As I begin typing this article, Händel is playing on Klara in Klassiek Leeft, the daily program of the much-praised presenter Bart Stouten. An organ concerto, not his singing, but it is baroque. And behold, it is with the singing of baroque music – and who would not want to sing along with such a concerto? – that Karine Deshayes, the French mezzo-soprano, made her breakthrough.
That was quite some time ago now and the voice of the meanwhile-lauded singer who sang just about everywhere in the world from small halls to the most renowned opera houses, evolved, grew, blossomed even more. Thus she gradually left the 'smaller' baroque repertoire and Italian bel canto became her beloved genre, supplemented with French Romanticism, Mozart and much chamber music and Lied. She did not necessarily choose Latin music and did not turn against the German repertoire either, but the fact that the two currents are not the same and place different demands on the voice, that is certain. Thus she also sang barely any Verdi and Wagner. Consciously, it does not fit her voice type, she explains, and so she prefers to keep some distance from it.
Another reason that she does not go for those big solo roles in the masterworks of both Verdi and Wagner is that she wants a connection with fellow singers, the choir singers, the orchestra and certainly also with the audience. That bond, the interaction, the involvement attracts her very much. It makes the musical experience total and more intimate, deeper.
Her father? He wanted no part of her choosing a professional career. The man must have sensed that his daughter, who began learning violin at eight years old, was seeking a career in music, young as the child still was. At twelve she was allowed to go to the opera. Opera! What a revelation! That WAS it! She wanted to sing. Not just to sing, but she discovered in the opera that total experience: singing, making music, acting, an audience that reacted emotionally. Yes, that is what she wanted, more than the violin. She was 14.5 and began voice studies. Did she know then that she would become a singer who would build a world career? Of course not, what singer knows that at that age when the voice changes and you can barely produce beautiful sounds…
And her father now? Ha, the man hesitated for a long time, but fortunately his daughter Karine's music teacher was able to persuade him to let her pursue music after all… "Such an uncertain future my dear daughter, never a certainty of income. It is different from your father who plays horn in the brass band for his resistance…" Well, if that father had not taken his daughter to the opera back then and also not introduced her to the 'après-théâtre' backstage, she might have ended up in an orchestra as a violinist. That was actually what she first wished for, to be an orchestra musician. But that famous evening, where opera was so much more than something you listened to at home on the radio… That evening changed her life. A life that she has been sharing for years with every music lover you can imagine. She also does quite a bit to reach people who would never otherwise listen to an opera or recital.
Debut in Liège…
It took quite a few years before an opera house in our country invited her as a guest. It is not her first time in our country, not at all, and not in Liège in itself where she has already given recitals several times. On 18 December she makes her debut in the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège in Rossini's delightful opera La Cenerentola in the role of Angelina. It is not a travesti role for once. There Deshayes shines, thanks to her voice which goes deep, but also very supple coloraturas, like nothing, in this. She sings those roles not only in the Italian repertoire (the Mozarts included), but also and especially in the French repertoire which has most of the travesti roles, something that will and can surprise many.
Angelina is a real female character and that is what Karine Deshayes likes to go for. She has sung so many of them in Bellini, Rossini, Donizetti, Berlioz, Massenet and so on.
Deshayes does make her debut in the Liège opera, but not in this role. The last time she performed it was about five years ago in San Francisco. Will she then sing this role just like that because it is familiar repertoire for her? Not at all. The circumstances are always different again, she explains. Different orchestra, different conductor, different house, different mentality, different atmosphere, different insights, different interpretation, different audience and yes: "I am also five years older, my voice has evolved in the meantime and it cannot help but that I will sing the role differently. It is never the same, so many influences play a role".
You can experience her in the role if you order tickets soon. There are hardly any places left – Liège is usually sold out well in advance – but there are some, including on 'the owl'. And if you are not so opera-minded, you can get to know her in the Lied that she likes to sing so much in a trio with clarinet, piano and voice. Such a beautiful and rich repertoire, she tells enthusiastically. She may like it even more than the opera although some other opera is also coming for her in 2020. Opera that she can now handle, thanks to the voice evolution: German repertoire. Yes indeed and so it does not end with Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder and Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde. Richard Strauss is the next challenge with Ariadne auf Naxos. But first it is now La Cenerentola's turn. It will certainly be a performance full of pleasure, fitting in the spirit of the end-of-year festivities.
- WHO: Karine Deshayes, mezzo-soprano
- WHAT: Angelina in La Cenerentola by Gioachino Rossini
- WHERE: Opéra Royal de Wallonie, Liège
- WHEN: from 18 to 3 December 2019
- PHOTOS: © Opéra Royal de Wallonie
- ORDER HERE: JPC, your choice of CDs with Karine Deshayes
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