2015 Jean-Paul Fouchécourt is a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

, mostly as an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

singer. He was born on 30 August 1958 at Blanzy in the

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

region. He is best known for singing French

Baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Classical period after a short transiti ...

, especially the parts called in French ''

haute-contre The haute-contre (plural hautes-contre) was the primary French operatic tenor voice, predominant in French Baroque and Classical opera, from the middle of the seventeenth century until the latter part of the eighteenth century. History This voice ...

'', written for a very high tenor voice with no

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...

singing.

Life and career

Specialist in French Baroque repertory, Jean-Paul Fouchécourt has gained his international reputation with his portrayal of the title role ''

Platée ''Platée'' is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Jean-Philippe Rameau with a libretto by Adrien-Joseph Le Valois d'Orville. Rameau bought the rights to the libretto ''Platée ou Junon jalouse'' (''Plataea, or Juno Jealous'') by Jacques Autr ...

'' by Rameau, Arnalta in ''

l’Incoronazione di Poppea ''L'incoronazione di Poppea'' (Stattkus-Verzeichnis, SV 308, ''The Coronation of Poppaea'') is an Italian List of operas by Claudio Monteverdi, opera by Claudio Monteverdi. It was Monteverdi's last opera, with a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Buse ...

'' by Monteverdi, the four servants in the ''Tales of Hoffmann'' by Offenbach and le Mari in the ''Mamelles de Tirésias'' by Poulenc. He combines excellent musicality with a strong stage presence. After studying the classical saxophone and conducting, Jean-Paul Fouchécourt decided to become a singer after a workshop with

Cathy Berberian Catherine Anahid Berberian (July 4, 1925 – March 6, 1983) was an American mezzo-soprano and composer based in Italy. She worked closely with many contemporary avant-garde music composers, including Luciano Berio, Bruno Maderna, John Cage, Henr ...

in 1982. He began his career with Les Arts Florissants directed by William Christie in 1986, having concerts in Europe, US, Soviet Union, South America, Australia and Japan. Jean-Paul Fouchécourt then went on to work extensively with the conductor Marc Minkowski and his Musiciens du Louvre: highlights of his career in the Baroque repertory include the title roles of ''Hippolyte et Aricie'' by Rameau, ''Titon et l’Aurore'' by Mondonville, ''Acis et Galatée'' by Lully and ''Resurrezione'' by Handel. He has also collaborated with other Baroque ensembles directed by R. Alessandrini, H. Bicket, R. Brown, P. Herreweghe, G. Garrido, N. McGeggan, R. Jacobs, S. Kuijken, H. Niquet, T. Pinnock, Ch. Rousset and JC. Spinosi. Jean-Paul Fouchécourt has performed with many of the world’s leading opera companies, including Royal Opera House - London, Metropolitan Opera, City Opera - New York, Cincinnati Opera, Opera Bastille, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Opéra de Bordeaux, Opéra de Lyon, Opéra du Rhin, and Opéra de Montpellier, Théâtre de la Monnaie, Vlaams Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève,

Lausanne Opera The Lausanne Opera is an opera house based in Lausanne, Switzerland. Once known as a municipal theater, it has transformed into a world renowned opera house that produces and co-produces their own productions. With a stage renovation in 2012 ...

and Zurich Opera, Netherlands Opera, Theater an der Wien, New Israeli Opera and Australian Opera. His operatic productions have included ''L'enfant et les sortilèges'' and ''L'heure Espagnole'' (Torquemada) by Ravel, ''Le Nozze di Figaro'' (Basilio) by Mozart, ''Orphée aux Enfers'' (Pluton) by Offenbach, ''Falstaff'' (Bardolfo) by Verdi, ''Manon'' (Guillot de Morfontaine) by Massenet, ''Madame Butterfly'' (Goro) by Puccini, ''Eugene Onegin'' (Monsieur Triquet) by Tchaikovsky, ''L'étoile'' (Ouf 1er) by Chabrier, '' Calisto'' (Pane) by Cavalli, and ''

The Golden Cockerel ''The Golden Cockerel'' ( rus, Золотой петушок, Zolotoy petushok ) is an opera in three acts, with short prologue and even shorter epilogue, composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, his last opera he completed before his death in 1908. ...

'' (The astrologer) by Rimsky-Korsakov. Jean-Paul Fouchécourt has also performed at many music festivals including

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

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 ...

(France), Berkley (USA), Saito Kinen (Japan), BBC Proms, Edinburgh (UK), and Salzburg (Austria). He has a great affinity and love of French songs, from the Baroque Air de cour and Classical Romance to the Romantic mélodie. He has performed recitals in France and around the world. His discography of more than 100 recordings includes works from Monteverdi, Mondonville, Rameau, Fauré, Bizet, Boulanger, Delage, Poulenc, Offenbach, Ravel, and Rosenthal to Szymanowski. In 2000, Jean-Paul Fouchécourt was honoured with the 'Chevalier de l’ordre National du Mérite' by the French Government. He became the Artistic Director of the Studio de l’Opéra de Lyon (SOL) in 2011.

Selected recordings

Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, Jennifer Larmore, Philippe Bach. Solo recitals * Rameau: Operatic Arias. Opera Lafayette Orchestra, Ryan Brown * Airs de Cour des XVI, XVII, XVIII Siecles. Éric Bellocq Among the many Baroque operas and vocal pieces that Fouchécourt has recorded are: *'' Atys'' by

Jean-Baptist Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, ...

, conducted by William Christie (1987) Harmonia Mundi *''

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, by ...

'' by

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 ...

, conducted by William Christie (1988) Harmonia Mundi *''

The Fairy-Queen ''The Fairy-Queen'' (1692; Purcell catalogue number Z.629) is a semi-opera by Henry Purcell; a "Restoration spectacular". The libretto is an anonymous adaptation of William Shakespeare's comedy '' A Midsummer Night's Dream''. First performed ...

'' by

Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest En ...

, conducted by William Christie (1989) Harmonia Mundi *''Alcyone'' by

Marin Marais Marin Marais (; 31 May 1656, in Paris – 15 August 1728, in Paris) was a French composer and viol player. He studied composition with Jean-Baptiste Lully, often conducting his operas, and with master of the bass viol Monsieur de Sainte-Colomb ...

, conducted by

Marc Minkowski Marc Minkowski (born 4 October 1962) is a French conductor of classical music, especially known for his interpretations of French Baroque works, and is the current general director of Opéra national de Bordeaux. His mother, Mary Anne (Wade), i ...

(1990) Erato *''

Te Deum The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Chur ...

'' by De Lalande, conducted by William Christie (1991) Harmonia Mundi *''Titon et l'Aurore'' by

Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville Jean-Joseph de Mondonville (, 25 December 1711 (baptised) – 8 October 1772), also known as Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville, was a French violinist and composer. He was a younger contemporary of Jean-Philippe Rameau and enjoyed great suc ...

, conducted by Marc Minkowski (1992) Erato *''Les amours de Ragonde'' by

Jean-Joseph Mouret Jean-Joseph Mouret (11 April 1682 in Avignon – 22 December 1738 in Charenton-le-Pont) was a French composer whose dramatic works made him one of the leading exponents of Baroque music in his country. Even though most of his works are rarely per ...

, conducted by Marc Minkowski (1992) Erato *''

Les Indes Galantes (French: "The Amorous Indies") is an opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau with a libretto by Louis Fuzelier. It takes the form of an ''opéra-ballet'' with a prologue and (in its final form) four ''entrées'' (acts). Following an allegorical prologue, th ...

'' by

Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theory, music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of Fr ...

, conducted by William Christie (1992) Harmonia Mundi *''

Idoménée ''Idoménée'' (English: ''Idomeneus'') is an opera by the French composer André Campra. It takes the form of a ''tragédie en musique'' in a prologue and five acts. ''Idoménée'' was first performed on 12 January 1712 by the Académie royale de ...

'' 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 ...

, conducted by William Christie (1992) Harmonia Mundi *''

'' by

, conducted by William Christie (1992) Harmonia Mundi *''Pigmalion'' by Rameau, conducted by

Hervé Niquet Hervé Niquet (born 28 October 1957) is a French conductor, harpsichordist, tenor, and the director of Le Concert Spirituel, specializing in French Baroque music. Biography Born on 28 October 1957, Hervé Niquet was raised at Abbeville in the ...

(1993) Fnac / re-release from Virgin Classics/EMI (1999) *'' Phaëton'' by Lully, conducted by Marc Minkowski (1993) Erato *''

Hippolyte et Aricie ('' Hippolytus and Aricia'') was the first opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau. It was premiered to great controversy by the Académie Royale de Musique at its theatre in the Palais-Royal in Paris on October 1, 1733. The French libretto, by Abbé Sim ...

'' by Rameau, conducted by Marc Minkowski (1994) Archiv *''

Dido and Aeneas ''Dido and Aeneas'' (Z. 626) is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncertain. It was co ...

'' by Purcell, conducted by William Christie (1995) Erato *''Les Fêtes de Paphos'' by Mondonville, conducted by

Christophe Rousset Christophe Rousset (; born 12 April 1961) is a French harpsichordist and conductor, who specializes in the performance of Baroque music on period instruments. He is also a musicologist, particularly of opera and European music of the 17th and 18 ...

(1997) L'Oiseau-Lyre *''Les Fêtes d'Hébé'' by Rameau, conducted by William Christie (1998) Erato *''Acis & Galatée'' by Lully, conducted by Marc Minkowski (1998) Archiv *'' Orphée et Euridice'' (1774 Paris version) by

Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period (music), classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the ...

, conducted by Ryan Brown (2005) Naxos Other recordings include: *''

La cambiale di matrimonio ''La cambiale di matrimonio'' (; English language, English: ''The Bill of Marriage'' or ''The Marriage Contract'') is a one-act operatic farsa, farsa comica by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Gaetano Rossi. The libretto was based on the play b ...

'' by

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

, conducted by Hervé Niquet (1991) ADDA *''

La dame blanche ''La dame blanche'' (English: ''The White Lady'') is an opéra comique in three acts by the French composer François-Adrien Boieldieu. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and is based on episodes from no fewer than five works of the Scott ...

'' by Boïeldieu, conducted by

(1996) EMI Classics/Angel *''

Les mamelles de Tirésias ''Les Mamelles de Tirésias'' (''The Breasts of Tiresias'') is an ''opéra bouffe'' by Francis Poulenc, in a prologue and two acts based on the eponymous play by Guillaume Apollinaire. The opera was written in 1945 and first performed in 1947. Apo ...

'' by

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...

, conducted by

Seiji Ozawa Seiji (written: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , or in hiragana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese ski jumper *, Japanese racing driver *, Japanese politician *, Japanese film directo ...

(1999) Philips *''

Orphée aux enfers ''Orpheus in the Underworld'' and ''Orpheus in Hell'' are English names for (), a comic opera with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed as a two-act "opéra bouffon" at the Théât ...

'' by Offenbach conducted by Marc Minkowski (1998) EMI *'' Roméo & Juliette'' by Berlioz, conducted by

John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Life and career Born in Fontmell Magna, Dorset, son of Rolf Gardiner and Marabel Hodgkin, Gard ...

(1998) Polygram *

Maurice Delage Maurice Charles Delage (13 November 1879 – 19 or 21 September 1961) was a French composer and pianist. Biography Delage was born and died in Paris. He first worked as a clerk for a maritime agency in Paris, and later as a fishmonger in Boul ...

: Mélodies, with

Billy Eidi Billy Eidi (born in 1955) is a French classical pianist of Lebanese background. Biography Born in Egypt, Eidi did his first musical studies at the Beirut Conservatory (in the classes of Zafer Dabaghi and Leila Aouad), where he graduated at fifte ...

(1998) Timpani *''

Werther ''Werther'' is an opera (''drame lyrique'') in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann (who used the pseudonym Henri Grémont). It is loosely based on Goethe's epistolary novel ''The S ...

'' by

Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther'' ...

, conducted by

Antonio Pappano Sir Antonio Pappano (born 30 December 1959) is an English-Italian conductor and pianist. He is currently music director of the Royal Opera House and of the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He is scheduled to become chief con ...

(1999) EMI Classics *'' Herodiade'' by Massenet conducted by Michel Plasson (2001) EMI Classics *''

Rodrigue et Chimène ''Rodrigue et Chimène'' (English: ''Rodrigo and Ximena'') is an unfinished opera in three acts by Claude Debussy. The French libretto, by Catulle Mendès,Langham Smith, Richard. Rodrigue et Chimène. In: ''New Grove Dictionary of Opera''. Macm ...

'' by Debussy conducted by Kent Nagano (1993–94) Erato *Songs by Fauré - Aubade, Chanson d'amour, Les présents, Lydia, Mai, Nell, with Graham Johnson (2005) Hyperion *''La Vie Parisienne'' by Offenbach, conducted by Sébastien Rouland (2008, DVD) Virgin Classics *''

L'enfant et les sortilèges ''L'enfant et les sortilèges: Fantaisie lyrique en deux parties'' (''The Child and the Spells: A Lyric Fantasy in Two Parts'') is an opera in one act, with music by Maurice Ravel to a libretto by Colette. It is Ravel's second opera, his first be ...

'' by Ravel, conducted by Simon Rattle (2009) EMI Classics *''

Enoch Arden ''Enoch Arden'' is a narrative poem published in 1864 by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, during his tenure as England's poet laureate. The story on which it was based was provided to Tennyson by Thomas Woolner. The poem lent its name to a principle in ...

'', melodrama by

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

, with

Christian Ivaldi Christian Ivaldi (born 2 September 1938) is a French pianist. Ivaldi was born in Paris. He studied at the Paris Conservatory with Jacques Février and took a Premier Prix in piano performance, as well as in chamber music, counterpoint, and accom ...

, piano Carmen by Bizet, conducted by Antonio Pappano (2004) DVD Carmen by Bizet, conducted by Simon Rattle EMI (2012) Eugène Onguin byTchaikowsky conducted by Valery Gergiev (2007) DECA DVD Saxophone *Works by Creston, Pierné, Schmitt recorded in 1981, 1984.

External links

www.fouchecourt.com Official SiteAskonas Holt
* * (French television 2009). {{DEFAULTSORT:Fouchecourt, Jean-Paul 1958 births Living people People from Saône-et-Loire French operatic tenors French male singers French male conductors (music) 21st-century French conductors (music) 21st-century French male musicians