees are my vendetta.
In addition to vocals, you have also studied choreography and acting. Why did you opt for singing?
I didn’t opt for anything. My voice made the decision for me when I was twenty and studying at the Conservatoire in Bordeaux. It happened spontaneously. My fellow students and I were performing a little-known play after an 18th century play where I had to sing. I sang Pamina from Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and the audience’s reaction stunned me. The choice happened of its own accord.
Which opera do you have the greatest affinity with in the dramatic sense?
In my opinion, there is an ideal opera in the international repertoire – with regard to the music and the drama. I mean Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin. It is a story of how you can never regain the past. As a person I associate myself with Tatiana Larina, and could behave exactly the same way she does if I were in similar circumstances.
Don’t you think her behaviour is somewhat old-fashioned?
Not at all. I am an emotional and frank person, but I don’t see anything bad in that. And I could also drive away my own Onegin – and for the same reasons. Eugene Onegin will never lose its currency: it is the story of a man who has come back to the woman who loved him but is too late. Alas, such stories will continue as long as the world exists.
It is a pity but I will never sing the role of Tatiana – my voice is not suitable for the role. It is a shame that we cannot choose the pitch of our voices.
What don’t you like about your voice?
Of course, it’s not about the sound of the voice. I like arias written for softer, more lyrical roles – like Tatiana and Salome. I would be very happy if I could achieve my long held dream of singing Violetta in La traviata. I have spent years wondering about the dilemma its heroine faces: a woman with a pure soul leading the life of a courtesan. This situation has broken her apart from the inside out, destroying her essence as a woman. It is ultimately this dilemma and not tuberculosis that kills Violetta. Apropos, in life we often have to deal with the fact that man can be killed by inner conflict, the impossibility of reconciling the demands of his soul in certain circumstances in life. We all grope our way along, some through religion, others through yoga and yet others through sport. There is no one universal recipe.
To marry the bass-baritone Laurent Naouri you converted to Judaism. What motivated you to take that decision? How important is religion in your life?
I converted to Judaism out of love for my future husband. Initially it was purely a gesture of love, but very soon I came to respect and deeply admire the religion itself. As I see it, Judaism is a religion of joy where there are many life-affirming traditions. But the main draw of Judaism for me is that it is a religion of proper questions and not one of ready answers. My husband and I and our children are often at the synagogue, we speak about the Torah and about life. These talks teach tolerance and flexibility towards others. Many people who consider themselves strong believe that flexibility is a sign of weakness. That’s where the trap lies. A person who is flexible in the spiritual sense is stronger than one who carries on regardless.
How does the real Natalie Dessay differ from her onstage image?
You know, unlike many performers I don’t have an image. I am what I am – very vulnerable, not very confident in myself, but at the same time I am courageous and extremely stubborn. I am not the kind of person whose spirits fail. I will always fight to the last bullet.
You have had many operations on your vocal chords. In that time, how has your attitude to life and your profession changed?
I have a much more relaxed attitude to the stage and I have accepted the fact that work is not the most important thing in life. Then I have had to learn a more restrained performing technique as I can no longer afford to let myself “tear out my gullet” without thinking of the consequences. That was a tremendous test for me emotionally. Previously I would go off in hysterics, which really isn’t me. I “flare up” easily. I had to put an end to that, but it is internal calm that I find hardest to achieve.
Having recovered from your operations, you called your cats Polype, Kyste and Nodule...
Yes, after it was all in the past. I was so happy that everything that had been tormenting me on the inside had, at last, been taken out of me.
How do you prepare for performances?
My approach lies in the following: to appear dramatically convincing when I come on stage, I try to forget that I have to sing, I simply immerse myself completely in the inner world of my heroines and I perform the role like a dramatic actress. In other words, by getting under my characters’ skins I put my vocals on “autopilot” during the performance. Everything about singing must be well rehearsed beforehand. No vocal passages should pose any difficulties. Unfortunately, on the operatic stage today you can often see that the vocal and the dramatic components are unbalanced. Opera singers often neglect the acting, considering it to be of secondary importance, and they concentrate solely on singing the notes. That kind of approach has always made me mad. There are times I have wanted to start a revolution, an operatic uprising!
Are you revolutionary by nature?
I can’t answer that question confidently. Organising rebellions is a tiresome undertaking. And I just want to do what I do and get as much out of it as possible. I expect the same from my colleagues. That’s about it.
You have sung the role of Olympia in eight different productions of Offenbach’s opera Les Contes d’Hoffmann. Are there any differences in the eight interpretations of the character of the doll?
There are so many images I have produced on stage in that role – a Barbie doll, a femme fatale, a sadist, a Lolita and even a real disabled girl. Because Olympia is a mechanical doll, one’s imagination here knows no bounds. This is rare material where an artiste can do absolutely anything, and there is room for any acting tricks and innovations. This is why I have always loved this role. Now I have to rest a bit from this opera, but maybe I will return to it soon in a different role. I am going to rehearse all four female roles for a new version of the opera which has been unearthed and reconstructed by the French music historian Jean-Christophe Keck. The premiere will be in 2013, and performances are planned for Barcelona and San Francisco.
Speaking with Galina Stolyarova
http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/news1/interview/intervior_dessay/
INTERVISTA
Why did you choose the stage?
I came to the theatre because I wanted to be heard. In life, as soon as I open my mouth, people interrupt and, in the literal sense of the phrase, don’t let me speak. That’s how it was when I was a child, and that’s the way it still is today. At first that made me depressed, but I gradually got used to it. I don’t know what the snag is here, but I can only keep the audience’s attention and force myself to listen if I singing as opposed to speaking. Moreover, now I am very well paid to do so. In that senses, fees are my vendetta.
In addition to vocals, you have also studied choreography and acting. Why did you opt for singing?
I didn’t opt for anything. My voice made the decision for me when I was twenty and studying at the Conservatoire in Bordeaux. It happened spontaneously. My fellow students and I were performing a little-known play after an 18th century play where I had to sing. I sang Pamina from Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and the audience’s reaction stunned me. The choice happened of its own accord.
Which opera do you have the greatest affinity with in the dramatic sense?
In my opinion, there is an ideal opera in the international repertoire – with regard to the music and the drama. I mean Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin. It is a story of how you can never regain the past. As a person I associate myself with Tatiana Larina, and could behave exactly the same way she does if I were in similar circumstances.
Don’t you think her behaviour is somewhat old-fashioned?
Not at all. I am an emotional and frank person, but I don’t see anything bad in that. And I could also drive away my own Onegin – and for the same reasons. Eugene Onegin will never lose its currency: it is the story of a man who has come back to the woman who loved him but is too late. Alas, such stories will continue as long as the world exists.
It is a pity but I will never sing the role of Tatiana – my voice is not suitable for the role. It is a shame that we cannot choose the pitch of our voices.
What don’t you like about your voice?
Of course, it’s not about the sound of the voice. I like arias written for softer, more lyrical roles – like Tatiana and Salome. I would be very happy if I could achieve my long held dream of singing Violetta in La traviata. I have spent years wondering about the dilemma its heroine faces: a woman with a pure soul leading the life of a courtesan. This situation has broken her apart from the inside out, destroying her essence as a woman. It is ultimately this dilemma and not tuberculosis that kills Violetta. Apropos, in life we often have to deal with the fact that man can be killed by inner conflict, the impossibility of reconciling the demands of his soul in certain circumstances in life. We all grope our way along, some through religion, others through yoga and yet others through sport. There is no one universal recipe.
To marry the bass-baritone Laurent Naouri you converted to Judaism. What motivated you to take that decision? How important is religion in your life?
I converted to Judaism out of love for my future husband. Initially it was purely a gesture of love, but very soon I came to respect and deeply admire the religion itself. As I see it, Judaism is a religion of joy where there are many life-affirming traditions. But the main draw of Judaism for me is that it is a religion of proper questions and not one of ready answers. My husband and I and our children are often at the synagogue, we speak about the Torah and about life. These talks teach tolerance and flexibility towards others. Many people who consider themselves strong believe that flexibility is a sign of weakness. That’s where the trap lies. A person who is flexible in the spiritual sense is stronger than one who carries on regardless.
How does the real Natalie Dessay differ from her onstage image?
You know, unlike many performers I don’t have an image. I am what I am – very vulnerable, not very confident in myself, but at the same time I am courageous and extremely stubborn. I am not the kind of person whose spirits fail. I will always fight to the last bullet.
You have had many operations on your vocal chords. In that time, how has your attitude to life and your profession changed?
I have a much more relaxed attitude to the stage and I have accepted the fact that work is not the most important thing in life. Then I have had to learn a more restrained performing technique as I can no longer afford to let myself “tear out my gullet” without thinking of the consequences. That was a tremendous test for me emotionally. Previously I would go off in hysterics, which really isn’t me. I “flare up” easily. I had to put an end to that, but it is internal calm that I find hardest to achieve.
Having recovered from your operations, you called your cats Polype, Kyste and Nodule...
Yes, after it was all in the past. I was so happy that everything that had been tormenting me on the inside had, at last, been taken out of me.
How do you prepare for performances?
My approach lies in the following: to appear dramatically convincing when I come on stage, I try to forget that I have to sing, I simply immerse myself completely in the inner world of my heroines and I perform the role like a dramatic actress. In other words, by getting under my characters’ skins I put my vocals on “autopilot” during the performance. Everything about singing must be well rehearsed beforehand. No vocal passages should pose any difficulties. Unfortunately, on the operatic stage today you can often see that the vocal and the dramatic components are unbalanced. Opera singers often neglect the acting, considering it to be of secondary importance, and they concentrate solely on singing the notes. That kind of approach has always made me mad. There are times I have wanted to start a revolution, an operatic uprising!
Are you revolutionary by nature?
I can’t answer that question confidently. Organising rebellions is a tiresome undertaking. And I just want to do what I do and get as much out of it as possible. I expect the same from my colleagues. That’s about it.
You have sung the role of Olympia in eight different productions of Offenbach’s opera Les Contes d’Hoffmann. Are there any differences in the eight interpretations of the character of the doll?
There are so many images I have produced on stage in that role – a Barbie doll, a femme fatale, a sadist, a Lolita and even a real disabled girl. Because Olympia is a mechanical doll, one’s imagination here knows no bounds. This is rare material where an artiste can do absolutely anything, and there is room for any acting tricks and innovations. This is why I have always loved this role. Now I have to rest a bit from this opera, but maybe I will return to it soon in a different role. I am going to rehearse all four female roles for a new version of the opera which has been unearthed and reconstructed by the French music historian Jean-Christophe Keck. The premiere will be in 2013, and performances are planned for Barcelona and San Francisco.
Speaking with Galina Stolyarova
http://www.mariinsky.ru/en/news1/interview/intervior_dessay/
| Natalie Dessay.jpg | |
| Descrizione: | Natalie Dessay |
| Dimensione: | 78.69 KB |
| Visualizzato: | 9137 volta(e) |
 |
|
Pagina 1 di 1
Non puoi inserire nuovi ArgomentiNon puoi rispondere ai Messaggi
Non puoi modificare i tuoi Messaggi
Non puoi cancellare i tuoi Messaggi
Non puoi votare nei Sondaggi
Puoi allegare i files in questo forum
Puoi scaricare gli allegati in questo forum
Non puoi inserire eventi calendario in questo forum
Full Version
Powered by Icy Phoenix based on phpBB © phpBB Group
Design by phpBBXS.Com | Lo-Fi Mod.
Tempo Generazione: 0.5544s (PHP: 49% SQL: 51%)
SQL queries: 25 - Debug On - GZIP Disabilitato