Gérard Lesne (; born 15 July 1956) is a French countertenor. He is also the founder and artistic director of the baroque music ensemble, Il Seminario Musicale.

Life and career

Gérard Lesne was born in

Montmorency, Val-d'Oise Montmorency () is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Montmorency was the fief of the Montmorency family, one of the oldest and most distinguished families of the French nobility. It is ...

. He was originally a rock singer, but in 1979 the tenor Zeger Vandersteene introduced him to René Clemencic, a pioneer of work in the medieval repertoire, and at age 23, Lesne began touring with the Clemencic Consort. Lesne has made more than 70 recordings and has appeared as a soloist at numerous opera houses and music festivals including the

Opéra de Paris 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 ...

, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, La Fenice,

Opéra National de Lyon The Opéra National de Lyon, marketed as Opéra de Lyon during the last decade, is an opera company in Lyon, based and performing mostly at the Opéra Nouvel, an 1831 theater that was modernized and architecturally transformed in 1993. The inaugu ...

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 (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a ...

Teatro San Carlo The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is an opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and adjacent ...

Aix-en-Provence Festival The Festival d'Aix-en-Provence is an annual international music festival which takes place each summer in Aix-en-Provence, principally in July. Devoted mainly to opera, it also includes concerts of orchestral, chamber, vocal and solo instrumental ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

Early Music Festival, and Boston Early Music Festival. Since 1993, Gérard Lesne has taught annual courses in vocal interpretation at Royaumont Abbey in France. In 2004, Gerard Lesne was made

Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

by the French government, and received the

Académie Charles Cros The Académie Charles Cros (Charles Cros Academy) is an organization located in Chézy-sur-Marne, France, that acts as an intermediary between government cultural policy makers and professionals in music and the recording industry. The academy is ...

''in honorem'' prize for his career. His voice is described as full-bodied.

Selected discography

* 1986 : ''Cantate Italiane e Sonata'', by Antonio Vivaldi, with Fabio Biondi on violin solo and Il Seminario Musicale, ''

Diapason d'Or The Diapason d'Or (French for "Golden Tuning Fork") is a recommendation of outstanding (mostly) classical music recordings given by reviewers of '' Diapason'' magazine in France, broadly equivalent to "Editor's Choice", "Disc of the Month" in the ...

'' award, on Adda. Re-released by Musidisc in 2001. * 1991 : ''Cantatas'', by

Antonio Caldara Antonio Caldara (ca 1670 – 28 December 1736) was an Italian Baroque composer. Life Caldara was born in Venice (exact date unknown), the son of a violinist. He became a chorister at St Mark's in Venice, where he learned several instruments, ...

, on Virgin Classics. Re-released in 1999. * 1992 : ''Salve Regina'', by Vivaldi, with Fabio Biondi and Il Seminario Musicale, ''Diapason d'Or'' award, Virgin *1993 :

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'', ''Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still us ...

- ''Leçons de Ténèbres - Office du Vendredi Saint'', H.105, H.95, H.140, H.133, H.130, H.99, H.100, A. Mellon, G. Lesne, I. Honeyman, J. Bona, Il Seminario Musicale - Virgin Classics, CD 7592952 (p 1992 c 1993) * 1995 : ''Motets'', by Alessandro Stradella, with Sandrine Piau and Il Seminario Musicale, on Virgin Classics. Re-released in 1999 with the cantatas of Antonio Caldara. *1995 : Marc-Antoine Charpentier - ''Leçons de ténèbres'' - ''Office du Mercredi Saint,'' H.120, H.138, H.141, H.117, H.131, H.126'', Miserere'' H.173 - C. Greuillet, C. Pelon, C. Purves, G. Lesne, Il Seminario Musicale ''- Virgin'' Classics, CD 5451072 (p 1995 c 1995). *1995 : Marc-Antoine Charpentier ''- Leçons de Ténèbres - Office du Jeudi Saint'', H.121, H.139, H.136, H.144, H.128, H.528, H.510, H.521 - I. Honeyman, P. Harvey, S. Piau, G. Lesne, Il Seminario Musicale - Virgin Classics, CD 5450752 (p 1995 c 1995) *1997 : Marc-Antoine Charpentier - ''

David et Jonathas ''David et Jonathas'' (''David and Jonathan''), H. 490, is an opera in five acts and a prologue by the French composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier, first performed at the Collège Louis-le-Grand, Paris, on 28 February 1688. The libretto, b ...

'' H.490, with Les Arts Florissants, conducted by William Christie. 3 CD Harmonia Mundi *2000 : Marc-Antoine Charpentier - ''Trois histoires sacrées'', ''Mors Saülis et Jonathae'' H.403, ''Sacrificium Abrahae'', H.402, ''In Circumcisione Domini / Dialogus inter Angelum et pastores,'' H.406, M. L. Duthoit, J. Azzaretti, G. Lesne, B. Clee, J . F. Novelli, N. Bauchau, R. Nédélec, R. Spogis Naïve, CD E 8821 (2000) * 2001 : ''

Carmina Burana ''Carmina Burana'' (, Latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" 'Buria'' in Latin is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreverent ...

'', by

Carl Orff Carl Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, best known for his cantata '' Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Schulwerk were influential for children's music education. Life Early life Carl ...

, with L'Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, with

Natalie Dessay Natalie Dessay (; born 19 April 1965) is a French singer, known for her former career as an operatic soprano. She gained wide recognition after her portrayal of Olympia in ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' in 1992, and then performing at leading stages, ...

Thomas Hampson Thomas Walter Hampson (born June 28, 1955) is an American lyric baritone, a classical singer who has appeared world-wide in major opera houses and concert halls and made over 170 musical recordings. Hampson's operatic repertoire spans a range ...

Michel Plasson Michel Plasson (born 2 October 1933, Paris, France) is a French conductor. Plasson was a student of Lazare Lévy at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1962, he was a prize-winner at the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors. ...

* 2002 : ''Arias et cantates'', by the Bachs, with Il Seminario Musicale, conducted by Gérard Lesne * 2002 : ''Cantates BWV21 et BWV42'', by

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...

, with

Collegium Vocale Gent Collegium Vocale Gent is a Belgian musical ensemble of vocalists and supporting instrumentalists, founded by Philippe Herreweghe. The group is dedicated to historically informed performance. Founding and program Collegium Vocale Gent was founded ...

, La Chapelle Royale, conducted by

Philippe Herreweghe Philippe Maria François Herreweghe, Knight Herreweghe (born 2 May 1947) is a Belgian conductor and choirmaster. Herreweghe founded La Chapelle Royale and Collegium Vocale Gent and is renowned as a conductor, with a repertoire ranging from Re ...

* 2002 : ''Stabat Mater'', by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, with Il Seminario Musicale and Véronique Gens, conducted by Gérard Lesne * 2003 : ''Ô Solitude'', by Henry Purcell, with Il Seminario Musicale, conducted by Gérard Lesne * 2005 : ''Human?'', with Shazz and Massa (CD), on Naïve * 2006 : ''Salve Regina'', by Antonio Vivaldi, with Il Seminario Musicale, conducted by Gérard Lesne *2007 : Marc-Antoine Charpentier : ''Orphée descendant aux enfers'' H.471, ''Epitaphium Carpentarii'' H.474, douze ''Airs sérieux et à boire, Tristes déserts'' H.469, H.467, H.455, H.445, H.463, H.456, .461, H.450, H.446, H.470, H.448, H.466 et les ''Stances du Cid'' H.457 H.458 H.459, Il Seminario Musicale, Gérard Lesne, Cyril Auvity, Edwin Crossley-Mercer. CD Zig-Zag territoires.

References

External links

Short biography at Bach-Cantatas.com

at the Foundation de l'abbaye de Royaumont (in English) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lesne, Gerard 1956 births Living people People from Montmorency, Val-d'Oise 20th-century French male opera singers Operatic countertenors French performers of early music Erato Records artists 21st-century French male opera singers