featured-journal-frankfurt-jaroussky

Journal Frankfurt – Keeping a Distance from Opera’s Hysteria

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“Abstandhalter zur Hysterie der Oper”
Journal Frankfurt, February 2015

The following is not a professional translation; no profit is being made, no infringement of copyright is intended.

On his current tour, the French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky surprises his audience with fin de siècle songs.

Interview: Christian Rupp

JOURNAL FRANKFURT: Philippe, you are one of the world’s most famous countertenors – yet relatively little about your private life is known to the public. Don’t you like to talk about it?
PHILIPPE JAROUSSKY: I don’t talk about it that often because, really, the focus is on my art.

But you’re a star …
Star? Well, I lead a normal life; I have been together with my partner for eight years now. All in all, it is a very settled life.

You have put your cards on the table about him right from the beginning…
Of course. When I started my career, I had to decide. So, right from the start, I said that I had a partner. Then there’s no fuss anymore. I’m not a pop singer who has to hide that for twenty years because otherwise he would lose the market section of all the teenage girls.

Another known fact is that you like to travel a lot. How frequently do people recognize you on your travels?
It depends. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. When I walk the street in Paris, of course, someone will always recognize me. But people react completely different than they would if I were a pop star. Because, primarily, it is in Händel, Vivaldi, Bach that they are interested– not in me. I don’t create songs, I don’t create a look, I am not a brand. That’s why people are much more respectful. Classical music stars are in a very comfortable position in this regard.

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2015-02-28-featured-press

Die Welt – Klassik-Star Philippe Jaroussky: Führe ein völlig normales Leben

by concert announcementgermangermanymagazinepersonalwebsite

1015-02-28, Die Welt

“Die Leute reagieren völlig anders als bei einem Pop-Star. Denn sie sind ja an Händel, Vivaldi, Bach interessiert – nicht primär an mir”…

Source: Die Welt

2015-02-27_02 press featured

NDR Kultur – Jaroussky in der Welt von Verlaine

by album reviewgermangermanygreen verlainenewspaperradiowebsite

2015-02-27, NDR Kultur

Jaroussky demonstriert mit dem Album seine beeindruckende Wandlungsfähigkeit und überrascht den Hörer auch mit Ausflügen ins leichte Repertoire. Die Lyrik von Verlaine hat nicht nur klassische Komponisten fasziniert, sondern auch Chansonniers wie Leo Ferré und George Brassens

Source/Read more: Ndr.de

 

2015-02-27_02-featured-press

Donaukurier – Pastellfarbene Gefühle

by concert announcementgermangermanygreen verlaineinterviewnewspapertranslated into english

2015-02-27, Donaukurier

Dann haben Sie ja noch einiges vor sich, oder?

Jaroussky: Natürlich werden die Alte und die Neue Musik für Countertenöre weiterhin das zentrale Repertoire sein. Aber ich bin davon überzeugt, dass heute Countertenöre darüber hinaus Weiteres erschließen müssen – auch ein Repertoire wie auf dem „Green“-Album. Für meine Stimme eignen sich übrigens auch die „Kindertotenlieder“ von Mahler, zwei oder drei habe ich bereits gesungen.

There’s a lot yet to be done then, isn’t it?
Jaroussky: Of course, early and new music will continue to be the core of the countertenor repertoire. I am convinced, however, that today, countertenors have to explore further – which includes a repertoire like the one on “Green.” By the way, the “Kindertotenlieder” by Mahler also suit my voice, two or three I have even sung already.

 

Source/Read more: Donaukurier (paid content)

The following is not a professional translation; no profit is being made, no infringement of copyright is intended.

Pastel-Coloured Feelings

 Ingolstadt (DK) He is one of the great countertenors of our time. On Thursday, Philippe Jaroussky performs at the Ingolstädter Festsaal, introducing his latest album “Green.” For this, the Frenchman has compiled different settings of Verlaine’s poems that were created around 1900 – amongst others, by Gabriel Fauré or Claude Debussy. Jaroussky comes to Ingolstadt along with his pianist Jérôme Ducros, to capture the sound-sensual atmosphere of the French “Fin de Siècle.

Mr Jaroussky, you are a countertenor. So why do you sing settings to music of Verlaine’s poems, created around 1900?
Philippe Jaroussky: Because, on one hand, I want to show that it is perfectly possible for an opera singer to give recitals. On the other hand, I feel very attracted by the settings to music of Verlaine and French song. In opera – more so, in Baroque, which is obviously the center piece for us countertenors – you have to give shape to hysterical feelings sometimes. You kill, you are jealous, insidious. At some very dramatic moments, I reach my limits. Whereas in French song, I have to express more pastel-coloured feelings, a lot of melancholia, just to name one. It might sound strange as a countertenor, but I feel at home in this repertoire.

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2015-02-20-featured-press

Concerti – “Counterstar sein, das ist zu wenig für ein Leben!“ – English Translation

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2015-02-20, Concerti, concerti.de

Generationen ehemaliger Schüler denken mit Schrecken an die Zeit, als sie vor versammelter Klasse auswendig ein Gedicht vortragen mussten. Für Countertenor Philippe Jaroussky indes wurde diese pädagogische Maßnahme dereinst zum Schlüsselerlebnis: Ein Poem Paul Verlaines schlug den damals zehnjährigen Schüler regelrecht in seinen Bann. Ein Vierteljahrhundert danach hat der Sänger nun ein Doppel-Album mit Liedern nach Gedichten des französischen Lyrikers veröffentlicht.

Source/Read more: concerti.de
digital edition edition here 

The following is not a professional translation; no profit is being made, no infringement of copyright is intended.

“Being a star countertenor is not enough for one lifetime!”

He is the most popular of his kind: Philippe Jaroussky about star cult, sabbaticals, and the difference between great voices and great artists
by Teresa Pieschacón Raphael


(caption 1) From violin to singing: Jaroussky first learned to play the violin before he started singing

(caption 2) Even as a child, at home, he preferred to sing the high notes

With horror, generations of former students recall the time they had to recite a poem by heart in front of their classmates. However, for countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, this educational measure proved to be a formative experience: A poem by Paul Verlaine veritably put the then 10 year old student under a spell. A quarter of a century later, the singer released a double-album with songs based on the French lyricist’s poems.

Mr. Jaroussky, unlike pictured on the cover of your new CD, we are not at Verlaine’s favorite café, but at a banal one at an airport. But where is your glass of absinthe?
Oh, perhaps I’m too well-behaved and disciplined for that; I don’t need this kind of “inspiration” – maybe unlike Paul Verlaine. When I’m not on stage, I lead a pretty normal life… Recently, a photographer even told me I seemed too “nice and gentle,” and suggested I should pose as the “bad boy” for a change.

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2015-02-19-featured-press

ARD – Audio “Green” Lieder nach Paul Verlaine

by album reviewgermangermanygreen verlaineradio

2015-02-19, ARD, Kulturradio am Mittag

Transcript:

“Auf seiner neuen Doppel-CD mit dem Titel ‘Green’ – also ‘Grün’ – widmet sich der französische Countertenor Philippe Jaroussky ausschließlich Vertonungen des Dichters Paul Verlaine. Uns sind diese nicht ganz so bekannt, es steht also die Frage im Raum, ob das eine lohnenswerte Entdeckung ist, und die Frage beantwortet Kai Luehrs-Kaiser. Ist es lohnenswert?””Er beantwortet es mit ‘Ja’. […] Dies ist doch die vermutlich umfangreichste, vor allem vielgestaltigste Sammlung von Paul-Verlaine-Vertonungen bislang und Philippe Jaroussky, den wir hinlänglich kennen, präsentiert sich hier von einer doch ziemlich neuen Seite, insoweit als sich diese Lieder bis ins französiche Chanson hinein, also bis in den Popbereich eigentlich, erstrecken, klassisch aufbereitet freilich… Ich bin hingerissen von diesem Doppelalbum und finde es einen Türöffner in vielerlei Hinsicht.”

“On his new double CD, titled ‘Green’, the French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky focuses exclusively on musical settings of the poet Paul Verlaine. To us, these are not quite as well-known, which prompts the question whether they are a worthwhile discovery, and the question is answered by Kai Luehrs-Kaiser. Is it worthwhile?. “He [mocking the way the other referred to him in the third person] answers that question with ‘Yes’. […] This is probably the most comprehensive, and first and foremost, the most eclectic collection of settings to music based on Paul Verlaine’s poems up to date, and Philippe Jaroussky, who we know very well already, shows himself from quite a new angle, in so far as these songs span out to French Chanson, which means, into the Pop music sector, classically arranged, of course… I am enraptured by this double album and consider it a door opener in many ways.”

Source: ARD Mediathek (edit, 06 Sept 2015: offline)

2015-02-18-featured-press

Opernglas – Mein geheimer Garten

by germangermanygreen verlaineinterviewmagazinenewstranslated into english

2015-02-18, Opernglas

Die Gedichte Paul Verlaines haben unzählige Komponisten zu faszinierenden Vertonungen inspiriert. Philippe Jaroussky ist auf Spurensuche gegangen.

Source: Das Opernglas.

Summaries in English can be found here and here.

2015-02-08-featured-press-1024x576

Brigitte – Peter Pan singt Sopran

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2015-02-18, Brigitte

Obwohl er Sopran singt, sagt Countertenor Philippe Jaroussky entschieden: ‘Ich singe nicht wie eine Frau. Ich singe mit meiner männlichen Empfindsamkeit.’ Die wachsende Popularität von Sängern mit hohen Stimmlagen erklärt der 37-jährige Franzose in der neuen Ausgabe des Magazins BRIGITTE (Ausgabe 5/15, ab heute im Handel) damit, dass es eine neuen Begriff von Männlichkeit gebe. “Noch vor wenigen Generationen sollten Männer tapfer sein, nicht weinen, ihre Gefühle nicht ausdrücken. Doch jetzt haben wir starke Frauen und sensible Männer’.

Source/Read more: Brigitte

The following is not a professional translation; no profit is being made, no infringement of copyright is intended.

Peter Pan Is a Soprano

According to his fans, listening to him is like a drug. Philippe Jaroussky is a countertenor. His voice neither sounds male nor female, but always effortless and like deep feelings. A meeting with one of the biggest stars of Classical music.

Meike Schnitzler 

First of all, Philippe Jaroussky says “sorry”. Sorry that on the table, there is a large pot of tea, next to it a selection of cold remedy and throat lozenges.The last thing that Jaroussky wants to come across as is a hysterical opera diva who is busy pampering and nursing her precious soprano voice every second of the day. Soprano? Yes, the 37-year old Frenchman sings in the highest vocal range. Something that, right on the spot, one wouldn’t believe, because his speaking voice is a light baritone, a little raspy, because of the cold.

The day before, he had a concert in Hamburg; tomorrow it’s Berlin. Not a good time for a sore throat. “Classical singers have to fill an entire hall without the aid of a microphone,” says Jaroussky. “Luckily, I don’t have a cough. Then it would be over with my kind of voice.” His sort of voice – this is a no-frills vocal organ, able to spiral higher and higher like a bird, then stooping, its purity burning itself into the listener’s hearts. A voice that sounds neither male nor female, for which some fans will travel around the globe not to miss any of Jaroussky’s concerts. Even the night before, among the audience who rewarded his Vivaldi arias with standing ovations and enthusiastic trampling, the singer recognized some of his greatest female admirers.

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2015-02-05-featured-press

BR Klassik – CD-Tipp 05.02.2015: Agostino Steffani “Niobe – Regina di Tebe”

by album reviewgermangermanyniobe steffanipodcastradio

2015-02-05, BR Klassik

Ein Beitrag von: Adamski-Störmer, Ursula

Stand: 05.02.2015

Karina Gauvin, Philippe Jaroussky, Amanda Forsythe | Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra | Leitung: Paul O’Dette und Stephen Stubbs

Source/To the podcast: Radio BR.de

2015-02-01-featured-press

Ruhr Nachrichten – Konzerthaus Dortmund: Philippe Jaroussky sang zum Steine erweichen

by concert reviewgermangermanynewspaperniobe steffaniwebsite

2015-02-01, Ruhr Nachrichten

In der Oper “Niobe” von Agostino Steffani singt Anfione, der König von Theben, so schön, dass Zeus eine Mauer um die Stadt Theben wachsen lässt. Countertenor Philippe Jaroussky sang in der konzertanten Aufführung der frühbarocken Oper den Anfione am Samstagabend im Konzerthaus Dortmund so schön, dass er mit seinem engelsgleichen Männersopran auch Steine hätte erweichen können.

Source/Read more: Ruhr Nachrichten