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.
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“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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