Press Archive
2015-03-02, sinfinimusic.com, Norman Lebrecht
A childlike tone in Fauré’s ‘Prison’ is followed by Debussy’s stone-faced ‘Mandoline’, only to melt in the white ice of Chausson’s moon. Three versions of Claire de lune are exquisitely differentiated. ‘The long sobs of the autumn violins’ convey for once the exact musical nuances of the poet’s intention. From one poem to the next, the pleasure intensifies.
Source/Read more: Sinfini Music
2015-03-01, Das Erste, ttt (Titel, Thesen, Temperamente)
“Er sang die Arien des Kastraten Farinelli und die großen Klassiker des Barock. Das leiseste Atemholen wird bei ihm zu subtiler Gestaltung: Philippe Jaroussky ist der beste Countertenor der Gegenwart – so urteilen zumindest viele Kritiker des “Orchideenfachs” seit Jahren. Philippe Jaroussky, ein 38-jähriger Franzose mit dem “Look” eines verführerischen Engels – klanglich souverän und mühelos virtuos”…
Source: Das Erste
The following is not a professional translation; no profit is being made, no infringement of copyright is intended.
Superstar of the High Notes
Why countertenor Philippe Jaroussky sings the praise of the poet Verlaine
He has sung the arias written for the castrato Farinelli as well as the big classics of Baroque. The most silent breath turns subtle creation with him: Philippe Jaroussky is the best countertenor of the present – at least, that’s the judgement of many critics of this rare discipline, for years now. Philippe Jaroussky, a Frenchman of 38 [sic! – he is 37 in fact] years with the looks of a seductive angel – vocally masterful, and effortlessly virtuosic.
Jaroussky’s repertoire spans exceptionally wide: from the emphasis on Baroque up to contemporary opera. For his new album, “Green,” he went back to the 19th century, and immersed himself in the life of the poet whose poems were set to music more often than anyone else’s in France: the scandalous genius Paul Verlaine, iconic figure of the Bohème, protagonist of scandalous stories full of violence, sex, and passions, who the French are as familiar with – which includes his adventurous biography – as the Germans are with Goethe, Schiller, or Heine.
“ttt” met Philippe Jaroussky in Paris. Starting at the 4th of May, he is going to tour Germany and Europe. We asked him why we should still be interested in Verlaine today.
Author: Stefanie Appel
The feature: [transcript]
Philippe Jaroussky: His voice is inspired by beauty. As if it was fallen out of time. In Paris, in this winter, it is almost unreal. Mostly, he sings sacral music and often, Baroque opera, the classical domain of a countertenor. Now, for once, he wanted to do something completely different.
“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.
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, Warner, Le Figaro
Translated from the original French. Interview by Thierry Clermont in Le Figaro, 19 February, 2015.
So you’ve had this project Green in mind for a long time?
PJ: It’s been in the works for about eight years. I love Verlaine’s poetry and his universe, made up of languor and melancholy as well as lightness and humour. I find myself there. Just think of the themes and the characters of his second collection of poems, Fêtes galantes, with its baroque side and its pastoral atmosphere. Most of his poems are short, arrhythmic – even dissonant . As he says in his Art poétique he prefers the odd lines out. It’s very human poetry, sensual but with childlike simplicity.
Source: Warner
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, 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.
2015-02-26, operamagazine.nl (Piacer de l’Opera)
De cd is echt een hebbeding. Niet in de laatste plaats ook vanwege het omhulsel. In het doosje vind je behalve de twee schitterende cd’s ook een dik boek met liedteksten, veel informatie en tientallen sfeerfoto’s van de componisten en de dichter.
Source/Read more: Opera Magazine
2015-02-26, Forum Opéra
Son ambiguïté est décadence, au sens le plus précieux du terme, sans qu’aucune affectation ne vienne en pervertir la sincérité. Au contraire, si paradoxal que cela puisse paraître, le naturel prédomine : naturel de la diction dans sa volonté de rendre compréhensible chaque phonème et, au delà de la compréhension, donner à percevoir la signification de chaque mot ; naturel de l’interprétation qui, à l’instar de Brassens et Ferré, essaye de débarrasser ces vers de leur empois poétique, de les rendre les plus proches possible du langage parlé ; naturel faisant la plupart de ces mélodies, non pas pièces de salon souffreteuses, mais chansons que l’on se surprend à fredonner comme un air à la mode.
Source/Read more: Forum Opéra
2015-02-25, Forum Opéra
“Apparemment, l’exploration de la mélodie française – on lira demain ici le compte rendu de son disque Green – ne suffit plus à Philippe Jaroussky pour échapper au répertoire baroque. En mars 2016 à Amsterdam, il créera un opéra de chambre de Kaija Saariaho, Only the Sound Remains ; bizarrement, ce vers d’Edward Thomas a déjà servi de titre à plusieurs œuvres contemporaines, en 2007 pour le compositeur iranien Amir Mahyar Tafreshipour, et en 2010 pour le Britannique Howard Skempton”…
Source: Forum Opéra
