Press Archive
2019-08-11, Süddeutsche Zeitung, by Egbert Tholl
“Jedenfalls sind die beiden hinreißend, ebenso Philippe Jaroussky als Ruggiero. Er freut sich an seiner Rolle als viriler Liebesheld im Hotel, betrauert das nahende Ende dieses weltabgeschiedenen Paradieses, wobei er seiner Counterstimme die herrlichsten Farben mitgibt.” […]
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2019-07-09, Süddeutsche Zeitung, by Klaus Kalchschmid
“Wenn Philippe Jaroussky zu singen anhebt, scheint die Zeit stehen geblieben. Denn der heute 41-jährige französische Countertenor besitzt noch immer das Aussehen und den Charme eines jungen Mannes Anfang 20. Seine so unverwechselbar schöne, ebenso erotisch schillernde wie unschuldsvoll rein klingende Stimme aber hat noch immer einen betörenden Glanz. Keiner der zahlreichen jüngeren und oftmals ebenso charismatischen Fachkollegen, die ihm nachfolgten, hat ihn bisher erreicht oder gar übertreffen können.” […]
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2017-11-10, Süddeutsche Zeitung, by Klaus Kalchschmid
Was für einen Zauber verströmt diese außergewöhnliche Stimme immer wieder, wie sehr faszinieren stupende Musikalität, traumhaft schwebende Pianissimi, aber auch – wenn nötig – die intensiv strahlende Attacke in der Höhe! Wenn Philippe Jaroussky nach München kommt, ist das Prinzregententheater voll, und der überaus herzliche Applaus signalisiert schon zu Beginn: Wir freuen uns unbändig. […]
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2017-01-12, Süddeutsche Zeitung, by Reinhard J. Brembeck
“… Wer aber Jaroussky schon an anderen Orten und unter schlechteren akustischen Bedingungen gehört hat, weiß, dass dieser Mann immer so gut singt: androgyn, distanziert und mit einer leichten Drohung in der Tonfärbung, irgendwo zwischen Sadismus und Exzess. Die Akustik Yasuhisa Toyota[s] ändert rein gar nichts an Jarousskys phänomenalem Können. Sie erlaubt es aber dem Konzertbesucher, jede noch so feine Nuance seines Gesangs zu hören. Das allein ist schon grandios. Sollte Toyota etwa einen sehr, sehr großen Kammermusiksaal ertüftelt haben?” […]
“… However, who has listened to Jaroussky before, in other locations, and under worse acoustic circumstances, knows that this man always sings this well: androgynous, distanced, and with a slight menace to the colouring of the voice, somewhere between sadism and excess. Yasuhisa Toyota’s acoustics change nothing at all about Jaroussky’s phenomenal skill; however, it allows the listener to experience the slightest nuance of his singing, This alone is terrific. Could it be that Toyota devised a very very big chamber music hall?” […]
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2017-01-12, dpa
Fast nahtlos und ohne Pause gingen dabei die Stücke ineinander über – von Benjamin Brittens Oboensolo “Pan”, über das “Mysterium des Augenblicks” des französischen Modernen Henri Dutilleux mit seinen unterschiedlichen Klangquellen bis zu einer wie aus der Zeit gefallenen italienischen Arie aus dem späten 16. Jahrhundert mit dem Countertenor Philippe Jaroussky. […]
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fnp (Frankfurter Neue Presse): [x]
Badische Neueste Nachrichten: [x]
Berliner Zeitung: [x]
and others
2016-11-07, Süddeutsche Zeitung, by Klaus P. Richter
Das erste Highlight von Jarousskys Kunst war die Arie “Kommet her, ihr Menschenkinder” aus Telemanns Kantate “Der am Ölberg zagende Jesus”. Dort wurden die “Sündenschmerzen” durch die virtuosen Koloraturküste Jarousskys zum Erlebnis dramatischer Passionsmusik.
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2016-03-16, Süddeutsche Zeitung, by Reinhard J. Brembeck
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[*translator’s note: In German, the headline reminds of “Alles fließt” – Panta rhei]
By Reinhard J. Brembeck
No matter how ludicrous the sequences of notes he conjures, seemingly without any effort, no matter how easily he climbs the greatest heights: the man as well as his voice persistently seem just slightly absent, not completely involved. Philippe Jaroussky is the noblest and the most unusual among the countertenors, one who constantly seems to observe his own actions and, as a result, never completely immerses himself into his music. Due to this quality, both the performances as well as the recordings of this exceptional musician tend to have the allure of an alien. At all times, Jaroussky evokes the impression of a spirit of the air whose true intentions the audience can only guess.
Up to now, no one understood and knew how to use this enchanting idiosyncrasy better than Kaija Saariaho, the composer born in Finnland, and living in Paris. The triumph of her Troubadour opera “L’Amour de loin” made her famous – a piece drenched with esoteric love and longing, performed at the Salzburg Festival. Even back then, she was already joined by Peter Sellars, the director famous for his existentialistic deep-drilling, a kindred spirit of the composer’s. After all, both are on a constant quest, a search for deeper meaning in art, which according to them, can only be captured by musical theatre.
It was Sellars who suggested two adaptations of classical Japanese Nôh-Plays by Ezra Pounds as operatic material to Saariaho, the same pieces he now staged at the world premiere in Amsterdam. The result is “Only the sound remains” – a ponderously calm evening of two and a half hours, surrounded by an air of austere magic – which is also going to be shown in Madrid, Helsinki, Paris, and Toronto.
In both pieces, Jaroussky is an apparition from beyond, once the spirit of a field commander and virtuoso lute player, the other time a tennin, an angel. There the singer whose fame was founded by Baroque virtuosic pieces is in his element to such an extent that it is hard to believe he has ever done anything else. The strange air of his appearance is perfect for either of the two roles, both transporting the same message in two different ways: the biggest proof for a world beyond the visible is music, and dance. Whether it is people, female composers, memories, … “Only the sound remains.”
Peter Sellars had Julie Mehretu decorate the forestage with a large, abstract painting reminiscent of Asian calligraphy. The painting, a bench, and a few spotlights suffice as props and setting. Saariaho goes about it equally sparsely. In the orchestra pit, there are only a string, respectively a vocal quartet, a flute player, a percussionist and Eija Kankaanranta, playing a Finnish zither. Under the baton of the conductor, André de Ridder, the ensemble frequently renders an almost orchestral sound, most often austerely stretched and evoking associations with Greek tragedy rather than Japanese music. Saariaho loves to write stretched, gloomy sounds from beyond, the underworld, the realm of ghosts. Nothing here is connected to the earth; everything is weightless, everything floats.
In both of the pieces, Davone Tines is Jaroussky’s counterpart. His elegant bass-baritone is the earthly counterpart to Jaroussky’s elysian countertenor voice. During the necromancy “Tsunemasa,” the two men find each other, the spirit and the priest paying homage to him. Concisely, Sellars explores and exposes the erotic subtext of the piece. In “Hagoromo,” the relationships are more sophisticated. A fisherman nicks a Tennin’s feathered dress, only willing to render it in exchange for a heavenly dance. Dancer Nora Kimball-Mentzos, all a tranquil flutter, breaks the idyll of the two men with her sparse dancing steps, set to music by Saariaho with a very stylized Allemande, clearly contrasting with the wounding sound-continuum, acting as a surprisingly consistent finale. Instantly, the audience rises from their seats, applauding enthusiastically, but after only two curtain calls already, it’s over.
2015-04-16, Süddeutsche Zeitung
“Was für ein herrlicher Luxus: Da singt der wunderbare Countertenor Philippe Jaroussky im historischen Reitstadl mit dieser exzellenten Akustik einen exquisiten Liederabend mit Vertonungen von Gedichten Paul Verlaines. Und da sitzen außer seinem Pianisten Jérôme Ducros am Flügel links von ihm die Geiger Pierre Colombet und Gabriel Le Magadure, rechts Mathieu Herzog (Bratsche) und Raphaël Merlin am Cello, also das komplette Quatuor Ébène – noch mit seinem Gründungsbratscher, der für CD und Tournee mit dem entsprechenden Programm ein letztes Mal mit seinen drei Kollegen spielt.”
via Süddeutsche.de
