03/07/2019
PHILIPPE JAROUSSKY
ARTISTS:
PHILIPPE JAROUSSKY – cONTRATENOR
ENSEMBLE ARTASERSE
03.07.2019, 19:30
ICE KRAKÓW CONGRESS CENTRE
Concert under the honorary patronage of the Consul General of France in Krakow Frédéric de Touchet.
The countertenor Philippe Jaroussky has established himself as one of the major singers in the international musical world as confirmed by the French Victoires de la musique classique (Revelation Artiste Lyrique in 2004, Artiste lyrique de l'année in 2007 and 2010) and at the Echo Klassik Awards in Germany in 2008 in Munich (Singer of the Year), in 2009 in Dresden (with L’Arpeggiata) and again in 2016 in Berlin.
Philippe Jaroussky’s impressive mastery of vocal technique results in performances full of nuance and vocal acrobatics. His vast repertoire of the Baroque era ranges from the refinements of the Italian seicento with Monteverdi, Sances and Rossi, to the staggering brilliance of Handel and Vivaldi; the latter being recently one of the most performed composers by Philippe. Philippe Jaroussky is also tireless at the forefront of musical researches and has made strong contributions to the discovery – or rediscovery – of composers such as Caldara, Porpora, Steffani, Telemann or Johann Christian Bach.
Lately, he has also explored very different repertoire of French mélodies accompanied by the pianist Jérôme Ducros. He has recently proposed his own vision of Berlioz's Les Nuits d'Été with performances at the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid and at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg.
Increasingly captivated by contemporary works, Jaroussky has performed a song cycle composed by Marc-André Dalbavie to the sonnets of Louise Labbé. He premiered the opera Only the Sound Remains of Kaija Saariaho, written specifically for his voice, at Nederlandse Opera Ballet in Amsterdam in March 2016.
Philippe Jaroussky has had the pleasure of collaborating with some of the best baroque ensembles. He has performed to high acclaim at the most prestigious festivals and in the best concert halls around the world.
In 2002, he founded Ensemble Artaserse, which currently performs throughout Europe. Already having an impressive discography, Philippe collaborated with the Edition Vivaldi de Naïve with Jean-Christophe Spinosi and the Ensemble Matheus. Philippe Jaroussky has been an exclusive artist with Erato/Warner Classics for many years and has received numerous awards for his recordings.
Recently, a project dear to his heart came to fruition: the Academy Philippe Jaroussky. The Academy is intended to support young musicians suffering of cultural isolation, through an original, extensive and demanding teaching. The Academy is housed by La Seine Musicale, a brand-new and impressive venue situated in Boulogne-Billancourt. In 2009, he was appointed Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.
In 2002, after many collaborations in the most prestigious baroque ensembles in France and Europe, several musicians decided to form the Ensemble Artaserse. Those friends were Christine Plubeau (viola da gamba), Claire Antonini (theorbo), Yoko Nakamura (harpsichord and organ) and, of course, Philippe Jaroussky (countertenor).
In October 2002, the group gave their first, highly-acclaimed concert at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris, with Musiche varie a voce sola by the Italian composer Benedetto Ferrari. This music was immediately recorded and released by the French label Ambroisie, receiving many prestigious awards (Diapason découverte by the “Diapason” magazien, 10 de Classica-Répertoire, Timbre de diamant by the magazine “Opéra International” etc.).
Soon, other musicians joined Artaserse and the ensemble have now established a reputation as one of the most exciting period instrument ensembles.
With the ability to adapt to numerous repertoires (with a strong emphasis on music by Antonio Vivaldi and George Frideric Handel), the ensemble performed progressively in the most famous venues and festivals in Europe and all over the world, such as: Paris, Auvers-sur-Oise, Uzès, Sisteron, Berlin, Hamburg, London, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Madrid, Barcelona, Wrocław, Gstaad, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico, Sao Paolo, Montevideo, Santiago de Chile and others. The ensemble have performed with Philippe Jaroussky in almost all the most prestigious venues and festivals in the world. They have collaborated with famous singers such as counter-tenor Andreas Scholl, contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux, soprano Emőke Baráth or, most recently, Cecilia Bartoli.
A very important part of Artaserse’s discography are the albums recorded with Philippe Jaroussky. After the recording with Ferrari’s music, they have recorded together two CDs for Virgin Classics: Vivaldi’s secular cantatas and Italian sacred music of the 17th century. For Erato/Warner Classics, they released a recording with motets by Antonio Vivaldi.
In autumn 2017, the ensemble and Philippe released a recording with opera arias by Handel. They extensively toured with this programme in Europe.
The spring of 2019 will see the release of a new album Ombra mai fu with opera arias by Francesco Cavalli.
pic. Robert Słuszniak and Wojciech Wandzel
