2020-04-03 featured press

El País – El tercer curso de ‘Élite’ pasa examen en la portada de ICON

2020-04-03, El País, by N. N.

Junto a estos dos grandes rebeldes de la música y la literatura, comparten entre otros las páginas de ICON el actor Leonardo Sbaraglia, que acaba de interpretar a Guillermo Coppola, el famoso manager de Diego Armando Maradona en la serie Sueño bendito, sobre el astro argentino; el showrunner David Simon, creador de The wire y ahora de vuelta con La conjura contra América, recién estrenada en HBO; Indya Moore, actriz trans que triunfa con la serie Pose, de la misma plataforma, o el famoso contratenor francés Philippe Jaroussky.

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2018-10-27 featured press

El Pais – “No quiero llegar a viejo cantando”

2018-10-27, El Pais, by Jesús Ruiz Mantilla

“No quiero llegar a viejo cantando”, comenta a sus 40 años. “Sé que deberé bajarme del escenario algún día. Pero no lo vivo como un trauma. Me considero músico en general y esto lo afronto solo como etapa de una carrera en la que quiero probar otros ámbitos, como la dirección”, afirma.

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2018-10-24 featured press

El Pais – Como príncipes

2018-10-24. El Pais, by Luis Gago

No hay un intento de emular el teatro noh, pero sí de beber de su espíritu para que Saariaho dé rienda suelta a su característico estilo posimpresionista, dejando que las voces (en inglés, por primera vez en una ópera suya) expresen el texto de forma diáfana. En esto último son maestros tanto Philippe Jaroussky como Davóne Tines, pero el primero supera con mucho al segundo en la precisión milimétrica con que ejecuta cada nota o acomete cada salto interválico. El contratenor francés, como espíritu y como ángel, hace suya la obra con total naturalidad en una actuación llena de contención, mientras que el barítono estadounidense (un ejemplo paradigmático del tipo de cantantes que le gustan a Peter Sellars) resulta muy convincente en lo escénico, pero algo menos en lo musical. […]

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2018-07-20 featured press

El País – Countertenor Philippe Jaroussky teaches the secrets of the technique that saved his voice – Translation to English

2018-07-20, El País. by Virginia López Enano

“Mis alumnos me recuerdan la ilusión que tenía al principio y me han enseñado que todavía puedo cantar mejor”

[…]

La clase de música está a punto de comenzar para los más pequeños de la academia. Macéo ha sido el primero en llegar. Su idea era tocar el piano, pero ha descubierto que le encanta sentir en el pecho la vibración del chelo. Aún no sabe si es su pasión, pero quizá Jaroussky pueda sentirse orgulloso dentro de unos años de haber ayudado a convertir al joven Macéo en un músico de éxito.

Translation to English

This is a fan translation; no infringement of copyright is intended. We believe it fulfills the criteria for “fair use,” discussion and study. Translation by *L

Countertenor Philippe Jaroussky teaches the secrets of the technique that saved his voice

caption: The French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, photographed in Paris. By Lea Crespi

by Virginia López Enano

The French countertenor – one of the most famous Classical artists – leads a life between tours and an academy where he promotes the career of young talents and passes on the technique that saved his career.

The Île Seguin rises from the Seine as she takes her course through the West of Paris. The austere building of La Seine Musicale emerges from it, and at the top, its glass dome looks like a gigantic soap bubble that escapes to the river. Here, in one of the corridors of this center of cultural activities, the countertenor Philippe Jaroussky (born in Maisons-Laffitte, 1978) has started an academy. He founded it a year ago to discover talented children from homes with little access to resources, to boost the career of young talents and to pass on the vocal technique that saved his career two decades ago.

caption: During a master class with a student, the baritone Louis de Lavignère.

Jaroussky has become one of the most famous Classical artists of the moment, but it was not always clear that his path would eventually cross with opera. At age 10, he was a restless kid who liked to sing in class and who didn’t belong to a family of musicians. His natural talent caught the attention of one of his teachers, who informed his parents of their son’s abilities. Following the teacher’s advice, they pointed him to violin. “Without him, I would never have dedicated myself to music,” he now confesses, in one of the classrooms of the Académie Musicale Philippe Jaroussky. For that reason, one of the objectives that the singer has set for himself now is to return the favor. “After 20 years of career, I thought it was my turn to offer the same opportunity. Without any musical background, it is difficult to begin. Because of that, a lot of talent is wasted. If a child discovers that music is their passion, their life will change completely. It happened to me.”

Starting out as a baritone, little by little he found himself being attracted by the register that traditionally belonged to the extinct “castrati.”

The violin was his first contact with an instrument, but Jaroussky owes his career to his voice. Starting out as a baritone, little by little he found himself being attracted by the register that traditionally belonged to the extinct “castrati”: that of a countertenor. The highest of male voices, a flexible, feminine, powerful and mystical sound – quite unusual at the time when Jaroussky, who will sing at the Teatro Real from October 23 to November 9, began debuting at the concert halls, and much better known now thanks to him. Singing with the face of a child and the voice of a woman, the French star impacted the world of Classical and – together with leading figures such as the mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli – he has been a protagonist of the Baroque repertoire and elevated it to the very top. He collaborated with the best current ensembles, such as Les Arts Florissants and Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble, and [performed] at major venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. He sells out the largest theaters and is among Classical music’s best selling artists.

caption: Jaroussky gives instructions to one of his singing students.

Together with leading figures such as the mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, he has been a protagonist of the Baroque repertoire.

However, for anyone who isn’t familiar with his immense musical career, it would take a couple of minutes to distinguish the teacher from the student in the singing class. Jaroussky has the the left leg of his pants tucked into his sock – the other is above it. He’s wearing his jeans somehow baggy. The watch on his right wrist. The sleeves of the red checkered shirt that he wears over a t-shirt are rolled up to the elbows, and the top button is open. He is 40 years old, but he keeps the appearance of a teenager – with gray hair and the face of a child. Jaroussky gets up from the piano stool, approaches Clarisse Dalles, one of the seven singing students of the academy, and grabs her cheeks. “Breathe!” he shouts. And when the young soprano starts again with the aria from The Marriage of Figaro, Jaroussky opens his eyes wide, addressing the audience in the classroom: “You do not see many countesses like that. And she’s only 22 years old! ” All his students tell the same thing: he never gives up. When he wants something, he never stops until he has achieved it. “But he’s sympathetic and kind,” adds Dalles. And generous as well. “There aren’t many Classical artists with a reputation like that of Philippe, and he has given us the opportunity to benefit from his visibility. It is very important, because as young musicians we don’t have a structure to help us start our career when we finish the conservatory.”

The soprano tells us that the director of the Royal Opera of Versailles called Jaroussky because the countertenor of a production got sick and they needed a replacement. Jaroussky gave him the name of William Shelton, Dalles’ classmate. Shortly after, the young performer was debuting with Les Arts Florissants.

caption: Two children play in the classroom, shortly before the class begins.

But beyond providing opportunities and contacts, the goal of Jaroussky is to teach them how to care for and keep their voice to get the most out of it. The countertenor perfectly understands the impatience of the young musicians to sound better and more powerful: “It happened to me too. At first everything was easy. My voice was flexible but not very big and I was worried about having to make it heard in the concert halls. I started to get tired because the effort I made was excessive, and that caused me little problems for a couple of years until, thanks to a teacher, I managed to build another way of singing. It was a patient work. I think the time has come to pass on the fruit of this 20-year work that saved my voice. ”

“My students remind me of the excitement I had at the beginning and they have taught me that I can still sing better.”

Only for the summer already, his schedule will take him to Lithuania, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, Norway,… And even so, he assures that it is easy to combine it with other projects because he schedules his concerts two or three years in advance. He enjoys his new facet as a teacher, and he realized that he doesn’t only gives lessons, but also receives them: “I ask my students for things that I did not do at their age. As a young man I didn’t listen too much, I was a bit of a lazy student. They have given me a lot of energy. They remind me of the excitement I had at the beginning of my career and I have been taught that I can still sing better, and that is fantastic.”

caption: A cello lesson

The music class is about to start for the youngest of the academy. Macéo was the first to arrive. His idea was to play the piano, but he has discovered that he loves to feel the vibration of the cello in his chest. He still does not know if it’s his passion, but maybe Jaroussky can feel proud in a few years of helping to turn the young Macéo into a successful musician.

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2016-10-20-featured-press

El País – “Para finalmente cantar bien debemos haber cantado antes mal”

2016-10-20, El País, by Jesús Ruiz Mantilla

 

 

[…] La evolución de su voz también se lo permite. “Hace 10 años no hubiese podido cantar este programa. Mi voz ha ensanchado tras un largo y concienzudo trabajo. Me llamaban de varios sitios para tentarme y empecé a decir que sí a cantar en salas donde la proyección de mi voz debía llegar con más potencia. Pero lo más difícil de esta aventura es que son 30 minutos de canto sin pausa. Una locura, pero de vez en cuando hay que animarse, ¿no?”. […]

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2015-03-26_02-featured-press

EL PAÍS – La voz sobrenatural

2015-03-26, EL PAÍS

“El contratenor francés Philippe Jaroussky (Maisons-Laffitte, 1978) ha centrado su repertorio en las composiciones italianas para castrado de los siglos XVII y XVIII, aunque desde 2009 defiende su ampliación hacia la mélodie francesa de los siglos XIX y XX. Estos días regresa a España para ofrecer tres recitales junto al pianista Jerôme Ducros en Sevilla (el pasado día 21), Madrid y Barcelona en los que muestra el interés y coherencia de esa ampliación con su modelo vocal, formación y personalidad artística”..

via El País

2014-12-19-featured-press

El País – Corazón y cabeza

2014-12-19, El País

Jaroussky ha conquistado la sensibilidad del público melómano madrileño. En su anterior visita, en octubre del año pasado, se centró en Porpora, con lo que la sombra de Farinelli apareció por todos los rincones. Ahora su eje es Vivaldi con motivo de la aparición de su disco Pietà, dedicado a obras sacras del compositor veneciano. En marzo vuelve con una selección de melodías francesas basadas en textos de Verlaine y antes, en enero, interviene en una ópera de Agostino Steffani en versión de concierto con la orquesta del Festival de música antigua de Boston.

Source/Read more: El País

2015-12-10-featured-press

El País – “Ahora busco la espiritualidad”

2014-12-10, El País

La afición de Philippe Jarousky por las criaturas de cualquier especie no tiene límites. Hace dos meses, el contratenor del momento se encerró con Yulka, la beluga más a tono del Oceanogràfic de Valencia, para cantar a dúo. Buscó y rebuscó sonidos ignotos en una iniciativa que tenía su veta científica, su dosis de atracción inclasificable para amplios públicos y su punto de experimento alejado de lo convencional tanto para la biología marina como para el arte de la ópera.

Source/Read more: El País

2014-12-01_02 featured press

El País – Delicadeza

2014-12-01, El País, by Rosa Solá

Fue la de Jaroussky, sin duda, una de las sesiones cumbre de este otoño. El contratenor, cuya popularidad crece día a día sin renunciar por ello al rigor interpretativo ni a la sinceridad expresiva, puso la sala a reventar. Consiguió, además, varios momentos en que la atmósfera, de tan tensa, casi se podía cortar, con el público emocionado ante el delicado primor del canto.

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2014-12-01 featured press

El País – Jaroussky o el impacto de lo distinto

2014-12-01, El País by Julián Carrillo

Jaroussky posee una espléndida técnica y su dominio, a lo que se añade un extremo amor a su voz, le hace caer en un cierto ensimismamiento en la pura vocalidad. Algo muy del gusto de eso que ha dado en llamarse el público en general -compuesto por parte de los aficionados y la práctica totalidad de los meros consumidores de acontecimentos- pero que lastra algunas de sus interpretaciones.

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