Sylvie Valayre
Encyclopedia
Sylvie Valayre is a French operatic soprano
known for her versatile interpretations of lyric, spinto
and dramatic coloratura soprano parts. She sings grueling roles like Abigaille, Lady Macbeth or Turandot
as well as lighter pieces like Giordano
's Maddalena, Cio-Cio San (Madama Butterfly
) or Verdi's Desdemona at major opera houses around the world.
and Régine Crespin
. She attended master classes of Cathy Berberian
, Galina Vichnevskaia, Gino Bechi
, Paul von Schilawsky in Florence and Montpellier, Giuseppe Di Stefano
, who later chose her to perform a concert with him at Théâtre du Châtelet
. Later, she undertook advanced studies with tenor Sergio Tedesco and with mezzo-soprano Catherine Green.
at the Théâtre Marigny
in Paris, performing excerpts from operas like Semiramide
and Norma
(also available as DVD). Soon after, Mstislav Rostropovich
and Galina Vishnevskaya
asked her to perform the title role in their production of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
's The Tsar's Bride
at the Rome Opera.
In 1987, she sang her first Mozart opera, performing the role of Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte
. Other roles during this stage of her career included Mimi in La Bohème
, Tosca in Tosca
, Magda in La rondine
, Violetta in La traviata
, Norma in Norma
, Leonore in Fidelio
, Manon in Manon Lescaut
, Thaïs in Thaïs
, Adina in L'elisir d'amore
, Liù in Turandot
, the Infante in Der Zwerg
(or The Infante's Birthday) by Zemlinsky, La Voix humaine
by Poulenc
and more. In 1994, she was performing in major Italian houses in works like La Voix humaine (Trieste, Genova, Naples), Cavalleria rusticana
(Trieste, Bologna), L'heure espagnole
and Il segreto di Susanna
(Opera of Trieste).
In 1995, in a production touring through the Netherlands, she debuted in the part of Lady Macbeth, later one of her signature parts.
, she made her debut in Warsaw in the part of Elisabetta in Don Carlo. A few months later followed her debuts in Nabucco
at Covent Garden
Opera, Madama Butterfly
in Naples and Venice (La Fenice) and in Don Carlo at Royal Albert Hall
in London.
In 1997, Milan invited her onto the famous stage of La Scala
to perform Ponchielli's La Gioconda
. Her debut in Milan was soon followed by other debuts at other famous opera houses: Madama Butterfly at San Francisco Opera, Verdi's Jerusalem at Carnegie Hall
in New York, Nabucco in Zürich with Nello Santi
as well as Nabucco, Aida
and Tosca
at the famous Arena di Verona, Macbeth
in Paris and Tosca in Berlin. Aida in Munich followed and, in 2000, her first performances at the Metropolitan Opera
in Madama Butterfly. Later in 2000 Manon Lescaut at Opera Pacific
, Ernani
at the Madrid Opera, Aida in Macerata
, Tosca in Paris and Tokyo, La Gioconda at Carnegie Hall
and Macbeth
in Berlin.
The year 2001 brought her to the Lyric Opera of Chicago
as Tosca, to Madrid with Verdi's Requiem, to Brussels (Théâtre de la Monnaie) with Antonio Pappano
and Zürich with Macbeth, to Berlin in the title part of Aida and to Macerata with Norma.
In 2002 she sang her first Chrysothemis (Elektra
) in Madrid under Daniel Barenboim
, Madama Butterfly in Tokyo with Maestro Myung-whun Chung
, Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera
in New York with Daniel Oren
, the title part of Salome
at Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. with Heinz Fricke
and Verdi's Requiem in New York. In September and October, she returned to the Metropolitan Opera
with Plácido Domingo
and James Levine
to give her first performances of Andrea Chénier
s Maddalena.
The 2003-2004 season was characterized by some significant first performances, such as the title part of Turandot
in Berlin with Kent Nagano
; the part of the Emperess in Strauss's Die Frau ohne Schatten
, also in Berlin with Christian Thielemann
; the part of Minnie in Puccini's La fanciulla del West
in Zürich and the part of Amelia in Un ballo in maschera
in Turin.
Other performances in 2003-04 were Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera
and in Vienna, Madame Butterfly in Chicago and Naples, Macbeth in Berlin as well as Nabucco and La Gioconda in Zürich, again with Nello Santi. In August 2004 she joined Plácido Domingo for a Gala Concert La corona di pietra at the Arena di Verona (including a DVD production by Sony Classical).
The engagements of the 2004-05 season included, among others, Salome in Braunschweig and Athens with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
, as well as in Rome with the Santa Cecilia Orchestra and in Tokyo; Nabucco and Fedora
at the Vienna State Opera
; Tosca in Zürich with Nello Santi, at the New York Metropolitan Opera
with James Conlon
, and in Washington, D.C.. Verdi's Aida at the Thermae of Caracalla in Rome, directed by Plácido Domingo, concluded the season.
In 2005-06, Domingo again invited her to Washington, D.C. to take part in the Gala performances Trilogy - Domingo and Guests in 3 Acts as Fedora
. Salome, Macbeth and Turandot at the Berlin State Opera
, Tosca and Nabucco in Zürich, Aida at the Vienna State Opera
and in Munich followed. She also participated in important new productions like Macbeth as Lady at the Verdi Festival in Parma under the baton of Bruno Bartoletti
(including a DVD production by the label TDK
) and as Elvira in Verdi's Ernani at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, both in June 2006.
After the great successes gained with Puccini's La fanciulla del West
and Giordano
's Andrea Chénier at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in September and October 2006, Valayre's engagements in 2006-07 also included Nabucco at the Opera House of Zürich, Manon Lescaut
at Miami's Florida Grand Opera
, Macbeth at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin and her role debut as Desdemona in Verdi's Otello
at the Beethoven Festival in Warsaw. The 2006-07 season was concluded by a new production of Macbeth at Glyndebourne Festival Opera and the London Proms.
Her performances for 2007-08 included Tosca at the Opéra National de Paris, Manon Lescaut in Genova, Nabucco at Berlin's Deutsche Oper and Turandot in Tel Aviv. She also performed an extensive solo concert at the festival "Musiques au coeur" in Antibes in July 2008. In August 2008, she could be heard in Richard Strauss´ Four Last Songs and Ludwig van Beethoven
's 9th Symphony at Šaľa São Paulo
, in Brazil, as part of the Cultura Artística
International Series.
In the 2008-09 season, Sylvie Valayre could be heard frequently throughout Germany, among others at Semperoper
Dresden and Staatsoper Berlin in Macbeth and Turandot as well as at Oper Leipzig
in Peter Konwitschny
's new production of Giuseppe Verdi
's Aida.
In January 2009, she debuted at San Diego Opera
as Tosca. In May and June 2009, Valayre was singing Turandot at Washington National Opera
as well as in Budapest for two Gala performances.
In 2009-10, she returned to San Diego Opera
for Nabucco, to Oper Leipzig for Aida
, to Staatsoper Berlin for Tosca
and gave her role debut as Odabella in Verdi's Attila
in Marseille. In the title role of Puccini's Turandot
, she gave her house debut at Monte-Carlo Opera and inaugurated the new opera house in Guangzhou (China) under the baton of Lorin Maazel
in May 2010.
In the 2010/11 season, Sylvie Valayre returns to the Opéra Bastille
in Paris as Giorgetta in Puccini's Il tabarro
under the baton of Philippe Jordan
, sings a gala performance of Madama Butterfly
in Mannheim and gives her debuts at Beejing Opera with Turandot and at Royal Opera Copenhagen as Empress in Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten
.
New York in 2000 as Cio-Cio San, the New York Times described her portrayal as "lovely, vulnerable" and reported that "her singing had poignancy and beauty - standing ovation".
In 2005, the Washington Post considered her Tosca in Washington, D.C. to be "filled with sparkling, stratospheric moments", noted that "here was a pleasing artistry in her singing that merged accurate intonation with an ability to move her sound smoothly across a wide vocal range" and wrote that "the top of her soprano voice is nothing less than extraordinary".
Great Britain's The Daily Telegraph
reported on Verdi's Macbeth at the London Proms 2007 that Valayre was "a real find of a Lady Macbeth" and that she would possess "the ideal voice for the role: a dramatic soprano with an incisive edge and the dark-tinged richness of a mezzo."
Théâtre Marigny, Paris
DVD
1991: Raffaello de Banfield: "Una lettera d'amore di Lord Byron"
Gianfranco Masini; Orchestra Sinfonica dell'Emilia Romagna "Arturo Toscanini"
CD, Ermitage ERM 403
1991: Felice Lattuada: "Le preziose ridicole"
Gianfranco Masini; Orchestra Sinfonica dell'Emilia Romagna "Arturo Toscanini"
CD, Aura Classics
1992: Philippe Hersant: "Le Chateau des Carpathes"
David Robertson; Orchestre Philharmonique de Montpellier
CD, Accord
1995: "Easter Concert from Paris" (Jean-Louis Florentz: "Mary's prayer at Golgotha")
Jean-Jacques Kantorow
; Paris Orchestral Ensemble
DVD, Goldline Classics
2004: "La corona di pietra - Gala concert Arena di Verona with Placido Domingo" (Bellini: finale of "Norma")
Orchestra Arena di Verona
DVD, Sony - BMG
2006: Giuseppe Verdi: "Macbeth"
Bruno Bartoletti; Orchestra del Teatro Regio di Parma
DVD, TDK Music
2007: Christmas Album (Sylvie Valayre sings the traditional "What Child is This?")
Camerata of London
CD, MSM-CD
Video:
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
known for her versatile interpretations of lyric, spinto
Spinto
Spinto is a vocal term used to characterize a soprano or tenor voice of a weight between lyric and dramatic that is capable of handling large musical climaxes in opera at moderate intervals...
and dramatic coloratura soprano parts. She sings grueling roles like Abigaille, Lady Macbeth or Turandot
Turandot
Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
as well as lighter pieces like Giordano
Umberto Giordano
Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano was an Italian composer, mainly of operas.He was born in Foggia in Puglia, southern Italy, and studied under Paolo Serrao at the Conservatoire of Naples...
's Maddalena, Cio-Cio San (Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
) or Verdi's Desdemona at major opera houses around the world.
Education
Born in Paris, she graduated at the Paris Conservatory under the guidance of Christiane Eda-PierreChristiane Eda-Pierre
Christiane Eda-Pierre is a French lyric coloratura soprano of Martiniquan origin, who sang in a wide variety of roles, from baroque to contemporary works.- Life and career :...
and Régine Crespin
Régine Crespin
Régine Crespin was a French singer who had a major international career in opera and on the concert stage between 1950 and 1989. She started her career singing roles in the dramatic soprano and spinto soprano repertoire, drawing particular acclaim singing Wagner and Strauss heroines...
. She attended master classes of Cathy Berberian
Cathy Berberian
Catherine Anahid Berberian was an American soprano and composer. She interpreted contemporary avant-garde music composed, among others, by Luciano Berio, Bruno Maderna, John Cage, Henri Pousseur, Sylvano Bussotti, Darius Milhaud, Roman Haubenstock-Ramati , Igor Stravinsky.She also interpreted...
, Galina Vichnevskaia, Gino Bechi
Gino Bechi
Gino Bechi was an Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially in Verdi roles.-Life and career:...
, Paul von Schilawsky in Florence and Montpellier, Giuseppe Di Stefano
Giuseppe Di Stefano
Giuseppe Di Stefano was an Italian operatic tenor who sang professionally from the late 1940s until the early 1990s. He was known as the "Golden voice" or "The most beautiful voice", as the true successor of Beniamino Gigli...
, who later chose her to perform a concert with him at Théâtre du Châtelet
Théâtre du Châtelet
The Théâtre du Châtelet is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France.One of two theatres built on the site of a châtelet, a small castle or fortress, it was designed by Gabriel Davioud at the request of Baron Haussmann between 1860 and...
. Later, she undertook advanced studies with tenor Sergio Tedesco and with mezzo-soprano Catherine Green.
Early operatic career
She began her career in 1984 with a play about Maria MalibranMaria Malibran
The mezzo-soprano Maria Malibran , was one of the most famous opera singers of the 19th century. Malibran was known for her stormy personality and dramatic intensity, becoming a legendary figure after her death at age 28...
at the Théâtre Marigny
Théâtre Marigny
The Théâtre Marigny is a theatre in Paris, situated near the junction of the Champs-Élysées and the Avenue Marigny, in the 8th arrondissement. It was originally built to designs of the architect Charles Garnier for the display of a panorama, which opened in 1883...
in Paris, performing excerpts from operas like Semiramide
Semiramide
Semiramide is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini.The libretto by Gaetano Rossi is based on Voltaire's tragedy Semiramis, which in turn was based on the legend of Semiramis of Babylon...
and Norma
Norma (opera)
Norma is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after Norma, ossia L'infanticidio by Alexandre Soumet. First produced at La Scala on December 26, 1831, it is generally regarded as an example of the supreme height of the bel canto tradition...
(also available as DVD). Soon after, Mstislav Rostropovich
Mstislav Rostropovich
Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, KBE , known to close friends as Slava, was a Soviet and Russian cellist and conductor. He was married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. He is widely considered to have been the greatest cellist of the second half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest of...
and Galina Vishnevskaya
Galina Vishnevskaya
Galina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya is a Russian soprano opera singer and recitalist who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1966.-Biography:...
asked her to perform the title role in their production of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
's The Tsar's Bride
The Tsar's Bride (opera)
The Tsar's Bride is an opera in four acts by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, the composer's tenth opera. The libretto, by Il’ya Tyumenev, is based on the drama of the same name by Lev Mey. Mey's play was first suggested to the composer as an opera subject in 1868 by Mily Balakirev...
at the Rome Opera.
In 1987, she sang her first Mozart opera, performing the role of Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
. Other roles during this stage of her career included Mimi in La Bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
, Tosca in Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
, Magda in La rondine
La rondine
La rondine is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on a libretto by Alfred Maria Willner and Heinz Reichert...
, Violetta in La traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
, Norma in Norma
Norma (opera)
Norma is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after Norma, ossia L'infanticidio by Alexandre Soumet. First produced at La Scala on December 26, 1831, it is generally regarded as an example of the supreme height of the bel canto tradition...
, Leonore in Fidelio
Fidelio
Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
, Manon in Manon Lescaut
Manon Lescaut (Puccini)
Manon Lescaut is an opera in four acts by Giacomo Puccini. The story is based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost....
, Thaïs in Thaïs
Thaïs (opera)
Thaïs is an opera in three acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Louis Gallet based on the novel Thaïs by Anatole France. It was first performed at the Opéra Garnier in Paris on 16 March 1894, starring the American soprano Sybil Sanderson, for whom Massenet had written the title role...
, Adina in L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore is an opera by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. It is a melodramma giocoso in two acts...
, Liù in Turandot
Turandot
Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
, the Infante in Der Zwerg
Der Zwerg
Der Zwerg , Op.17 is an opera in one act by Austrian composer Alexander Zemlinsky to a libretto by Georg Klaren, freely adapted from the short story The Birthday of the Infanta by Oscar Wilde.-Composition history:...
(or The Infante's Birthday) by Zemlinsky, La Voix humaine
La voix humaine
La voix humaine is a one-act opera for one character, with music by Francis Poulenc to a libretto by Jean Cocteau, based on his 1930 play. La voix humaine was first performed at the Opéra-Comique, Salle Favart in Paris on 6 February 1959...
by Poulenc
Francis Poulenc
Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music...
and more. In 1994, she was performing in major Italian houses in works like La Voix humaine (Trieste, Genova, Naples), Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro...
(Trieste, Bologna), L'heure espagnole
L'heure espagnole
L'heure espagnole is a one-act opera, described as a comédie musicale, with music by Maurice Ravel to a French libretto by Franc-Nohain, based on his play of the same name first performed at the Théâtre de l'Odéon on 28 October 1904...
and Il segreto di Susanna
Il segreto di Susanna
Il segreto di Susanna is an intermezzo in one act by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari to an Italian libretto by Enrico Golisciani...
(Opera of Trieste).
In 1995, in a production touring through the Netherlands, she debuted in the part of Lady Macbeth, later one of her signature parts.
International breakthrough and career
In 1996, with the production of Venice's La FeniceLa Fenice
Teatro La Fenice is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of the most famous theatres in Europe, the site of many famous operatic premieres. Its name reflects its role in permitting an opera company to "rise from the ashes" despite losing the use of two theatres...
, she made her debut in Warsaw in the part of Elisabetta in Don Carlo. A few months later followed her debuts in Nabucco
Nabucco
Nabucco is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the Biblical story and the 1836 play by Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois and Francis Cornue...
at Covent Garden
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
Opera, Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
in Naples and Venice (La Fenice) and in Don Carlo at Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
in London.
In 1997, Milan invited her onto the famous stage of La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
to perform Ponchielli's La Gioconda
La Gioconda (opera)
La Gioconda is an opera in four acts by Amilcare Ponchielli set to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Angelo, tyran de Padoue, a play in prose by Victor Hugo, dating from 1835...
. Her debut in Milan was soon followed by other debuts at other famous opera houses: Madama Butterfly at San Francisco Opera, Verdi's Jerusalem at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in New York, Nabucco in Zürich with Nello Santi
Nello Santi
Nello Santi is an Italian conductor. He is often called "Papa Santi" by his fellow musicians to show their high respect for his work.-Biography:...
as well as Nabucco, Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
and Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
at the famous Arena di Verona, Macbeth
Macbeth (opera)
Macbeth is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name...
in Paris and Tosca in Berlin. Aida in Munich followed and, in 2000, her first performances at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
in Madama Butterfly. Later in 2000 Manon Lescaut at Opera Pacific
Opera Pacific
Opera Pacific was an opera company located in the Orange County, California, United States city of Santa Ana. It operated for 22 seasons before closing in 2008 after several seasons of deepening financial difficulties.-History:...
, Ernani
Ernani
Ernani is an operatic dramma lirico in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Hernani by Victor Hugo. The first production took place at La Fenice Theatre, Venice on 9 March 1844...
at the Madrid Opera, Aida in Macerata
Macerata
Macerata is a city and comune in central Italy, the capital of the province of Macerata in the Marche region.The historical city center is located on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza rivers. It consisted of the Picenes city named Ricina, then, after the romanization, Recina and Helvia Recina...
, Tosca in Paris and Tokyo, La Gioconda at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
and Macbeth
Macbeth (opera)
Macbeth is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name...
in Berlin.
The year 2001 brought her to the Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
as Tosca, to Madrid with Verdi's Requiem, to Brussels (Théâtre de la Monnaie) with Antonio Pappano
Antonio Pappano
Antonio Pappano is a British conductor and pianist of Italian parentage.Pappano's family relocated to England from Castelfranco in Miscano near Benevento, Italy in 1958 and at the time of his birth his parents worked in the restaurant business, but Pasquale Pappano, his father, was by vocation a...
and Zürich with Macbeth, to Berlin in the title part of Aida and to Macerata with Norma.
In 2002 she sang her first Chrysothemis (Elektra
Elektra (opera)
Elektra is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German-language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, which he adapted from his 1903 drama Elektra. The opera was the first of many collaborations between Strauss and Hofmannsthal...
) in Madrid under Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....
, Madama Butterfly in Tokyo with Maestro Myung-whun Chung
Myung-Whun Chung
Myung-whun Chung is a South Korean pianist and conductor.His sisters, violinist Kyung-wha Chung, and cellist Myung-wha Chung, and he at one time performed together as the Chung Trio. He was a joined second-prize winner in the 1974 International Tchaikovsky Competition. Chung studied conducting at...
, Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
in New York with Daniel Oren
Daniel Oren
-Biography:Daniel Oren was born in Israel. When he was 13 years old, Oren was chosen by Leonard Bernstein to perform the boy solo part in Chichester Psalms. In 1975 he won first prize in the first Herbert von Karajan Conducting Competition.-Music career:...
, the title part of Salome
Salome (opera)
Salome is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann’s German translation of the French play Salomé by Oscar Wilde. Strauss dedicated the opera to his friend Sir Edgar Speyer....
at Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. with Heinz Fricke
Heinz Fricke
Heinz Fricke is a German maestro and was the principal conductor of the Washington National Opera in Washington, D.C. He was appointed as music director in 1993. Before joining the Washington National Opera, he held the position of music director of the Staatsoper Berlin, and the Den Norske Opera...
and Verdi's Requiem in New York. In September and October, she returned to the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
with Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
and James Levine
James Levine
James Lawrence Levine is an American conductor and pianist. He is currently the music director of the Metropolitan Opera and former music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Levine's first performance conducting the Metropolitan Opera was on June 5, 1971, and as of May 2011 he has...
to give her first performances of Andrea Chénier
Andrea Chénier
Andrea Chénier is a verismo opera in four acts by the composer Umberto Giordano, set to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica. It is based loosely on the life of the French poet, André Chénier , who was executed during the French Revolution....
s Maddalena.
The 2003-2004 season was characterized by some significant first performances, such as the title part of Turandot
Turandot
Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
in Berlin with Kent Nagano
Kent Nagano
__FORCETOC__Kent George Nagano is an American conductor and opera administrator. He is currently the music director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and the Bavarian State Opera.-Biography:...
; the part of the Emperess in Strauss's Die Frau ohne Schatten
Die Frau ohne Schatten
Die Frau ohne Schatten is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It was written between 1911 and either 1915 or 1917...
, also in Berlin with Christian Thielemann
Christian Thielemann
-Career:Thielemann studied viola and piano at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin and took private lessons in composition and conducting before becoming répétiteur aged 19 at the Deutsche Oper Berlin with Heinrich Hollreiser and working as Herbert von Karajan's assistant...
; the part of Minnie in Puccini's La fanciulla del West
La fanciulla del West
La fanciulla del West is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarini, based on the play The Girl of the Golden West by the American author David Belasco. Its highly-publicised premiere occurred in New York City in 1910...
in Zürich and the part of Amelia in Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera , is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with text by Antonio Somma. The libretto is loosely based on an 1833 play, Gustave III, by French playwright Eugène Scribe who wrote about the historical assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden...
in Turin.
Other performances in 2003-04 were Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
and in Vienna, Madame Butterfly in Chicago and Naples, Macbeth in Berlin as well as Nabucco and La Gioconda in Zürich, again with Nello Santi. In August 2004 she joined Plácido Domingo for a Gala Concert La corona di pietra at the Arena di Verona (including a DVD production by Sony Classical).
The engagements of the 2004-05 season included, among others, Salome in Braunschweig and Athens with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
The Vienna Philharmonic is an orchestra in Austria, regularly considered one of the finest in the world....
, as well as in Rome with the Santa Cecilia Orchestra and in Tokyo; Nabucco and Fedora
Fedora (Giordano)
Fedora is an opera in three acts by Umberto Giordano to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the play Fédora by Victorien Sardou. Along with Andrea Chénier and Siberia, it is one of the most notable works of Giordano...
at the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
; Tosca in Zürich with Nello Santi, at the New York Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
with James Conlon
James Conlon
James Conlon is an American conductor and the current Music Director of the Los Angeles Opera.-Early years:Conlon grew up in a family of five children on Cherry Street in Douglaston, Queens, New York. His mother, Angeline L. Conlon, was a freelance writer. His father was an assistant to the New...
, and in Washington, D.C.. Verdi's Aida at the Thermae of Caracalla in Rome, directed by Plácido Domingo, concluded the season.
In 2005-06, Domingo again invited her to Washington, D.C. to take part in the Gala performances Trilogy - Domingo and Guests in 3 Acts as Fedora
Fedora (Giordano)
Fedora is an opera in three acts by Umberto Giordano to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the play Fédora by Victorien Sardou. Along with Andrea Chénier and Siberia, it is one of the most notable works of Giordano...
. Salome, Macbeth and Turandot at the Berlin State Opera
Berlin State Opera
The Staatsoper Unter den Linden is a German opera company. Its permanent home is the opera house on the Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, which also hosts the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.-Early years:...
, Tosca and Nabucco in Zürich, Aida at the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
and in Munich followed. She also participated in important new productions like Macbeth as Lady at the Verdi Festival in Parma under the baton of Bruno Bartoletti
Bruno Bartoletti
Bruno Bartoletti is an Italian operatic conductor, particularly associated with the Italian repertory and contemporary works....
(including a DVD production by the label TDK
TDK
, formerly , is a Japanese company which manufactures electronic materials, electronic components, and recording and data-storage media, and markets them globally. Their motto is "Contribute to culture and industry through creativity"...
) and as Elvira in Verdi's Ernani at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, both in June 2006.
After the great successes gained with Puccini's La fanciulla del West
La fanciulla del West
La fanciulla del West is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarini, based on the play The Girl of the Golden West by the American author David Belasco. Its highly-publicised premiere occurred in New York City in 1910...
and Giordano
Umberto Giordano
Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano was an Italian composer, mainly of operas.He was born in Foggia in Puglia, southern Italy, and studied under Paolo Serrao at the Conservatoire of Naples...
's Andrea Chénier at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in September and October 2006, Valayre's engagements in 2006-07 also included Nabucco at the Opera House of Zürich, Manon Lescaut
Manon Lescaut (Puccini)
Manon Lescaut is an opera in four acts by Giacomo Puccini. The story is based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost....
at Miami's Florida Grand Opera
Florida Grand Opera
Florida Grand Opera is an American opera company based in Miami, Florida. FGO was created in 1994 from the consolidation of two opera companies in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale region:...
, Macbeth at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin and her role debut as Desdemona in Verdi's Otello
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
at the Beethoven Festival in Warsaw. The 2006-07 season was concluded by a new production of Macbeth at Glyndebourne Festival Opera and the London Proms.
Her performances for 2007-08 included Tosca at the Opéra National de Paris, Manon Lescaut in Genova, Nabucco at Berlin's Deutsche Oper and Turandot in Tel Aviv. She also performed an extensive solo concert at the festival "Musiques au coeur" in Antibes in July 2008. In August 2008, she could be heard in Richard Strauss´ Four Last Songs and Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
's 9th Symphony at Šaľa São Paulo
Sala São Paulo
The Julio Prestes Cultural Center, which is located in the Julio Prestes Train Station in the old north central section of the city of São Paulo, Brazil, was inaugurated on July 9, 1999. The building has been totally restored and renovated by the São Paulo State Government, as part of the downtown...
, in Brazil, as part of the Cultura Artística
Cultura Artística
Popular name of both Sociedade de Cultura Artística, the promoter of one of the most important classical music series in Brazil, and Teatro Cultura Artística, the theatre and concert hall owned by Sociedade de Cultura Artística in São Paulo, Brazil....
International Series.
In the 2008-09 season, Sylvie Valayre could be heard frequently throughout Germany, among others at Semperoper
Semperoper
The Semperoper is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden and the concert hall of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden . It is located near the Elbe River in the historic center of Dresden, Germany.The opera house was originally built by the architect Gottfried Semper in 1841...
Dresden and Staatsoper Berlin in Macbeth and Turandot as well as at Oper Leipzig
Oper Leipzig
Oper Leipzig is an opera house and opera company in Leipzig, Germany.The Leipzig Opera traces its establishment to the year 1693, making it the third oldest opera venue in Europe after La Fenice and the Hamburg State Opera...
in Peter Konwitschny
Peter Konwitschny
Peter Konwitschny is a German opera and theatre director.-Biography:Peter Konwitschny grew up in Leipzig, where his father Franz Konwitschny was principal conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra...
's new production of Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's Aida.
In January 2009, she debuted at San Diego Opera
San Diego Opera
The San Diego Opera Association is a professional opera company located in the city of San Diego, California and is a member of OPERA America. It was founded in 1950 to present productions by San Francisco Opera in the San Diego area...
as Tosca. In May and June 2009, Valayre was singing Turandot at Washington National Opera
Washington National Opera
The Washington National Opera is an opera company in Washington, D.C., USA. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performances are now given in the Opera House of the John F...
as well as in Budapest for two Gala performances.
In 2009-10, she returned to San Diego Opera
San Diego Opera
The San Diego Opera Association is a professional opera company located in the city of San Diego, California and is a member of OPERA America. It was founded in 1950 to present productions by San Francisco Opera in the San Diego area...
for Nabucco, to Oper Leipzig for Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
, to Staatsoper Berlin for Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
and gave her role debut as Odabella in Verdi's Attila
Attila (opera)
Attila is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the play Attila, König der Hunnen by Friedrich Ludwig Zacharias Werner. Initially, Verdi had enlisted Francesco Maria Piave to prepare the libretto, after Verdi's own scenario...
in Marseille. In the title role of Puccini's Turandot
Turandot
Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
, she gave her house debut at Monte-Carlo Opera and inaugurated the new opera house in Guangzhou (China) under the baton of Lorin Maazel
Lorin Maazel
Lorin Varencove Maazel is an American conductor, violinist and composer.- Early life :Maazel was born to Jewish-American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States, primarily at his parents' home in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. His father, Lincoln Maazel , was...
in May 2010.
In the 2010/11 season, Sylvie Valayre returns to the Opéra Bastille
Opéra Bastille
L'Opéra Bastille ' is a modern opera house in Paris, France. It is the home base of the Opéra national de Paris and was designed to replace the Palais Garnier, which is nowadays mainly used for ballet performances....
in Paris as Giorgetta in Puccini's Il tabarro
Il tabarro
Il tabarro is an opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on Didier Gold's play La houppelande. It is the first of the trio of operas known as Il trittico...
under the baton of Philippe Jordan
Philippe Jordan
Philippe Jordan is a Swiss conductor, and the son of conductor Armin Jordan. He began to study piano at age 6. At age 8, he joined the Zürich Sängerknaben. His violin studies began at age 11....
, sings a gala performance of Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
in Mannheim and gives her debuts at Beejing Opera with Turandot and at Royal Opera Copenhagen as Empress in Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten
Die Frau ohne Schatten
Die Frau ohne Schatten is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It was written between 1911 and either 1915 or 1917...
.
Quotes
After her debut at the Metropolitan OperaMetropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
New York in 2000 as Cio-Cio San, the New York Times described her portrayal as "lovely, vulnerable" and reported that "her singing had poignancy and beauty - standing ovation".
In 2005, the Washington Post considered her Tosca in Washington, D.C. to be "filled with sparkling, stratospheric moments", noted that "here was a pleasing artistry in her singing that merged accurate intonation with an ability to move her sound smoothly across a wide vocal range" and wrote that "the top of her soprano voice is nothing less than extraordinary".
Great Britain's The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
reported on Verdi's Macbeth at the London Proms 2007 that Valayre was "a real find of a Lady Macbeth" and that she would possess "the ideal voice for the role: a dramatic soprano with an incisive edge and the dark-tinged richness of a mezzo."
Recordings
1984: "La Malibran"Théâtre Marigny, Paris
DVD
1991: Raffaello de Banfield: "Una lettera d'amore di Lord Byron"
Gianfranco Masini; Orchestra Sinfonica dell'Emilia Romagna "Arturo Toscanini"
CD, Ermitage ERM 403
1991: Felice Lattuada: "Le preziose ridicole"
Gianfranco Masini; Orchestra Sinfonica dell'Emilia Romagna "Arturo Toscanini"
CD, Aura Classics
1992: Philippe Hersant: "Le Chateau des Carpathes"
David Robertson; Orchestre Philharmonique de Montpellier
CD, Accord
1995: "Easter Concert from Paris" (Jean-Louis Florentz: "Mary's prayer at Golgotha")
Jean-Jacques Kantorow
Jean-Jacques Kantorow
Jean-Jacques Kantorow is a French violin virtuoso and conductor.-Biography:Kantorow was born in Cannes, France. From the age of 13 he studied at the Paris Conservatoire with René Benedetti, and in 1960 won the first violin prize...
; Paris Orchestral Ensemble
DVD, Goldline Classics
2004: "La corona di pietra - Gala concert Arena di Verona with Placido Domingo" (Bellini: finale of "Norma")
Orchestra Arena di Verona
DVD, Sony - BMG
2006: Giuseppe Verdi: "Macbeth"
Bruno Bartoletti; Orchestra del Teatro Regio di Parma
DVD, TDK Music
2007: Christmas Album (Sylvie Valayre sings the traditional "What Child is This?")
Camerata of London
CD, MSM-CD
Links to audio and video examples
Audio:- "In questa reggia" (Turandot) from Berlin 2003
- "Vissi d'Arte" (Tosca) from Washington D.C. 2005
- "Qui Radamès verrà" (Aida), Munich 2006
- "Surta è la notte" (Ernani) from Berlin 2006
- Link to many new audio files (among others Nabucco, a complete recording of Otello and Turandot from 2007
Video:
- "Nel dì della vittoria" (Macbeth) from Parma 2006
- "La luce langue" (Macbeth) from Parma 2006
- "Una macchia" / Sleepwalking (Macbeth) from Parma 2006
- "Il tuo sangue" (Tosca) from Tokyo 2000
- "La mamma morta" (Andrea Chénier) from Berlin 2006
- "Surta è la notte" (Ernani), Madrid 2000
- "Da quel dì" (Ernani), Madrid 2000 - with Carlos Alvarez as Don Carlo
- "Prode guerrier" (Nabucco), Arena di Verona 2000
- "Ben io t'invenni ... Anch'io dischiuso" (Nabucco), Arena di Verona 2000
- "Su me... morente" (Nabucco), Arena di Verona 2000