Janine Reiss (23 November 1921 – 2 June 2020) was a French singing teacher and

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

ist.

Biography

A harpsichordist by training, Reiss specialised in the 1960s in preparing international opera singers for the French repertoire. For ten years, she worked alongside

Maria Callas Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel cant ...

but also with Teresa Berganza, Mady Mesplé, Julia Migenes, Placido Domingo and

Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...

. Director of musical studies 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 ...

from 1973-80, she then collaborated with opera houses and conductors around the world. Every summer, she directed the musical studies of the

Chorégies d'Orange The ''Chorégies d'Orange'' is a summer opera festival held each August in Orange located about 21 kilometres north of Avignon in southern France. Performances are presented in the ancient Roman theatre, the Théâtre Antique d'Orange, the orig ...

. In 1978, she participated in the preparation of the film ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

'' by

Joseph Losey Joseph Walton Losey III (; January 14, 1909 – June 22, 1984) was an American theatre and film director, producer, and screenwriter. Born in Wisconsin, he studied in Germany with Bertolt Brecht and then returned to the United States. Blackliste ...

, as musical advisor to the director and onscreen as a harpsichordist, accompanying all the recitatives. She made some incursions in the field of variety by making work, for example Mireille Mathieu, who she met in 1983 on the TV program ', by Jacques Chancel. In 2003, Thierry Thomas and Pierre Bouteiller dedicated to her a documentary: ''Janine Reiss: L'Esprit de l'Opéra''. In January 2013, Dominique Fournier dedicated a book to her: ''La passion prédominante de Janine Reiss'' (preface by Alain Duault). Reiss died on 2 June 2020, aged 99.

References

External links

*
Entretien avec Janine Reiss
video dating 22 June 1982 extracted fro
archives de la Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS)

bruceduffie.com, 21 July 1982

France Culture; accessed 23 July 2020.
Interview with Janine Reiss
on Radio Classique (2nd part on YouTube) French music educators French harpsichordists Vocal coaches 1920s births 2020 deaths Place of birth missing Place of death missing {{france-musician-stub