2017-06-26 featured press

The Guardian – Cecilia Bartoli/Philippe Jaroussky review – poise, virtuosity and vocal fireworks

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2017-06-26, The Guardian, by Tim Ashley

‘I am Music,” Cecilia Bartoli sang at the start of this beautiful concert, in which she joined Philippe Jaroussky and the Ensemble Artaserse – the period band he co-founded in 2002 – for a recital of 17th-century Italian arias, duets and instrumental works. […]

Above all, their voices blended together wonderfully in the duets. The close harmony coloratura of Combatton Quest’alma, from Steffani’s I Trionfi del Fato and Zefiro Torna from Monteverdi’s Scherzi Musicali was exquisitely dexterous, and a sensual fervour characterised the closing scene from Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea, though the central section was fractionally too swift for my taste. […]

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2017-03-26 featured press

The Guardian – Monteverdi, Sartorio, Rossi: La storia di Orfeo CD review – glorious Jaroussky

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2017-26-03 The Guardian, by Nicholas Kenyon

“The presiding genius is countertenor Philippe Jaroussky who sings gloriously (though he is arguably not best suited to Monteverdi’s high tenor hero in his lavish Possente spirto). Jaroussky is well matched by Emöke Baráth’s crystal-clear soprano. Sartorio’s post-Cavalli idiom is sweetly melodic; I was much more taken by the strong, eloquent extracts from Luigi Rossi’s Orfeo of 1647.”

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2017-01-12_08 featured press

The Guardian – Elbphilharmonie Orchestra/Hengelbrock review – storming debut for hall of wonders

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2017-01-12, The Guardian, by Martin Kettle

This opened a sequence, skilfully managed by Hengelbrock to avoid interruptions for applause, of modern and late-renaissance pieces — Dutilleux then Cavalieri, Zimmermann followed by Praetorius, Liebermann eliding into Caccini, with the countertenor Philippe Jaroussky caressing the notes from high in the hall.

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2016-10-13_02-featured-press

The Guardian – Philippe Jaroussky: Sacred Cantatas CD review – French countertenor at his vibrant best

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2016-10-13, The Guardian, by Erica Jeal

This is the first all-German disc from the countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, and about time too: two of JS Bach’s most glorious cantatas find him at his vibrant best. The five movements of Bach’s Vernügte Ruh trace a compelling journey from contentment through agitation to resolution, all the while showcasing Jaroussky’s bright, fluid tone; the few notes where the music dips lower than his comfort zone are all on words for which a rasp of aggression is entirely apt. In the title aria of Ich habe genug he is matched nuance for nuance by Ann-Kathrin Brüggemann’s mellow oboe d’amore, and there follows a performance of Schlummert ein that rivals that of David Daniels for gorgeousness. He’s equally persuasive in two cantatas by Telemann. Though less consistently compelling musically than the Bach, these are still rewarding, and they come alive in the Freiburg Barockorchester’s dramatically aware playing.

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2016-07-30 featured press

The Guardian – David Bowie Prom review: progressiveness for progressiveness’s sake

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2016-07-30, The Guardian, by Jude Rogers

Maybe this is the Bowie many fans crave. Two other interpreters feel much more in tune with the spirit the maker of Blackstar left behind as the concert passes midnight.

Counter-tenor Phillippe Jaroussky’s take on Always Crashing In The Same Car is sparse and challenging, reinventing the song entirely. Then John Cale arrives, wearing an overcoat, scarf and a skirt. In the hands of a Velvet Underground member who influenced Bowie in the first place, Valentine’s Day becomes a dark, electronic elegy, Sorrow a buzzing, gothic anthem, and Space Oddity an excursion into trip-hop, lifted high by the House Gospel Choir.

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2016-03-24 featured press

The Guardian – Only the Sound Remains review – almost perversely unengaging

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2016-03-23, The Guardian, by Andrew Clements

[…] the presence of a dancer (Nora Kimball-Mentzos) does give one more layer to Peter Sellars’ otherwise inert staging, but emotionally and dramatically both halves of the opera remain almost perversely unengaging, despite the excellence of the performances from countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and bass Davone Tines under conductor André de Ridder.

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2015-03-09_3-featured-press

The Guardian – Facing the music: Philippe Jaroussky

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2015-03-08, The Guardian

Which non-classical musician would you love to work with?

Lady Gaga. I was very impressed by her last jazz album with Tony Bennett. She is totally in the baroque spirit. I have already worn costumes as crazy as hers in some baroque opera productions!

via The Guardian

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2015-02-12-featured-press

The Guardian – Niobe, Regina di Tebe CD review – awkwardness and elegance in an early music curio

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2015-02-12, The Guardian

Erato’s new recording was made in 2013, but derives from a 2011 revival at the Boston Early Music festival. Co-directed by theorbo players Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, it doesn’t quite have the elan or surety that characterises their more familiar work in the French baroque repertory. Karina Gauvin exudes hauteur as Niobe, opposite Philippe Jaroussky’s elegant, noble Anfione. Listen out for the star turns from Aaron Sheehan, rapturous as Niobe’s would-be lover Clearte, and Jesse Blumberg as the sinister yet meddling sorcerer Poliferno.

Source/Read more: The Guardian