Isabelle Druet (born 19 September 1979) is a French operatic

coloratura Coloratura is an elaborate melody with runs, trills, wide leaps, or similar virtuoso-like material,''Oxford American Dictionaries''.Apel (1969), p. 184. or a passage of such music. Operatic roles in which such music plays a prominent part, an ...

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

who has performed internationally. She began her career as an actress and co-founded a theatre company, La Carotte. She has performed in concert and recorded with the ensemble

Le Poème Harmonique Le Poème Harmonique is a musical ensemble founded in 1998 by Vincent Dumestre to recreate and promote early music, in particular that of the 17th century. Using rare instruments such as the theorbo, the lirone, the tiorbino and the arpa tripla, ...

. On stage, she has performed at opera houses in Paris, Nancy, Lyon and Düsseldorf, among others.

Career

Born in Niort ( Deux-Sèvres), Druet started as an actress, taking theatre courses in high school in Salins-les-Baths. She then pursued a ''Diplôme d'études universitaires scientifiques et techniques'' (DEUST) (Diploma of scientific and technical university studies) degree in Besançon, studying at the University of Franche-Comté. Though she sang in the university choir, her musical preferences were for reggae and Indian music. In 2000, she co-founded a theatre company based in Besançon, La Carotte, where theatre, mime, music, dance and storytelling performances were mixed. Torn between theatre and music, she finally moved to Paris and studied music for two years in the 7th arrondissement before entering the National Conservatoire. Studying voice at the Conservatoire de Paris, Druet graduated

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

in 2007. She obtained a master's degree, writing a thesis, ''La construction du personnage à l'opéra'', and attending masterclasses with René Jacobs and

Agnès Mellon Agnès Mellon (born 17 January 1958) is a French soprano who specializes in baroque music. Biography Agnès Mellon started her career in 1981 with the baroque ensemble Les Arts Florissants, directed by William Christie, with whom, between 19 ...

, among others. In June 2007 she won a first prize in singing with unanimous praise from the jury at the Conservatoire in Isabelle Guillaud's class. That same year, she was elected in the category "Révélation classique lyrique" of the

Adami Adami may refer to: *Adami (surname) *Adami, a town in the Bible (or Adami-nekeb) *Adami (car), Italian automobile manufacture See also *Winn Adami This is a list of secondary characters from the science fiction television series ''Star Trek: ...

. Simultaneously with her final two years at the Conservatoire, Druet performed in the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées () is an entertainment venue standing at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. It is situated near Avenue des Champs-Élysées, from which it takes its name. Its eponymous main hall may seat up to 1,905 people, while th ...

, Théâtre du Châtelet, as well as at regional festivals. Among her roles were Zaïde in ''Europa Galante'' by

André Campra André Campra (; baptized 4 December 1660 – 29 June 1744) was a French composer and conductor of the Baroque era. The leading French opera composer in the period between Jean-Baptiste Lully and Jean-Philippe Rameau, Campra wrote several '' tra ...

under the direction of William Christie, which toured in 2005; playing the sorceress in ''Dido and Aeneas'', singing roles in '' The Clemency of Titus'', and playing in the Conservatoire's productions of '' Eugène Onegin'' as Mme Larina and in Handel's Alcina as Ruggiero, among many other performances. In 2008, she was awarded second place in the

Queen Elisabeth Competition The Queen Elisabeth Competition ( nl, Koningin Elisabethwedstrijd, french: Concours musical international Reine Élisabeth) is an international competition for career-starting musicians held in Brussels. The competition is named after Queen ...

in Brussels, Belgium and sang at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

in New York City with the baroque ensemble, Les Arts Florissants under the direction of William Christie. The following year, she co-created with

Marc Mauillon Marc Mauillon (born in 1980) is a 21st-century French singer, sometimes tenor, sometimes baritone. Biography Born in Montbéliard, Mauillon was nominated in the "Révélation Artiste Lyrique" category of the Victoires de la musique classique 20 ...

a presentation for the Emergence Festival. Premiering together, they performed ''La Valse perdue'' (The Lost Waltz) by Jacques Offenbach at the Musical Theater of Besançon. The duo continued to perform together, singing at the concert of the Revelations of Victories in 2010, when each of them were awarded the distinction of "laureate" in the

Victoires de la musique classique The Victoires de la musique classique (; en, "Victories of Classical Music") are an annual French classical music award event founded in 1986. The awards are the classical equivalent of the popular music awards Victoires de la Musique and the Victo ...

. After touring throughout Europe, performing both operatic roles and singing baroque lyric concert music, Druet made her US orchestral debut performing with the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. Jader Bignamini is the current music d ...

in 2015. Combining music from two different composers, Argentine

Alberto Ginastera Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (; April 11, 1916June 25, 1983) was an Argentinian composer of classical music. He is considered to be one of the most important 20th-century classical composers of the Americas. Biography Ginastera was born in Buen ...

and French

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

, the concert under the direction of Leonard Slatkin was praised for the thoughtful presentation. Druet was praised for her passionate performance in Ravel's ''Two Hebraic Melodies'', based upon an Aramaic version of the Kaddish. Particularly noted was her performance in Ravel's ''Sheharazade'', for her "intelligent phrasing that was seemingly attuned to every nuance embedded in the text".

Opera

In 2010, Druet performed the role of Arcabonne in Lully's '' Amadis''. In 2011, she appeared in the title role of Bizet's ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' at both the

opéra national de Lorraine The Opéra national de Lorraine is a French opera company and opera house, located in the city of Nancy, France in the province of Lorraine, Lorraine, France. Formerly named the ''Opéra de Nancy et de Lorraine'', the company received the statu ...

in Nancy and at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf. She sang the title role of Rossini's '' L'italiana in Algeri'' in Metz. She appeared as Dido in Purcell's '' Dido and Aeneas''. Druet made her debut at the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

in 2011 as the Page in ''

Salome Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, an ...

'' by Richard Strauss. In 2013, she was Orphée in Gluck's ''

Orphée et Eurydice ' (; French: '; English: ''Orpheus and Eurydice'') is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the '' azione teatrale'', meaning an ...

'' in the revised version by

Hector Berlioz In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

at the , alongside Marion Tassou as Eurydice. She appeared as Concepción in Ravel's ''

L'heure espagnole ''L'heure espagnole'' is a French one-act opera from 1911, described as a ''comédie musicale'', with music by Maurice Ravel to a French libretto by Franc-Nohain, based on Franc-Nohain's 1904 play ('comédie-bouffe') of the same nameStoullig E. '' ...

'' in Lyon, which was recorded, and as Baba Turk in Britten's '' The Rake's Progress''. She has appeared at the

as Tisbe in Rossini's '' La Cenerentola'', as Annina in Verdi's ''

La traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') 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'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

'', and as Ciesca in Puccini's '' Gianni Schicchi''.

Concert

Druet began performing with the ensemble

, as the group allowed her to explore her interest in a variety of music styles. In 2010, she was featured in a production of '' Cadmus et Hermione'' by Lully at the Opéra Comique accompanied by Le Poème Harmonique and

Vincent Dumestre Vincent Dumestre (born 5 May 1968) is a French lutenist. In 1997 he founded the ensemble Le Poème Harmonique. He studied the classical guitar at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and art history at the École du Louvre. Afterwards he dedi ...

. Druet appeared in concert with Le Poème Harmonique, performing and recording rarities such as music by Luis de Briceño and his contemporaries. In ''Firenze 1616'', they focused on Domenico Belli's ''

Orfeo dolente ''Orfeo dolente'' (Orpheus inconsolable) is an opera by Domenico Belli to a libretto by Gabriello Chiabrera, an example of "representative style" of the early Baroque era. The work is divided into five interludes which were performed for the fir ...

'', and music of his time by

Claudio Saracini Claudio Saracini (1 July 1586 – 20 September 1630) was an Italian composer, lutenist, and singer of the early Baroque era. He was one of the most famous and distinguished composers of monody. Life Saracini was born to a noble family, pr ...

, Giulio Caccini and Cristofano Malvezzi. She recorded Shakespeare Songs with pianist Anne Le Bozec, works inspired by characters from plays such as

Juliet Juliet Capulet () is the female protagonist in William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. A 13-year-old girl, Juliet is the only daughter of the patriarch of the House of Capulet. She falls in love with the male protagonist R ...

and Desdemona, including songs by Schubert, Castelnuovo-Tedesco,

Korngold Erich Wolfgang Korngold (May 29, 1897November 29, 1957) was an Austrian-born American composer and conductor. A child prodigy, he became one of the most important and influential composers in Hollywood history. He was a noted pianist and compo ...

, the ballad "La mort d'Ophélie" by Saint-Saëns and ''Five Ophelia Songs'' by Brahms. A review notes her "fine, cultured voice", in four languages.

Awards

* 2007: Révélation Adami (Lyric artist revelation) of the , Paris * 2008: Second prize of the

, Brussels * 2010:

– Laureate in the category "Lyric artist revelation"

Discography

* 2004 ''Plaisir d'amour'' with Le Poème Harmonique (CD ALPHA 513) * 2008 Queen Elisabeth Competition in singing (CD CMIREB) * 2007 ''Firenze 1616'' with Le Poème Harmonique (CD ALPHA) * 2008 Lully's '' Cadmus et Hermione'' with Le Poème Harmonique (DVD ALPHA701) * 2010 Monteverdi & Marazzoli: ''Combattimenti! – Poème Harmonique'' with Le Poème Harmonique (CD ALPHA172) * 2010 Mozart: '' Die Zauberflöte'' (Third Lady), with René Jacobs (CD Harmonia Mundi HMC 902068.70) * 2011 Luis de Briceño: ''El Fenix de Paris'' with Le Poème Harmonique (CD ALPHA) * 2011 ''Jardin Nocturne''; Mélodies by Berlioz, Chausson, Fauré, Hahn, Halphen, Massenet and Poulenc with Johanne Ralambondrainy, piano (CD Aparté). * 2011

Sébastien de Brossard Sébastien de Brossard, pronounced e.bɑs.tjẽ də brɔ.saːr (12 September 1655 – 10 August 1730) was a French music theorist, composer and collector. Life Brossard was born in Dompierre, Orne. After studying philosophy and theology a ...

: ''Oratorios and Léandro'' with La Rêveuse (CD Mirare MIR125 * 2012 Lully: '' Phaéton'', live at Salle Pleyel * 2013 Bizet: '' Le docteur Miracle'' (DVD) * 2013 Lully, Campra, Marie Mancini: ''Presque Reine, Le premier amour de Louis XIV''. Éditions Eveil et Découvertes Livre-disque; Musical tale by Damien Pouvreau. * Révolutions 1830-1848-1870 * Clérambault: ''Miserere'', Couperin: ''

Leçons de ténèbres Leçons de ténèbres ( 'lessons of darkness'; sometimes spelled Leçons des ténèbres) is a genre of French Baroque music which developed from the polyphonic lamentations settings for the tenebrae service of Renaissance composers such as Serm ...

'' (

) (CD Alpha)Bizet: Le Docteur Miracle
chandos.net * 2016 ''Shakespeare Songs'' with Anne Le Bozec (CD NoMadMusic)

Career

Opera

Concert

Awards

Discography

References

External links